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This month officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry (MAWF) the Regional Government of Kavango, the German Embassy, German Development Service (DED), Traditional Authorities and the civic society have celebrated the "gazetting" of 5 community forests in the Kavango region by MAWF in northeastern Namibia. Four of these 5 forests are supported by the German-Namibian project "Community Forestry in North Eastern Namibia (CFNEN).

On 14 February the CFNEN-supported communities of N’caute, Ncumcara, Ncamagoro, Mbeyo in the Kavango region, Masida, Lubuta, Bukalo in the Caprivi Region and M’kata in Otjozondjupa were officially recognized as community forests in the Government Gazette.

The official celebration including the handing over of certificates of declaration of community forests was held recently in Ncumcara, 30 kilometers south of Rundu - one of the newly established community forests.

The Forest Management Committees (FMCs) as well as hundreds of people of the respective communities also came to see the celebration.

At the same occasion, the Permanent Secretary S. Kahioro Kahuure inaugurated the new community forest building in Ncumcara.

Another community forest building was inaugurated the following day in N’caute, 60 kilometers from Rundu. The two new structures are now hosting the offices of the Forest Management Committees.

The project "Community Forestry in North-Eastern Namibia (CFNEN)" is a cooperation of the Directorate of Forestry under the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry, Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KFW) and the German Development Service (Deutscher Entwicklungsdienst, DED). The project assists local communities in the establishment of community forests and their sustainable management and utilization.

As a core program of the Directorate of Forestry and an important component of the German-Namibian Development Cooperation, community forestry contributes also to the achievement of Millennium Development Goals such as environmental sustainability, poverty reduction and gender equality.

Since 1999, the German Development Service supports the project by deploying ten professionals to the Directorate of Forestry in the regions of Otjozondjupa, Kavango and Caprivi. The professionals provide technical assistance for the establishment of community forests and for designing and implementing forest management plans. They also offer training and capacity building of community members for resource management, product processing and marketing activities. CFNEN furthermore promotes orchards and vegetable gardens in cooperation with the Directorate of Extension and Engineering Services (DEES) and Regional Agricultural Development Centers (ADC) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry.

The Forest Act, No. 12, 2001 provided the legal framework for the establishment of community forests in Namibia.

The long awaited publication in the Government Gazette ("gazetting") gives local communities management rights over forest resources previously under control of the Namibian Government. The Forest Management Committees now have the right to issue permits for the use of forest products such as trees and firewood. These Committees are democratically elected bodies that represent the interests of the community; implement forest management plans and supervise forest-related activities. The generated income helps to support the development of the whole community and the protection of natural resources. (By Kristina Schmidt and Wolfgang Adamek, slightly shortened)

Photo:

Daniel Lufino, Petrus Hamba and. Reino Ngwezi, (left to right) chairpersons of the forest management committees of Mbeyo, Ncaute and Ncamagoro communities, proudly presenting their Certificates of Declaration of a Community Forest after receiving them from the permanent secretary of the agriculture ministry of Agriculture Mr Kahioro Kahuure. Photo: Wolfgang Adamek CFNEN: