Biodiversity forms the foundation of life on Earth. It includes the variety of plants, animals, microorganisms, ecosystems, and genetic resources that support human well-being, food security, livelihoods, and economic development.
From the rivers and wetlands of northern Namibia to the deserts, savannahs, and coastal ecosystems that define the country’s natural heritage, biodiversity plays a central role in sustaining both ecological balance and human prosperity. Recognising the growing threats to biodiversity worldwide, countries came together in 1992 to adopt the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), one of the most important international environmental agreements.
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was established during the United Nations Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Convention has three main objectives: the conservation of biodiversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilisation of genetic resources.
Countries that are Parties to the Convention commit themselves to developing policies, strategies, and actions that support these objectives while reporting on their progress.
Namibia became a Party to the CBD in 1997 and has since played an active role in implementing biodiversity conservation and sustainable development initiatives.
The CBD provides the global framework that guides countries in protecting their natural resources while ensuring that biodiversity continues to benefit present and future generations.
For Namibia, this commitment is especially important because biodiversity contributes directly to tourism, agriculture, fisheries, water security, and community livelihoods.
As biodiversity loss continued to accelerate globally, the need for a more ambitious and coordinated approach became evident. In 2022, Parties to the CBD adopted the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). The GBF serves as a global roadmap for biodiversity conservation and sustainable use up to 2030 and beyond.
It contains four long-term goals and 23 global targets aimed at halting and reversing biodiversity loss while promoting sustainable development and human well-being.
While the CBD establishes the overall international agreement and commitments, the GBF provides a detailed framework that helps countries translate these commitments into practical actions and measurable outcomes.
To implement these global commitments at the national level, each country develops a National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP). The NBSAP serves as the primary national instrument for biodiversity planning, implementation, monitoring, and reporting.
Namibia has already developed and implemented two National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans. These plans have guided national efforts in biodiversity conservation, sustainable natural resource management, environmental education, and community participation.
Through the implementation of previous NBSAPs, Namibia has achieved significant progress in areas such as community-based natural resource management, wildlife conservation, protected area expansion, and the integration of biodiversity considerations into national development planning.
At the same time, challenges such as land degradation, habitat loss, invasive species, pollution, climate change, and unsustainable resource use continue to place pressure on Namibia’s ecosystems and biodiversity.
These pressures threaten not only wildlife and habitats but also the livelihoods of communities that depend directly on natural resources.
To address these emerging challenges and align national priorities with the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, Namibia is currently developing its Third National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP 3).
The new strategy will guide biodiversity conservation and sustainable use efforts for the period up to 2035/2036 and will provide a comprehensive framework for achieving both national and global biodiversity targets.
NBSAP 3 seeks to strengthen biodiversity governance, improve coordination across sectors, increase public participation, enhance monitoring and reporting systems, and ensure that biodiversity contributes to sustainable economic growth, climate resilience, food security, and community well-being.
Importantly, the development process involves extensive stakeholder consultations to ensure that the voices of communities, civil society organisations, government institutions, academia, and the private sector are reflected in the final strategy.
A key aspect of successfully implementing the NBSAP and in turn, the GBF, is ensuring that people understand biodiversity and their role in conserving it. Public awareness, environmental education, and community engagement are therefore essential components of biodiversity conservation.
Local communities are often the direct custodians and beneficiaries of natural resources, making their involvement critical to achieving long-term conservation outcomes.
In this regard, EduVentures has been working closely with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) through the Namibian country package of the GIZ Global Programme, “Strengthening National Implementation of Global Biodiversity Targets” (GBF Implementation) project to enhance biodiversity education and awareness at community level.
The GBF Implementation project is a global initiative commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and co-financed by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad).
It aims to support partner countries such as Namibia in aligning its National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).
With the support of the GIZ GBF Implementation Project EduVentures has carried out a range of educational and outreach activities, focused on increasing understanding of biodiversity, ecosystem services, conservation challenges, and Namibia’s commitments under the CBD and the Global Biodiversity Framework.
Community awareness campaigns, stakeholder engagement sessions, school-based educational activities, biodiversity training workshops, and public events have helped bring biodiversity issues closer to local people and encourage active participation in conservation efforts. These initiatives create platforms for dialogue, learning, and shared responsibility.
These efforts have also provided opportunities for communities to contribute their knowledge, experiences, and perspectives to national biodiversity discussions. By promoting dialogue between local communities, educators, government institutions, and conservation practitioners, EduVentures and GIZ are helping to bridge the gap between international biodiversity commitments and local action.
Such efforts ensure that biodiversity conservation is not only understood as a national responsibility but also as a shared commitment that benefits individuals, communities, and future generations. Conservation becomes more effective when people understand how biodiversity affects their everyday lives — from the food they eat and water they drink to the resilience of ecosystems against climate change.
As Namibia moves towards finalising and implementing NBSAP 3, continued collaboration among government, development partners, civil society organisations, educational institutions, and local communities will be essential. The CBD provides the global commitment, the GBF offers the strategic direction, and the NBSAP translates these ambitions into national action.
Through education, awareness, and community engagement, organisations such as EduVentures, with support from GIZ, play a vital role in ensuring that biodiversity conservation becomes a practical and meaningful part of everyday life.
This article marks the beginning of a special three-part series in Confidente Newspaper during the month of June, aimed at unpacking biodiversity conservation in Namibia and helping readers better understand the policies, processes, and actions shaping the country’s environmental future.
Through this series, we hope to spark meaningful public dialogue and encourage greater participation in protecting Namibia’s rich biodiversity. As the conversation continues in the coming weeks, readers are invited to reflect on their own role in safeguarding the natural heritage that sustains us all.
The future of biodiversity conservation will depend not only on policies and strategies, but on the collective actions and commitment of every Namibian.
By: Corris Kaapehi and Laina Abiatar, EduVentures
