Namibia’s Minister of Setting Forestry and Tourism Pohamba Shifeta has stated on Friday that bush encroachment is threatening pure habitats for animals and crops of the savannah ecosystem in Namibia, whereas native bushes are spreading massively on the expense of grass vegetation.
Talking at a handover ceremony of bush harvesting gear, Shifeta expressed concern over the bush encroachment which can also be affecting wildlife tourism within the nation, as in areas affected by bush encroachment, wildlife animal populations are declining.
“Bush encroachment results in land degradation largely in semi-arid to arid areas. The tourism trade contributes about 15 p.c to our gross home product (GDP) and this signifies its significance to the nationwide financial system,” he stated.
In Namibia right now, about 45 million hectares of agricultural land is infested with encroached bushes that are destroying the arable land and decreasing its productiveness, Shifeta stated, including that this can be a worrisome reality as practically 70 p.c of the Namibian inhabitants will depend on agricultural actions and the livestock trade is the mainstay with excessive contribution to the GDP within the farming trade.
“Moreover, the decline in agricultural productiveness on account of bush encroachment is estimated at round two-thirds within the final 40 years. Though Namibia’s agricultural sector contributes solely 3-5 p.c of the nation’s GDP, it accounts for by far the biggest share of jobs within the nation, Shifeta stated.
To deal with the issue, Namibia has a local weather change adaptation mission which stands to scale back the burden of bush encroachment in addition to generate much-needed earnings.
In line with info from the ministry, agricultural productiveness in Namibia has declined by two-thirds all through the previous a long time, primarily because of the adverse influence of bush encroachment. The phenomenon impacts each industrial and communal farming in Namibia.
Bush encroachment is a pure phenomenon characterised by the extreme enlargement of bushes (timber and shrubs) , comparable to blackthorn, on the expense of different plant species, particularly grasses and has extreme adverse penalties on key ecosystem providers, particularly agricultural productiveness and groundwater recharge.
Supply(s): Xinhua Information Company
