1.2 Contact details of resource persons and institutions involved in the assessment and documentation of the Approach

Name of project which facilitated the documentation/ evaluation of the Approach (if relevant)

GIZ Support to De-bushing Project

Name of project which facilitated the documentation/ evaluation of the Approach (if relevant)

Book project: Guidelines to Rangeland Management in Sub-Saharan Africa (Rangeland Management)

Name of the institution(s) which facilitated the documentation/ evaluation of the Approach (if relevant)

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)

1.3 Conditions regarding the use of data documented through WOCAT

When were the data compiled (in the field)?

01/06/2015

The compiler and key resource person(s) accept the conditions regarding the use of data documented through WOCAT:

Yes

2.1 Short description of the Approach

Public and private stakeholders in Namibia are cooperating in the national Bush Control and Biomass Utilisation programme. There are three components: (1) Creation of an enabling framework, (2) Advisory Services and (3) Value Chain Development.

2.2 Detailed description of the Approach

Detailed description of the Approach:

Namibia is affected by bush encroachment on a massive scale: it affects some 45 million hectares in 9 of the 14 regions. Bush encroachment has lowered the carrying capacity of rangeland by up to two thirds. It further severely reduces biodiversity and limits the recharge of groundwater.
Various factors contribute to the acceleration of bush encroachment. A primary cause is overgrazing: the grass layer loses its competitive advantage and greater infiltration of water and nutrients into the sub-soil results, benefiting bush and tree species. Other factors are the reduction in the frequency of wildfires, and the exclusion of wildlife browsers through fencing for livestock.
The “state-and-transition model” describes how savannah ecosystems are event-driven, where rainfall variation impacts on vegetation growth and its composition. Woody plants establish themselves after dry periods followed by a few wet years, and then maintain themselves by utilizing most of the water. But a savannah can be changed back to its grass-dominated state by management or favorable environmental conditions.
Bush encroachment is accompanied by the loss of perennial grasses, which are replaced by annuals of inferior quality and productivity – thus livestock production becomes precarious and less sustainable.
Despite its negative impacts, the encroaching bush has developed into a huge surplus biomass resource, estimated at about 200 to 300 million tonnes. Measures used to combat bush encroachment create positive opportunities for the Namibian economy, such as the use of the resource for power generation and value chain development in other sectors.
Bush harvesting therefore offers the potential to increase economic growth, employment and energy security, while benefiting agriculture and food production.
In line with national development plans, which promote domestic value addition for local resources, the approach strengthens the restoration of productive rangeland. It triggers and drives large-scale bush thinning activities.
The programme will foster institutional development in the biomass sector and provide support to improve the legal and regulatory framework for the upscaling of bush control. It has three components:
(1) Creation of an enabling framework: harmonization of sector policies and improvement of relevant regulations; strengthening of institutional capacities.
(2) Advisory Services: strengthening of existing farmer outreach services and knowledge dissemination to farmers, businesses and public sector decision makers.
(3) Value Chain Development: identification and piloting of relevant value chains for encroacher bush as a trigger for bush control.
It is implemented through a collaboration of public and private stakeholders. Coordination is ensured through a cross-sector steering committee, which includes the Ministries of National Planning (chair), Agriculture, Environment, Energy, and Industrialisation.
Key outputs of the programme include:
Enabling Environment:
- Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)
- Introduction of Harvesting Authorisations Guidelines
- Development of dedicated financial products (loan subsidy schemes).
Institutions:
- Introduction of the De-bushing Advisory Service (DAS)
- Introduction of the Namibia Biomass Industry Group (N-BiG)
- Re-organisation of the Namibia Charcoal Association (NCA).
Knowledge:
- Compilation of baseline data on bush encroachment and bush control
- Technical know-how on value chain technologies and concepts
- Compilation of relevant regulations and environmental principles.
Value Chain Development:
- Piloting of various value chains, including modernized charcoal production, bush based animal feed and household cooking fuel.

2.3 Photos of the Approach

2.5 Country/ region/ locations where the Approach has been applied

2.6 Dates of initiation and termination of the Approach

2.7 Type of Approach

• project/ programme based

2.8 Main aims/ objectives of the Approach

Develop, test and upscale the implementation of bush control technologies in Namibia.

2.9 Conditions enabling or hindering implementation of the Technology/ Technologies applied under the Approach

3.1 Stakeholders involved in the Approach and their roles

3.2 Involvement of local land users/ local communities in the different phases of the Approach

	Involvement of local land users/ local communities	Specify who was involved and describe activities
initiation/ motivation	self-mobilization	High awareness and mobilisation within the farming community.
planning	interactive	Good participation in public workshops and conferences.
implementation	self-mobilization	Implementation of bush control by individual farmers.
monitoring/ evaluation	passive	Very limited monitoring and evaluation through individual land owners.

3.3 Flow chart (if available)

3.4 Decision-making on the selection of SLM Technology/ Technologies

Specify who decided on the selection of the Technology/ Technologies to be implemented:

• all relevant actors, as part of a participatory approach

Specify on what basis decisions were made:

• evaluation of well-documented SLM knowledge (evidence-based decision-making)
• research findings
• personal experience and opinions (undocumented)

4.1 Capacity building/ training

Was training provided to land users/ other stakeholders?

Yes

Specify who was trained:

• field staff/ advisers

Form of training:

• on-the-job
• demonstration areas
• public meetings

Subjects covered:

- Environmental and forestry policy and policy emplementation (training for government officials from regional offices)
- Implementation of bush control and biomass processing (training for farmers and SMEs)

4.2 Advisory service

Do land users have access to an advisory service?

Yes

Specify whether advisory service is provided:

• at permanent centres

Describe/ comments:

Advisory services through the De-bushing Advisory Service (DAS, www.dasnamibia.org)

4.3 Institution strengthening (organizational development)

Have institutions been established or strengthened through the Approach?

• yes, greatly

Specify the level(s) at which institutions have been strengthened or established:

• national

Describe institution, roles and responsibilities, members, etc.

Launch of
- De-bushing Advisory Service (DAS)
- Namibia Biomass Industry Group (N-BiG)

Re-organisation of
- Namibia Charcoal Association (NCA)

Specify type of support:

• financial
• capacity building/ training
• equipment

• Institutional Development

Give further details:

Three sector institutions have been supported in order to achieve increased coordination of efforts. The Namibia Biomass Industry Group (N-BiG) is a non-profit association, representing the interest of bush harvesting and processing companies. The De-bushing Advisory Service (DAS) is a national platform for the dissemination of knowledge on the topics of bush encroachment, bush control and biomass utilisation.

The Namibia Charcoal Association (NCA) represents the already well established charcoal production sector. Through a re-organisation process, the association has been strengthended and turned into a fully functioning sector representation.

The three organisations are planned to consolidate their efforts in the near future in order to achieve a better alignment of their mandates and synergies of activities.

4.4 Monitoring and evaluation

Is monitoring and evaluation part of the Approach?

Yes

Comments:

National Bush Information System
- Scope of bush encroachment
- Scope of bush control activities
- Success rate of bush control methodologies, incl. secondary impacts (employment)

If yes, is this documentation intended to be used for monitoring and evaluation?

No

4.5 Research

Was research part of the Approach?

Yes

Specify topics:

• economics / marketing
• ecology
• technology

Give further details and indicate who did the research:

Collaboration with scientific institutions and networks on:
- Identification and development of suitable technology
- Correlation with ecosystem services, e.g. grounwater recharge and biodiversity
- Identification of market for bush based products.

5.1 Annual budget for the SLM component of the Approach

If precise annual budget is not known, indicate range:

• > 1,000,000

Comments (e.g. main sources of funding/ major donors):

Pooling of resources between national government, international donors and private sector.

5.2 Financial/ material support provided to land users

Did land users receive financial/ material support for implementing the Technology/ Technologies?

No

5.3 Subsidies for specific inputs (including labour)

• none

If labour by land users was a substantial input, was it:

• voluntary

5.4 Credit

Was credit provided under the Approach for SLM activities?

Yes

Specify conditions (interest rate, payback, etc.):

Commercial loans with grace period of up to 3 years and interest rate of 7-8%.

Specify credit providers:

Commercial banks: First National Bank (FNB), Agribank
Development Bank of Namibia (DBN)
Environmental Investment Fund (EIF).

Specify credit receivers:

- Individual households/farmers
- Service providers/business

5.5 Other incentives or instruments

Were other incentives or instruments used to promote implementation of SLM Technologies?

Yes

If yes, specify:

Development of authorisations guidelines and review of regulations with regard to Environmental Management Plans (EMPs) and Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs).

6.1 Impacts of the Approach

6.2 Main motivation of land users to implement SLM

6.3 Sustainability of Approach activities

Can the land users sustain what has been implemented through the Approach (without external support)?

• yes

If yes, describe how:

Land users have the capacity to implement bush control, either with own means (mainly manual and semi-mechanised bush harvesting) or through the involvement of service providers (mainly fully mechanised bush harvesting for the supply of large-scale off-takers).

6.4 Strengths/ advantages of the Approach

Strengths/ advantages/ opportunities in the land user’s view
Financial viability of bush control through the introduction of value chains (as compared to mere removal of the biomass).
Improved access to information and know how.
Improved advocacy/ communication with government authorities.

Strengths/ advantages/ opportunities in the compiler’s or other key resource person’s view
Mindshift among public and decision makers from focus on the challenge (bush encroachment) to the opportunities (value addition).
Cross-sector cooperation through steering committee.
Involvement of private sector as driving force for implementation.

6.5 Weaknesses/ disadvantages of the Approach and ways of overcoming them

Weaknesses/ disadvantages/ risks in the land user’s view	How can they be overcome?
Limited direct (financial) support.	Introdution of incentive schemes.
Limited opportunities in remote areas, i.e. when distance to biomass off-takers is too large.	Further development of on-farm solutions (e.g. bush-to-feed).

Weaknesses/ disadvantages/ risks in the compiler’s or other key resource person’s view

How can they be overcome?

Complex programme steering requirements, due to multi-sector relevance. The national programme for Bush control and Biomass Utilisation is currently anchored in the Directorate of Forestry (DoF) of the Ministry of Agriculture. This adequately accounts for the fact that the bush resource is part of the national forestry/biomass resource and its utilisation must be regulated as such. However, this anchoring does not allow for an effective promotion of biomass utilisation (e.g. SME promotion, industrialisation concepts, development of logistics hubs) and innovative end-uses (e.g. development of biomass power plants). For this purpose other line ministries, such as Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) as well as Ministry of Industrialisation and SME Development (MITSMED) are part of the programme's steering committee.

Establishment of national coordinating body to formalise the current steering committee.

7.1 Methods/ sources of information

7.2 References to available publications

Title, author, year, ISBN:

Baseline Assessment for the De-bushing Programme in Namibia (2014)

Available from where? Costs?

GIZ Support to De-bushing Project, www.dasnamibia.org/downloads

Title, author, year, ISBN:

GIZ Support to De-bushing Project (2016)

Available from where? Costs?

Strategic Environmental Assessment of Large-Scale Bush Thinning and Value Addition Activities in Namibia, www.dasnamibia.org/downloads

7.3 Links to relevant information which is available online

Title/ description:

De-bushing Advisory Service (DAS) Namibia, Resource Section

URL:

www.dasnamibia.org/downloads

Title/ description:

Namibia Biomass Industry Group (N-BiG)

URL:

www.n-big.org

Title/ description:

Namibia Charcoal Association (NCA)

URL:

www.ncanamibia.com