Turning bush encroachment control into an economic opportunity in Namibia

UNIDO in partnership with the Ministry of Industrialization, Trade and SME Development (MITSMED), with the financial support from the Foreign Ministry of Finland, conducted a validation workshop to present the results of the inception phase of the project, “Promoting sustainable bush-processing value chains in Namibia” and a Strategic Action Plan. The project is in line with Namibia’s Fifth National Development Plan (NDP 5).

The project addresses the problem of bush encroachment, a natural phenomenon characterized by the excessive expansion of bush (trees and shrubs) at the expense of other plant species, especially grasses. Bush encroachment is estimated to affect up to 45 million hectares of Namibian land and has severe negative consequences on key ecosystem services, especially agricultural productivity and groundwater recharge. Agricultural productivity in Namibia has declined by two-thirds throughout the past decades, mainly due to the negative impact of bush encroachment. The phenomenon affects both commercial and communal farming in Namibia.

For more information, please read the online article, or contact: Mr. Farrukh Alimdjanov (F.Alimdjanov [at] unido.org (F[dot]Alimdjanov[at]unido[dot]org))