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NFP Facility Partnership

Namibia Namibia

The partnership between the NFP Facility and Namibia was signed in 2003. The primary objective of the partnership is to address the challenges of the forestry sector as outlined in the National Development Plan II. The following activities are being carried under the Partnership (i) raising awareness and increasing participation in the national forest programme; (ii) improving knowledge management; and (iii) contributing to overall improvements in forest management and utilization.

In 2005, the Forestry Department appointed the Namibia Nature Foundation (NNF) to coordinate Partnership activities. A first call for proposals was carried out and activities were quickly implemented, propelling the Partnership's objectives forward. A second call for proposals was done in 2008 which focused on activities related to (i) livelihood and income earning; (ii) forest fires and capacity building; (iii) illegal harvesting of resources; (iv) communication, information and awareness raising; and (v) increasing participation in forestry. A third agreement was signed in 2010, which prioritized the implementation of the following activities: (i) development of a fire management strategy (ii) development of a forestry research strategy (iii) construction of simplified conversion tables to determine amounts of timber and related values (iv) implementation of a detailed marula resource survey (v) formation of a forum focused on rangeland and bush encroachment to share information and responsibilities.

Namibia proposes a largely people centric Facility supported programme to address four objectives, including: (i) further strengthening the management of community forests in which attention will be focused on the forest management committees and the local communities they represent; (ii) facilitating the implementation of the recently developed Forest Research Strategy and thereby supporting management systems and increasing the economic benefits from the sustainable use of forest resources; (iii) linking forest management to water management as already practised elsewhere in Southern Africa to improve water yields and conserve biodiversity; and (iv) heightening awareness about forest policies, legislation and general forest management matters in 2011, in line with agreed upon international calls for national action.

The programme will further strengthen existing collaboration between DoF and other stakeholders; rural incomes will be enhanced through value added forest products and improved trade; and SFM will benefit from new financing mechanisms. Information on the alternative sources of wood for woodcarving, such as dead wood, and use of different species may significantly contribute to relieving pressure on the species currently in high demand. The eradication of an invasive alien plant from river basins, including the commercial utilization of encroaching bush, will yield ecological benefits and will make sub-surface water more available, thus allowing indigenous plants to recover. A realistic budget of USD 200 000 is requested to support activities presented in the CN.

The objectives are focused on furthering the work already accomplished during the 1st Facility Partnership and on drawing upon lessons learned. The planned actions and expected outputs are clearly defined in the CN

Points of Contact

24 Aug 2011

Assessment of the nfp

In order to assess the progress and status of the nfp process, the Facility and FAO have designed a matrix to provide a clearer picture of how the country nfp processing are evolving, which elements are well developed and which elements remain weak and in need of further attention. The matrix has been tested in the countries to ensure the relevance of its indicators.

The matrix contains indicators for each phase of the nfp process: analysis, policy formulation, implementation and monitoring and evaluation. The indicators are clustered according to the primary nfp principles: country ownership, inter- and intra-sectoral linkages, partnerships and participation.

The matrix below was completed by stakeholders, in a participatory way, during a national workshop.

Each indicator was rated as follows:

the indicator has not been developed
the indicator is absent from the country nfp process
the indicator exists but is incipient
the indicator is progressing well within the country nfp process
the indicator is completed to the country’s full satisfaction - can serve as a model for others to follow

Implemented Activities