Sustainable Land Management in Northern Namibia: Opportunities to integrate local and scientific knowledge based on an understanding of land use potential

This paper, presented at a public lecture at the Polytechnic of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia, has the following main points:

• Northern Namibia faces great challenges in sustaining and increasing agricultural production due to widespread soil and vegetation degradation. 
• Degradation does not appear to be as widespread as in other semi-arid areas of the world, such as the southwestern United States, but it is increasing.
• Experiences in the United States indicate that irreversible degradation can occur in as little as a few decades.
• Some lands are more productive, and more vulnerable than others.
• If these lands can be reliably identified, management can be targeted to increase sustainability.
• Both scientific and local knowledge are needed to support sustainable land management.
• Namibia is fortunate to have both excellent universities and other experts with strong scientific  knowledge, and farmers who have a tremendous amount of local knowledge.
• A ‘Land Potential Knowledge System’ (LKPS) is needed to collect, integrate, synthesize and make available knowledge on the land’s potential to produce, and resist degradation.
• This system would help farmers choose sustainable land management systems, and development organizations to target their work where it will have the greatest impact, and to avoid investments leading to unintended consequences.

To download the paper, kindly follow the link below.

Source: Millenium Challenge Account

NB: Press Cutting Service
This article is culled from daily press coverage from around the world. It is posted on the Urban Gateway by way of keeping all users informed about matters of interest. The opinion expressed in this article is that of the author and in no way reflects the opinion of UN-Habitat.