By Wezi Tjaronda
WINDHOEK
Assessments done on five sectors to determine how much carbon dioxide they emit and sink are nearing completion.
The Ministry of Environment and Tourism and its stakeholders conducted the assessments, whose results will form part of the county’s Second National Communications, which is due by end of next year.
The sectors on which assessments have been conducted include energy, agriculture, waste, land use change and industry.
These include an energy review regarding energy efficiency and use in the country, a review of greenhouse gas emissions by several companies in Windhoek, Walvis Bay, Swakopmund and Oshakati, a vulnerability and adaptation assessment that will also look at the impact of climate change and how it can be prevented, as well as the adaptability of crops and livestock to climate change in the North.
So far, the energy sector has submitted a draft report with a final report expected end of the month.
Consulting Services Africa, which is doing the greenhouse gas emissions inventory for 2000 will finalise its first draft early next month, according to Carter Hertz. The findings of the survey will be deliberated upon at a workshop planned for end November.
The assessment is looking into how much anthropogenic gases (man caused) are released into the atmosphere and are sunk.
“We have finished collecting data and are busy drafting the report,” he said.
Namibia is a carbon sink because of increasing woody biomass due to bush encroachment. Studies indicate that 26 million hectares of woodland savannahs in Namibia are infested with invader bush.
At the same time, the country emits a lot of methane in the atmosphere, which is 10 times stronger than carbon dioxide because of the large population of cattle.
The Desert Research Foundation Namibia was charged with the vulnerability and adaptation assessment to climate change.
Another assessment of agricultural farming systems and agricultural methods change is also being conducted.
An official of the Directorate of Environmental Affairs in the Ministry of Environment and Tourism said a training module was developed for agricultural extension officers on crops that are adapted to climate change. A draft report of this assessment is expected end of November.
Findings of these surveys and assessments will form part of the Second National Communication.
Although Namibia contributes little to greenhouse gasses, its aridity and heavy reliance on natural resources makes the country one of the most vulnerable countries in Africa to climate change.
It is projected that due to climate change phenomena, temperatures will increase by 2 to 6 degrees Celsius by 2100, rainfall will increase by 30 mm per year and severely decrease by 200 mm, evaporation will increase by 5 percent per degree of warming while the sea level will rise by 30 to 100 cm by 2100.
The Initial National Communication to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate of 2002 says the impact of climate change on household food security in the subsistence farming area could lead to social disruptions and displacement among rural communities.