Researchers have discovered that a mere 45% of Namibia’s population are aware of the impact of climate change, revealing a worrying knowledge gap in a region hard hit by environmental crises.
This revelation was made during a three-day transdisciplinary workshop in Windhoek this week, focused on raising awareness of the impact of climate change in Namibia. Vanessa Simataa, a project implementer, relayed the findings of the study, conducted in 2021 and 2022 across the Kavango East, Kunene, Omusati, and Zambezi regions.
The study shows that of those interviewed, only 18% raised concerns about increasingly devastating floods, while 39% mentioned severe drought in their localities. It seems that a substantial portion of the population is not adequately informed about the broader implications and causes of these natural disasters.
Those surveyed were primarily small-scale farmers, a group particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Many called for government aid in establishing small-scale gardens as a resilience measure against climate change’s negative impacts. Others requested drought-relief food packages and proposed the creation of more green schemes throughout the country. Crucially, there were widespread calls for the government to provide climate change education, highlighting the pressing need for awareness campaigns.
The workshop formed part of a larger project, titled ‘Social Climate Change Impacts and Sustainability Innovation in Southern Africa and Northern-South America’, initiated by PhD candidates Sara Luettich and Janek Riedel from Germany. Various stakeholders, including ministry representatives, private sector participants, NGOs, schools, academia, international donors, and local authorities, were brought together for the event.
Funded by Germany’s Ministry of Education and Research in collaboration with the Namibia University of Science and Technology (Nust), the project aims to spotlight the social dimension of climate change in Namibia, promoting grassroots initiatives and processes.
Amid growing concern, Namibia is currently ranked 107th out of 182 countries on a climate change vulnerability and adaptability index. With its semi-arid climate and heavy reliance on agriculture for rural livelihoods, Namibia faces a more precarious situation than many others.
As drought frequency appears to be on the rise, projections indicate that Namibia’s annual temperatures could increase by a significant 4°C over the next century, far outpacing the global average. This underlines the critical need for awareness and action to mitigate the impact of climate change on this vulnerable nation.
Image Credit: Li-An Lim on Unsplash
