Albertina Nakale

As the nation heads into the festive season, the environment ministry is calling upon holidaymakers and all citizens to observe environmental safety.

The festive season is fast approaching and so is pollution, which can have environmental side effects. Therefore, the ministry emphasised there is an immediate need to celebrate this festive season in an eco-friendly and sustainable manner.

“Sadly, we have observed that around this time, major environmental challenges arise,” said environment spokesperson Romeo Muyunda. For this reason, he added the ministry is embarking on an awareness campaign to sensitise the public and travellers on environmental safety.

Specifically, the campaign focuses mainly on three major challenges, which are litter, wildlife crime and human-wildlife conflict. With this campaign, the ministry wants people to understand the implications of certain activities – by so doing, encourage a shift in attitude.

“Litter continues to pile on our roadside surroundings and at very important tourism attraction conservation sites, such as beaches, dunes and our national parks. This waste is an eye sore and a serious deterrence to tourists visiting the country.

“No one would want to travel to dirty environments. The country would lose revenue in this regard,” Muyunda sensitised. Further, he said people must understand some waste materials that are thrown around may be contaminated with dangerous bacteria presenting a health risk.

Likewise, he said, contaminated waste could also be detrimental to the fishing sector, as such bacteria may affect aquatic life.

“Fishing, alongside tourism, are two major sectors contributing to the economy of the country as well as creating employment opportunities. All these may be affected,” Muyunda cautioned.

Therefore, the ministry stressed it is important Namibians and tourists alike avoid littering and irresponsible waste disposal, adding everyone should embrace a clean Namibia and a clean environment at all times.

Meanwhile, Muyunda indicated the ministry continues to observe trends where some people want to take chances during the festive season to conduct illegal activities, such as wildlife poaching. The campaign, apart from creating awareness of the impact of such an undertaking, will also involve law enforcement, where ministry officials will conduct searches at selected roadblocks.

This, he said, is in addition to the intensity of patrols the ministry will build over the festive season.

“Perpetrators are warned seriously. Namibia is the world leader in conservation, with remarkable achievements in terms of wildlife conservation and protection. This is a reputation to be proud of; however, this is threatened by the escalating poaching activities. Not to forget that Namibia’s tourism is mainly based on wildlife. We need Namibia to root out poaching from our society completely. We need to reject it in our communities,” he encouraged.

HWC remains a big challenge for the ministry. The festive season presents opportunities for holiday lovers to explore and indulge in nature activities. Hence, the ministry cautioned this should be done safely, as the country has dangerous predators roaming inside and outside the national parks.

Most people love swimming in rivers due to the Namibian sun, which is scorching. The ministry has appealed to those living alongside rivers to be cautious and use the river with due regard to their lives. “We do not wish to lose more people to wildlife. Our rivers are infested with dangerous predators like crocodiles,” he warned.

– anakale@nepc.com.na