Namibia's flood damages top US$241 million, climate change effects imminent

The Economist (Namibia): The director-general of the National Planning Commission, Peter Katjavivi, has said that, apart from facing the challenges posed by the current financial and economic crises, Namibia is faced with the direct consequences of climate change.

Katjavivi said in a speech delivered in London that in terms of its arid environment, recurrent drought and desertification, Namibia is extremely susceptible to the negative effects of climate change.

He said the government recognises that this phenomenon is considered one of the most serious threats to the country’s environment, human health and well being, as well as its economic development, which is very dependent on agricultural production. He said a vulnerability and adaptation assessment to climate change was recently carried out.

“These climate change-related vulnerabilities present an immense challenge to Namibia. This threat is immediate and grave,” Katjavivi said. He pointed out that as a result of the changing weather patterns, the country’s northern and north eastern parts (six out of thirteen regions) were devastated by the severe floods of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009, exacerbating the impact of the international financial and economic crisis on the overall economy.

“Preliminary assessment undertaken by a team of experts headed by the World Bank, and including the UN, EC, USAID, working closely with the Namibian government, estimated the damages and losses to be US$241 million,” he said. The most affected sectors include infrastructure, agriculture, and small and medium scale industries, which are at heart of the affected regions, he said….

An aerial photo of Zambezi River at the junction of Namibia, Zamibia, Zimbabwe and Botswana, shot by Brian McMorrow, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5 License