India rejects Nam cheetahs

A MULTI-MILLION project to introduce Namibian cheetahs to India after 60 years of extinction there was halted by the Indian Supreme Court yesterday.

The court hearing was a result of objections filed by the state of Gujarat against the Indian government’s decision to undertake Project Cheetah, armed with a budget of about N$452,4 million, to restore the animal’s lost heritage in that country. The cheetahs were supposed to be reintroduced to the Palpur-Kuno sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh which is in the state of Gujarat.
In 2009 Namibia’s Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) was invited by the Indian authorities to participate in the planned programme, but the Supreme Court with its judgement yesterday killed the project in its tracks.
In the first phase 15 cheetahs would have been imported by the Indian government from Namibia and then supplemented every two to five years as needed. Overall about 45 cheetahs, donated by CCF, would have been reintroduced to India. The court said that the imports from Namibia would not have help conservation in India in any way, therefore, the project was being stayed.
“Why are you bothered about cheetah in Africa? Let us give priority to our own species,” the top court observed while hearing a case relating to the proposed shifting of a few Asiatic Lions to the sanctuary from Gujarat.
The court further stated that proper approvals were not given by the National Board of Wildlife.
“The cheetah reintroduction project is poorly conceived scientifically and has very little probability of establishing a viable population of wild cheetahs in India over the longer term. It therefore is a distraction and waste of scare conservation resources” says wildlife biologist Ullas Karanth of the Wildlife Conservation Society in Bangalore.
In the meantime Environment and Tourism Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah told The Namibian that she is aware that the Indian government was interested in importing cheetahs from Namibia.
However, she said her office did not receive any export application in this regard. “Cheetahs form part of the endangered species in terms of CITES’ classification and I have to give permission for the movements of these animals.”
Executive Director of the CCF Dr Laurie Marker is currently in the US and told The Namibian that she does not want to comment on the issue at this stage.

By: JAN POOLMAN
Derived from The Namibian

Fish River Hike opening postponed

Opening postponed … The Ministry of Environment and Tourism has announced that due to the strong flow of the Fish River, the canyon will not be opened on 1 May, as is usually the case. The new opening date is 15 May, 2012, depending on the level of the water. The canyon is now considered unsafe for hikers and because of the serious safety hazard, visitors will have to wait a bit longer to access one of nature’s great wonders.

Derived from: New Era

Namib dunes in contention for global heritage status

Namibia has submitted the ‘Namib Sand Sea’ for nomination as a World Heritage Site.
If successfully listed as a World Heritage Site, the Namib Sand Sea would be the second in the country, after Twyfelfontein, which was declared as a World Heritage Site in 2007.

The Namibia National Commission for UNESCO has submitted the Namib Sand Sea Nomination Dossier to the World Heritage Centre.

Although the entire Namib Desert, extending over 2, 000 km from South Africa through Namibia to south-western Angola, exemplifies elements of the natural criteria worthy of inscription, their integrity and management are not all as well developed as that of the Namib Sand Sea.

The boundary of the Namib Sand Sea lies within the Namib Naukluft Park, south of the Kuiseb River in central Namibia.
Starting from Sesriem in the centre of the eastern boundary, the envisaged site boundary extends southwards to a point where the boundary of the Naukluft meets the border of farms Kanaan and Kamaland.

It further extends west-southwest to Gibraltar on the coast before following the coastline north to the Sandwich Harbour Ramsar site.
The northern boundary then heads inland to the Kuiseb River, skirting an area earmarked for bulk water production boreholes, from where it bends along the southern bank of the dry Kuiseb riverbed before turning south, encompassing a small extent of gramadullas with incomparable vistas over the sand sea, past the Gaub River tributary to Sesriem.

The identified site is considered to be essentially pristine dune-scapes, entirely encompassed within the Namib Naukluft Park under the management of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism.

The southern extremity of the Namib Naukluft Park and the Namib Sand Sea were excluded from the proposed property based on the presence of active Exclusive Prospecting Licences, the fossil aquifer, which supplies water to the town of Lüderitz and the intention to leave some of the area available for potentially destructive adventure dune tourism.

The Namib Sand Sea encompasses vast panoramas of majestic dune-scapes, strikingly crystallised in sharply silhouetted forms continually transformed with wind and time.

The Welwitschia Mirabilis is the next in line, which could be nominated as a World Heritage Site.

The plant can only be found in Namibia and some parts of Angola.

Derived from: New Era

Rising Kavango River closes Lodges

RUNDU - Lodges situated along the Kavango River have temporarily halted business operations due to threatening floods.
Most of the lodges are either surrounded by water, flooding some of the infrastructure, while others are worried that the situation may become uncontrollable.

National water utility NamWater said last week that the water levels have reached 8.07 metres, sparking fears that floods will soon reach some of the town’s accommodation facilities, especially those situated along the river banks.

The Sarasungu and Hakusembe River Lodges have already suspended operations, as roads leading to the lodges are flooded.
Currently all bookings are cancelled and tourists are referred to other accommodation facilities at Rundu.

Meanwhile, other lodges have sought alternatives to lessen the impact of floods on their businesses.
The Operations Manager at the Nkwazi Lodge, Peter Peypers, said they had started filling up the premises with sand since last November.

Peypers explained that all 13 rooms, the dining area and the bar are above the water level and only the camping site is affected.
He further pointed out that although it is a low season for tourists, those visiting the lodge are ferried in by boat.

Derived from: New Era

Namibians to take part in Earth Hour

Switch off for Mother Earth

Namibians are encouraged to switch off their lights on Saturday, March 31 to celebrate Earth Hour and show their support for environmentally sustainable action.

The lights should be switched off for one hour between 20h30 and 21h30.
Earth Hour's 'I will if you will' concept invited individuals and organisations to challenge each other and others to an ongoing commitment beyond the hour. 
Earth Hour began in one city in 2007 and by 2011 it had reached over 1,8 billion people in 135 countries across every continent, receiving reports as the World's largest campaign for the planet.
Earth Hour was conceived by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and The Sydney Morning Herald in 2007 when 2,2 million residents of Sidney participated by turing off all non-essential lights.
Since then the event has grown with more and more people participating and more cities and landmarks going dark.

The human population is currently consuming resources at a faster rate than ecosystems can regenerate them.

People are encouraged not only to switch off their lights for one hour on March 31 but to also get involved in conservation, decreasing their carbon footprint and looking after their environment after Earth Hour.

Derived from: The Namibian