Prime Minister Nahas Angula is expected to officially launch the Namibian Coast Conservation and Management (NACOMA) project in Swakopmund on Friday, 31 March, which will be attended by several Cabinet ministers. The Namibian government through its ministries of environment and tourism, regional, local government, housing and rural development and the Regional Councils of Karas, Hardap, Erongo and Kunene in collaboration with other line ministries have secured a US$4.9 million grant (some N$30 million) from the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) for the implementation of its NACOMA project. The World Bank acts as the implementing agency on behalf of the GEF. Namibia and the World Bank signed the agreement last October.

NACOMA is a coastal zone management plan to strengthen conservation, sustainable use, and mainstreaming of biodiversity in coastal and marine ecosystems in Namibia. The project targets a legal and institutional framework for sustainable ecosystem management of the coast; capacity-building, investments in critical ecosystems for biodiversity conservation and sustainable use as well as project management and performance monitoring. The World Bank’s Country Director for Southern Africa and NACOMA World Bank Task Team members will also attend the launching. The official launch was preceded by a workshop on Thursday by the project steering committee. More details are available at www.nacoma.org.na.