Namibia faces significant challenges from bush encroached land with estimates of 45 million hectares affected by this national phenomenon. Turning this challenge into an opportunity requires innovation and partnership. In its joint efforts to showcase the present solutions to the bush encroachment problem in Namibia and take the Namibian biomass industry forward, the Namibia Biomass…
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De-bushing Advisory Service: a repository for information and capacity building on sustainable bush control
Bush encroachment of farmland in Namibia, whether commercial, resettlement or communal, has been recognized as an area requiring priority attention, given its impact on land productivity and grazing capacity as cited in NDP4 and NDP5 respectively. Efforts to reclaim land through bush control activities have been undertaken by some, using manual,chemical, mechanical and biological methods. …
NUST on Travelling University assignment with the University of Trier
The University of Science and Technology in collaboration with the Institute for Applied Material Flow Management (IfaS) of the University of Trier, Germany, recently concluded a 10 days pre-feasibility assignment for the development of a biomass hub concept to create added value from encroacher bush. The travelling university consisted of 16 post-graduate students (Masters and…
DAS hosts its first Farmers Information Sharing Session in Khomas
In collaboration with the Directorate of Agricultural Production Extension Engineering Services (DAPEES) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry (MAWF), the De-bushing Advisory Service hosted its first information sharing session on bush encroachment management in Windhoek on the 28 March 2018 at the DAPEES office. This information session was attended by farmers from Khomas,…
North West University excursion in Namibia
A group of researchers and students guided by Professor Klaus Kellner from the North-West University in Potchefstroom, South Africa recently visited Namibia on an excursion to explore synergies on bush control projects, with academic institutions and relevant industry stakeholders. The group met up with the De-bushing Advisory Service and presented the Bush Expert system. This…
Developing a Monitoring and Evaluation System for Bush Control
The De-bushing Advisory Service held a consultative stakeholder workshop on the development of a monitoring and evaluation system for bush control in Namibia. The system is aimed at capturing up to date information on bush control and biomass utilisation sector. The system will measure performance indicators on institutional capacities, research and development, bush control activities,…
Launch of Bush Expert Decision Support System and Bush Control Manual
Today, we launched the Expert Decision Support System booklet on how to control bush thickening by Acacia Mellifera and the Bush Control Manual. The publications were launched by the Director of Forestry, Joseph Hailwa at the National Rangeland Management and Bush Encroachment Forum held at Agra Ring in Windhoek. During his brief remarks, Hailwa emphasised…
Risk analysis and mitigation measures for HIV/AIDS in bush control operations
The National HIV/AIDS prevalence rate is currently at 16.9 % according to Ministry of Health and Social Services , which shows a high infection rate among people in Namibia. It is crucial to educate and raise awareness on the risks and impacts of HIV/AIDS for each bush harvesting and biomass utilisation operation. Sector organizations are…
Managing the spread of Prosopis invasive species, a case of Southern Namibia
Prosopis invasion has tremendous negative effects on biodiversity and water resource management in Southern Namibia. There are three Prosopis species in Namibia, with the most occurring one being P. glandulosa found in riverbeds and along dry water courses. These species are known to be aggressively invasive as they outcompete indigenous species. As with bush encroachment,…
Namibia could benefit from bush control
Bush encroachment has increased significantly in Namibia. The scale is alarming. It is estimated that more than 30 million hectares (30 per cent) of farmland are affected by bush thickening. This has negative impacts on some of Namibia’s key ecosystem services, such as livestock production, groundwater recharge and tourism, as well as biodiversity. The GIZ Economics…