Zambezi River Basin

water levels, soil erosion, reduced soil fertility, increased salt content in soils, and loss of woody vegetation. The increase in cattle stocks is shown in Figure 4.30.

Carbon dioxide emissions have increased slightly since 1999 due to urban growth and increased use of fossil fuels, but the increase shown in Figure 4.32 is largely due to improvedmonitoring.

Carbon dioxide emissions in Namibia

Cattle stocks in Namibia

2.0 Metric Tonnes

3.5 Million

3.0

1.5

2.5

2.0

1.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

0.5

0

0

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Source: FAO 2010

Source: AfDB 2010

Figure 4.30

Figure 4.32

Reverse biodiversity loss by 2010 Despite the arid climate, Namibia is home to abundant biodiversity, including unique desert- adapted ecological communities, mega fauna, and productive coastal fisheries. Namibia has one of the largest remaining populations of the highly endangered black rhinoceros, with about three-quarters of the national rhino population found in Etosha National Park. The Government of Namibia has maintained the size of protected areas since independence in 1990 at 112 160 sq km, a respectable 14 per cent of the national surface area, shown in Figure 4.33.

Deforestation, soil erosion and desertification also threaten Namibia’s lands and forests with an estimated 90 per cent of land at high risk (FAO 2003). If the rate of clearing continues as it has been over the past 53 years in the Caprivi Strip in particular, all land in this region will have been cleared for crops by the year 2082, while all areas with soils rated as having the best potential for cultivation will have been cleared by 2033 (FAO 2009). While Namibia is not heavily forested, Figure 4.31 shows a 17 per cent drop in the proportion of land area covered by forests since 1990. Just 8.8 per cent of the country was covered by forests in 2010.

Protected areas share of total land area in Namibia 0

Change in proportion of land area covered by forests in Namibia

14%

Percentage

15

10

Source: SADC and SARDC 2008

5

Figure 4.33

Threats to biodiversity include over-grazing, agriculture and mining (WWF 2006). Figure 4.34 shows that there are 58 threatened species in Namibia, an increase of 60 per cent in less than a decade, although some increase in the figure is due to new areas of study that have not been previously researched.

0

1990

1995

2000

2005

2010

Source: FAO 2009, 2010

Figure 4.31

97