Africa-Press – Namibia. MINISTER of environment, forestry and tourism Pohamba Shifeta has warned Namibians not to overexploit natural resources, but use them sustainably.
The minister said this at the launch of three documentary series aimed at creating awareness on the negative impacts of deforestation and exploitation of natural resources in Windhoek last week.
The documentaries titled ‘The forests and desert lands’ are a series from different Namibian communities living in Namibian forests. Shifeta said communities should take care of their forests and protect their biodiversity. He stressed the importance of protecting biodiversity to prevent forests from becoming extinct.
“Unsustainable use of our natural resources will lead to deforestation and we need to find new sustainable ways to conserve our natural resources,” he said.
The documentaries are a collaborative effort between the ministry and the Hanns Seidel Foundation. The minister said the documentaries would be distributed next week on all digital platforms to raise awareness and help curb the overexploitation of trees.
“The significance of forests was brought into focus when the world commemorated the International Day of Forests this year. Countries are encouraged to undertake local and national efforts to organise activities involving tree planting campaigns,” Shifeta said.
Shifeta said this year the ministry distributed seedlings to different schools countrywide, as part of its initiatives to promote tree planting. “People need healthy forests for survival. They provide fresh air and water, and are a haven for a lot of biodiversity. Healthy forests regulate our climate by influencing rainfall patterns and cooling our living areas,” he said.
He added that threats to forests can only be minimised through measures such as law enforcement and educating communities to stop destroying natural resources.
“I, therefore, implore all of us to rally against the unsustainable use of our forest resources,” Shifeta said.
Shifeta said Namibia does not export timber, but only finished timber products, adding that this helps the government save money on exports and imports of timber products and encourages communities to take care of the forests.
“Timber that you see being transported to our ports is from Angola, which uses our routes to transport it to other countries,” he said. Shifeta said the law will be strengthened to make sure that no local timber leaves Namibia without processing it into finished products.
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