Flamingo - Travel & Tourism - Discover Namibia’s national parks
Namibia’s Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) is custodian to some of the biggest, oldest and most spectacular parks on our planet. The national protected area network of the MET covers 140 394 km2, 17 per cent of the country. While the Etosha National and Namib-Naukluft parks make up the cornerstone of the Namibian tourism experience, gems like Khaudum, Bwabwata and Namibia’s newest national park, the Sperrgebiet, are less well known but no less worth exploring. All the country’s protected areas, each with something unique to offer, are now being celebrated in the first official series of park brochures and fact sheets.
The MET, in conjunction with the UNDP/GEF-supported Strengthening the Protected Area Network (SPAN) Project, has produced the brochures and fact sheets to provide information that will enrich visitor experience in the national parks.
Enhanced by outstanding photography and en-gaging text, the information contained in the brochures and fact sheets is designed to transform a visit to one of our national parks from passive observation to one of interactive engagement and appreciation that fosters learning and support for conservation issues.
With details on places to visit, conservation successes and challenges, and park facilities and activities, the brochures and fact sheets provide important information for today’s discerning tourists and for Namibians alike.
At the recent launch of the brochures and fact sheets in Windhoek, the Minister of Environment and Tourism and a former teacher, the Honourable Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, noted that, “Knowledge is power, and these brochures empower us to explore our parks more fully and gain more from the experience.”
The thirteenth brochure in the series, a striking 20-page compilation brochure, is a very special book on Namibia’s national parks and there are very special plans for it. The compilation booklet will be sold through the Friends of Parks initiative, a consortium of supporters from the business community, institutions and individuals throughout Namibia who are working together to help unlock the economic and social potential of Namibia’s national parks. All proceeds will go to the Friends of Parks initiative and, through them, back into the parks. For example, the money could be used to fund another print run or repair a solar pump at a waterhole in one of the parks.
To learn more about the Friends of Parks initiative and its mission to support the National Park System in Namibia through financial assistance, volunteer efforts and an increase in awareness about the needs of Namibia’s unique environment, contact friendsofparks@span.org.na.
Friends of Parks is supported by SPAN, the Strengthening the Protected Area Network Project. SPAN, a Ministry of Environment and Tourism project, is aimed at increasing the effectiveness of the national protected area network in Namibia for biodiversity conservation. www.span.org.na
