Africa-Press – Namibia. A CURRENT status report for marine spatial planning (MSP) was launched by minister of fisheries and marine resources Derek Klazen at Swakopmund on Thursday.
The report establishes a multisectoral database for creating a policy to guide human activity in Namibian waters. Ultimately, marine spatial planning would ensure that the right activity takes place in the right area, and thus facilitate the development of a sustainable ocean economy to benefit both humans and the environment.
Namibia is a member of the Benguela Current Marine and Spatial Management and Governance Project, which is a partnership between the Benguela Current Convention, its member states Angola, Namibia, and South Africa, and Germany’s government. The project is financed by Germany’s environment ministry in pursuit of the sustainable development of the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem.
The planning is a key strategic goal of the fifth National Development Plan which strives to achieve a blue economy “that sustainably maximises the economic benefits from marine resources to ensure equitable marine wealth distribution for all Namibians”. This is in view of the growing range of industries in Namibia’s ocean space that exert increasing pressure on the health of the ecosystem.
“Namibia’s ocean is a great friend that provides us with various services that support socio-economic development. It sustains livelihoods, enables seaborne trade, and many of our industries, such as fisheries, tourism, and mariculture depend on it,” Klazen said at the launch of the report.
“The broad and growing range of human activities and interests in the ocean require careful and improved coordination and cooperation on the use of the ocean.”
The chairwoman of the MSP national working group, Anja Kreiner, said the report was developed with wide and inclusive consultation and direct engagement with relevant and interested sectors and stakeholders.
It will allow the development of elaborate marine plans, of which the first will focus on the central area of Namibia’s ocean space. As a ‘living document’, it will be updated regularly to include new data as it becomes available.
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