Windhoek
The Minister of Environment and Tourism Pohamba Shifeta says there is a great need for the exploration of sustainable alternative sources of potable water for both human consumption and economic activities.
He said the lack of readily available water in the interior of the country limits prospects for economic growth.
Studies have shown that water availability in Namibia will diminish under climate change and in this regard a decrease in run-off and a reduction in groundwater recharge is expected by 2020. Thus putting the country in an absolute water scarcity dilemma, he said.
“Without water there will be no economic development and progress, let alone life itself. Namibia is seriously worried about the adverse impacts of climate change and cognisant of the fact that climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time,” the minister noted.
Namibia as a semi-arid country is quite vulnerable to harsh climatic conditions.
Shifeta said water scarcity represents a daunting threat to the planet, ecosystems, human societies and livelihoods.
The Namibian government, in collaboration with the climate technology centre network and the council for scientific and industrial research, has developed a two-year joint research and development project to prioritise, support and strengthen the funding of technologies to address the water scarcity problem with a view to finding a long-term sustainable and comprehensive solution to water shortages.
Namibia has a long history of droughts. Shiefeta said the dry hot air exacerbates water scarcity mostly due to high evaporation rates.
However, Namibia has clear policies and plans that guide the management of its water resources. Among others is the Integrated Water Resources Management Plan which aims to enable the country to achieve a sustainable water resource management regime contributing to social equity, economic efficiency and environmental sustainability.
This plan, Shifeta said, suggests a number of options to overcome the water scarcity problem such as desalination of seawater, re-use of water, recycling of water used in industrial and mining processes, reclamation of water from waste water effluent, artificial recharge, enhancement of aquifers and water demand management initiatives.
He is hopeful that the plan will be discussed further especially in terms of costing with a view to develop bankable project proposals to be submitted for funding by the Green Climate Fund (GCF).
The GCF is a fund within the framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) founded as a mechanism to redistribute money from the developed to the developing world, to assist developing countries in adaptation and mitigation practices to counter climate change.