Options Paper
Climate Change Adaptation Viewpoints Namibia Series
Vol.1, No. 1, June 2010
Flood and drought management subsidies
John Ishila and Juliane Zeidler, Adaptation Working Group (AWG), Investment and Financial Flows
(I&FF) Assessment, Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET), Windhoek, Namibia
Policy conclusions

The government should reviews the National drought and Disasters Risk Management policies
to develop new policy measures in response to climate change impacts such as drought and
floods, correlated to the current situations and assessment undertaken by CBA programme.

A national strategy and action plan for climate change must be developed and become the
basis for implementation of the program. To support farmers, and rural communities in
preparing for future challenges, rather than waiting until they are in crisis to offer assistance

The Namibia climate change committee (NCCC) should continue to provide advice to the
government on future policies for climate change as well as the financial resources and
capacity requirements that will be needed to implement a national climate change
programmes.

Basic approaches to drought risk reduction need to be taken into consideration to ensure
political commitment to disaster risk reduction, at various levels, through policy development,
legislation, organizational development and promoting community action
Namibia’s Investment and Financial Flows
Assessment to Address Climate Change
working groups to elaborate Namibia’s I&FF
Assessment since February 2010.
The Government of Namibia (GRN) under the
leadership of its Ministry of Environment and
Tourism (MET) is engaging in a first of its kind
assessment, determining current investments
into key sectors and projected future costs for
successfully addressing climate change, both
through adaptation and mitigation. Namibia is
one of 21 countries worldwide supported by the
United Nations Development Programme to
undertake such a study.
This Option Paper series focusing on Climate
Change Adaptation (CCA) Viewpoints is
presenting some of the key discussion points
and findings of the Adaptation Working Group
(AWG), and are intended to inform debates on
key adaptation decision making in Namibia.
Representatives from various government
ministries and institutions, in collaboration with
private sector experts have been working
together on an inter-ministerial committee and
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Adaptation Focal Sector: Agriculture with
linkages to LULUCF
At the onset of the I&FF Assessment, the
National Climate Change Committee (NCCC),
chaired by MET, determined the initial key
sector that was to be investigated. It was
decided that the Agriculture Sector with making
linkages to the much broader Land Use, Land
Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) Sector
should be the focus of the initial investigations.
Whereas the full I&FF Adaptation Assessment
Report is available at http://xxxx, and other
volumes in this Option Paper series are
providing succinct summaries thereof, this
current CCA Viewpoint is presenting policy
relevant research information on a selected
case study that was undertaken by AWG
members to enrich the Assessment. The
following case study topics are presented in the
series:
(i) Mahangu – a suitable dryland crop?
(ii) Cotton & Rice – food alternatives
under changing climatic conditions?
(iii) Aquaculture – is there a real
potential?
(iv) Indigenous livestock – what is the
value?
(v) Game and wildlife – better adapted
land and resource uses?
(vi) Flood and drought subsidies
(vii) Weather forecasting and decision
making tools
region, Ohangwena, Omusati, Oshana and
small portion of Oshikoto Region.
Since 2008, heavy rains falls in northern and
north eastern Namibia, compounded by severe
rainfall in the neighbouring countries of Angola
and Zambia, have led to flooding and left the
majority of the rural poor in the country
homeless and loss their property. The floods
affected 350,000 people (nearly 17% of the
country’s population), (Ocha, 2009). Referring
to the 2006 same situation also happen when
Heavy rains in central Namibia caused three
rivers in the Mariental constituency catchments
areas to swell up, raising the level of the
Hardap Dam to its capacity level. Due to risk of
collapse of the dam by the pressure of water,
Nam Water opened the gates of the dam. The
water was released in the ‘Fish River’ situated
between Hardap Dam and the town of
Mariental. The river flooded Mariental,
displacing 2,100 people (330 households),
submerging 122 houses, 80 businesses,
(DREF, 2006).
Role and Responsibility in drought Flood
management in Namibia
Full report available
This Options Paper is based on work undertaken in
support of a full-length report, Investment and Financial
Flows for Addressing Adaptation to Climate Change in
Namibia. The report was prepared by the interministerial Adaptation Working Group (AWG) and can
be obtained from the Directorate of Environmental
Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Environment and Tourism
(MET) in Windhoek, Namibia.
Contact: Uazamo Kaura or Reagan Chunga,
Tel: + 264 -61-284-2111
E-mail: uazamo@met.na or sibanga@gmail.com
It can be downloaded from http://xxx
Why Drought and flood management are
important to Namibia’s Investment and
Financial Flows Assessment to Address
Climate Change
In Namibia, events like droughts and floods
occur more frequently due to the increase in
temperature which is predicted in the whole
country. Large amount of rainfall is expected to
occur in a short period time of rain season, due
to the predicted increase of late summer
convective rainfall over Namibia. Therefore this
might have implications for the frequency of
floods in northern regions, mainly Caprivi
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Directorate of Emergency Management (DEM)
in the Office of Prime Minister (OPM) and
Regional Emergency Management Units
(REMUs) and other NGOs organization in
Namibia are playing major role in addressing
and responding to the issues of disaster risk
management. In line with the decentralization
policy the intention of the National Drought
Policy
was
to
establish
emergency
management structures at constituency and
village levels. Although REMUS engages with
traditional leaders in their regions to respond to
drought and floods, these structures at
constituency and village levels are in reality
and not in actually in place.
Planning and future intervention
The Government of Namibia has implemented
and continues to implement a set of measures
to counteract the effects of climate change
(flood and Drought) and rising food prices on
the national food security situation of the
country. According to NEPRU report on
Namibia Agriculture and Future Scenarios for
Southern Africa Country its stating that,
Government has already direct actions in place
and planned one in process, to address the
issue of food security in the country. Namibia
is also aim of creating systems and capacities
requirements for long-term and comprehensive
climate change adaptation, through Namibia
Africa Adaptation Project (NAM-AAP), (UNDP,
2010). It will basically focus on strengthening
planning mechanisms to help Namibia cope
with climate change vulnerabilities, particularly
flood and drought risks.
What are the key challenges – and what is
needed for strong adaptation?


Adaptation, Namibia received insufficient
early warning information from the
Zambezi River Basin Authority and from
the Okavango River Basin Commission
and collaboration with these two Regional
Commissions should be strengthened in
the future.
Training and awareness, Poor capacity on
improving community knowledge’s on
anticipatory and responsive adaptation
strategies to ensure sustainability.
Government expenditure
investments budgets.
and
flood response, it comes when the government
spend the total amount of N$12,169,340.62 in
response to the heavy floods that affected
largely the eastern and western regions in
Namibia. In addition the OPM also received the
amount of N$5,134,388.00 from local and
international donor, (DEM, 2008).
Responding to the flood of 2009, the
government expenditure was based on a total
of N$104,199,005 budget.
Government expenditure on flood response
2009
projected
The 2003/4 drought cost the government about
N$ 275 Million in provision of emergency relief
(IIED, 2007). In 2008-9 a government spend
the amount of N$6.8 million, on subsidy
programme consisting of both input (seed and
fertilizer) and service (ploughing and weeding)
to communal farmers in dry land crop regions.
There was no separate Government budget for
responding to the flood disaster in the past on
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Source: Directorate Emergency Management. 2009
Due to MRGHRD short to medium and long
term future plans which was drafted last year, a
total of N$ 578,337,083.00 is required to the
projected interventions to reduce vulnerabilities
of flood disaster in the flood prone areas in
urban areas of Oshakati and Ongwediva towns.
1. References
DEM, 2008. Report on Nation Response. Floods Disaster. OPM. Windhoek. Namibia.
DEM, 2009. Report on Nation Response on Floods Disaster, Government expenditure
on flood
response. Windhoek , Namibia.
FTS, 2009. OCHA Report, Funding to Namibia Flash Appeal against the original
requirements. United Nation. New York. New York. Retrieved from,
www.humanitarianappeal.net.
Accessed on the 6th April 2010.
M. Froystad et al, 2008. NEPRU Working Paper No. 113. Agriculture: Future
Scenarios for Southern Africa Country Briefing-Namibia. Windhoek. Namibia.
OCHA, 2009. Namibia Revision Flash Appeal. Humanitarian Consequences and need
analysis.
United Nation. New York. Retrieved from,
www.humanitarianappeal.net. Accessed on the 6th April 2010.
Sweet, R.J. 1997. Towards sustainable range management in communal areas.
Proceedings of
7th Congress of the Agricultural Scientific Society of Namibia, Windhoek.
Sweet, R.J. 1998. Guidelines for livestock development and sustainable range
management in
NOLIDEP pilot communities. Northern Regions Livestock Development Project
(NOLIDEP), Windhoek.
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