Environmental Issues In Namibia Essay

743 Words2 Pages

1.1 Background Two of the major environmental issues threatening Namibia, which is an arid country, is land degradation and overexploitation of natural resources is one of the major environmental issues threaten the country. In order to address the causes of environmental degradation, policies and legislation were developed to address the environmental issue. Since environmental issues are trans-boundaries issues, Ruppel-Schlichting point out that there must be an international cooperation. Thus, Namibia has signed and rectified numbers of international agreements and conventions which oblige Namibia to put in place environmental protection policies and legislation. In Namibia, there are various legislation and policies designated to protect the environment, however, research into the effectiveness of these legislations and policies is rare. Environmental law is a multidisciplinary field which involves the integration of natural sciences, social sciences, and economics therefore this complexity makes evaluating the effectiveness of an environmental framework necessary. It is crucial to assess the effectiveness of …show more content…

Article 95(l) stipulates that the state shall actively promote and maintain the welfare of the people by adopting policies, maintenance of ecosystems, essential ecological processes and biological diversity of Namibia and utilisation of living natural resources on a sustainable basis for the benefits of all Namibians. Hence, this provision obliges Namibia to formulate policies and legislation with regard to the protection of the environment. In Namibia, the Environmental Management Act, No. 7 of 2007 is one of the major legislation related to the protection of the environment. The Environmental Management Act (EMA) came into force in 2012, and aimed at promoting sustainable development through the mandatory undertaking of environmental impact assessment

Open Document