Namibia is sub-Saharan Africa’s most arid country, and one of the most arid countries in the world. The entire western coastal area is a true desert, with a mean annual rainfall of less than 100 mm per year and mean annual evaporation about 30 times as great. The soils, in areas where rainfall is sufficient to support exploitable vegetation, are dominated by Kalahari sands of very low nutrients status, or by highly saline or rocky soils with low production potential.
The Namib Desert is one of the oldest deserts, with consequently a higher level of biological specialization endemism (Namibia, Ministry of Environment and Tourism, 1997).
Namibia’s economy and the livelihoods of its people (approximately 80%) are dependent on natural resources, both renewable and non-renewable which are increasingly under pressure from unsustainable use resulting in environmental degradation. The challenge is to utilise natural resources sustainably in order to develop the economy while at the same time saving the environment from adverse impacts of pollution, soil erosion and deforestation as well as general degradation of land (ibid). Therefore Namibians must carefully manage their
environment in order to sustain it for the present and future generations, by making it a priority to create an environmentally literate society, which understands the consequences of the past, and who are able to take action to live sustainably for the benefit of all Namibians.
Namibia, like South Africa has a long history of colonial rule, and was also affected by apartheid, since it was under South African rule before and during the apartheid era (as described in more detail in section 2.5.3.1 below). Since independence in 1990, the Namibian government has given greater priority to environmental concerns through various provisions in different policies. The Namibian government is also a signatory to various international conventions, which has made it possible to encourage environmental discussions.
An initial attempt to create environmental awareness took place through the drafting of the Constitution of the Republic of Namibia, Article 95(1) (Namibia, Constitution, 1990:52) which states that the State shall actively promote and maintain the welfare of the people by adopting inter alia, policies aimed at:
…maintenance of ecosystem, essential ecological processes and biological diversity of Namibia, and utilization of living natural resources on sustainable basis for the benefit of all, both present and future; in particular the government shall provide measures against the dumping or recycling of foreign nuclear and toxic waste on Namibian territory…
In order to increase awareness of environmental problems, and to promote more sustainable natural resource management practices, the government of Namibia has identified
environmental education within the formal, non-formal and informal sector as a priority (Hoabes, 2004).
The Government of the Republic of Namibian (GRN) gives high priority to sustainable and integrated natural resource management in its First National Development Plan (NDP#1), which covers the five year period from 1996-2000. The National Development Plan commits the GRN to:
Promote sustainable development within all sectors, and across all regions, to ensure present and future generations of Namibia gain optimal benefit from the equitable and sustainable utilization of Namibia’s renewable resources, to protect the nations
biodiversity and maintain essential life support systems, to promote participatory, cross-sectoral and integrated programmes to improve understanding of the
management of the natural resources on a sustainable basis (National Planning Commission, 1995:16).
The Namibian government acknowledges environmental education as one of the essential instruments for empowering Namibians to take up meaningful decisions concerning environmental issues, risks and challenges. This acknowledgement is essential for the sustainable livelihoods of many Namibians and therefore an important dimension of Namibian social and political reform.
Namibia was one of the first countries worldwide to incorporate environmental and sustainable development clauses within its national constitution. It gave power to these clauses by enabling its citizens to raise issues of environmental concern via the Office of the Ombudsman. In 1992, by means of Namibia’s Green Plan (Namibia. Ministry of Wildlife, Conservation and Tourism, 1992), Namibia created a national common vision around its environmental issues, priorities and future actions, drawing together government, NGO, private sector and community in an unprecedented coalition to work towards a common future – a coalition that started to break down the highly sectoral ways of the past. His Excellency President Sam Nujoma formally tabled the Green Plan at UNCED, on behalf of the Republic of Namibia. The Green Plan led, in turn, to Namibia’s 12 Point Plan for Integrated and
Sustainable Environmental Management (GRN, 1993), a short strategic implementation
document, which was tabled and adopted by Parliament in 1993, and this in turn was
incorporated into the first 5-year National Development Plan (NDP1). Namibia’s portfolio of environmental programmes and projects arose from this process, and was designed as a complimentary and synergistic set of activities to address Namibia’s environmental challenges and opportunities.
The Green Plan also commits itself in promoting a plan of action in which it promised to create a scheme that will enhance the socio-economic development and uplifting of the Namibian rural communities in becoming self sufficient in food production in the years to come:
To enable Namibians to move from environmental awareness to understanding and action, the Namibian government will aim to provide all Namibians with access to environmental education, whether at the formal or non-formal level.
(Namibia. Ministry of Wildlife, Conservation and Tourism, 1992: 19)
Despite all the contributions that government has made through its national policy (as indicated above) and also despite being a signatory to various international agreements and conventions, little has been done in practice. This is evident in a lack of comprehensive programmes to enhance environmental education and public awareness, although some progress has been made in including environmental education into the national curriculum (as reported on in more detail in section 2.5.3.1 below). It also fell short in developing a
comprehensive and inclusive National Environmental Policy, until December 2007, when the Environmental Management Bill was passed in parliament. As indicated by Sasman (2007), the Namibian government has adopted all the right policies to achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goal (MDG) seven on sustainable environmental practices, but its good intentions have floundered at the implementation stage.
2.5.2 The history of the legacy of Bantu Education in both countries: South Africa