Climate change refers to long-term alterations in global temperature, winds, precipitation, and atmospheric pressure, which are manifest in global warming, changing rainfall patterns, and rising sea levels. In Namibia, the impacts of climate change are evident in a significant 18% increase in the frequency of floods and droughts over the past four decades (Lubinda, 2015). While there is ongoing debate about whether the Earth is in the Anthropocene epoch, there is broad consensus that climate change is primarily driven by human actions, particularly the burning of fossil fuels such as oil, gas, and coal. These fuels release greenhouse gases (GHGs), notably carbon dioxide (CO2), into the atmosphere, trapping heat and exacerbating climate change. Deforestation also contributes to GHG emissions, further intensifying global warming (Chen et al., 2017). The effects of climate change are global, with increasing extreme weather events. In 2024, devastating events such as super-typhoons in Taiwan and the Philippines, floods across several countries, severe storms in Australia and Europe, cyclones in the USA and Mauritius, and wildfires in the United States highlighted the growing impact of climate change on various regions of the world (Atlas Magazine, 2024). These events reflect the accelerating frequency and intensity of extreme weather patterns due to human-induced climate change.
Uploaded date: 07 March, 2025
This article explores Namibia's climate vulnerability through the framework of climate justice theory, emphasizing the interconnectedness of climate impacts and justice concerns. The focus is particularly on the issue of droughts, which highlight Namibia's lived experiences and realities of climate vulnerability. The research is based on a desktop review and synthesis of secondary literature on climate change and climate vulnerability in Namibia. It draws from global and local sources, including global databases, government reports, academic publications, and grey literature. The data were analyzed through thematic analysis to identify key themes related to climate vulnerability and justice in the Namibian context. The findings suggest that while Namibia contributes only a small fraction of global greenhouse gas emissions, it remains highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. This underscores the principle of climate justice, where countries that contribute minimally to global emissions often face the most severe consequences of climate change, highlighting the disparities in the distribution of climate risks and impacts.
his paper presents findings from a phenomenological study conducted in the Onalusheshete District of Oshikoto Region, Namibia, focusing on how climate change impacts rural women who rely on natural resources for their livelihoods. The study addresses key concerns such as food security, water availability, and income opportunities, all of which are disrupted by the changing climate. The research utilized primary data gathered from surveys and focus group discussions with rural women. It employed the Climate Vulnerability and Capacity Analysis (CVCA) framework to identify the women’s perceptions of climate change and the impacts on their livelihoods. The study explored the experiences of these women with shifting environmental conditions, highlighting the challenges they face and the adaptive strategies they employ to cope with climate-related changes. The findings underscore the vulnerability of rural women to climate change, demonstrating how their livelihoods are increasingly threatened by the degradation of natural resources, which are essential for their survival. The study suggests that targeted interventions are necessary to address the specific needs of these women and build their resilience to climate change.
This case study explores the growing significance of seed banking in Namibia, particularly among rural women in the northern regions. Seed banking refers to the practice of preserving seeds from various plant species to safeguard genetic diversity, ensure food security, and combat the adverse effects of climate change. In Namibia, seed banking is increasingly recognized for its potential to promote sustainable agriculture, preserve indigenous seeds, and protect local agricultural knowledge. The study highlights the role of rural women, who often serve as stewards of traditional farming practices, in leading these efforts. By preserving indigenous plant varieties, women help ensure that communities can maintain access to resilient crops that are better suited to the local environment, especially in the face of shifting climate patterns. The case study also examines the challenges and opportunities associated with seed banking in Namibia, including issues related to seed storage, knowledge transfer, and access to resources. It emphasizes the importance of supporting rural women in these initiatives and ensuring that their knowledge and practices are recognized as crucial components of sustainable agriculture and climate change adaptation strategies.
Namibia's vulnerability to climate change presents significant threats to human rights, particularly for its most vulnerable communities. The adverse impacts of climate change, such as increased droughts, floods, and shifting agricultural patterns, exacerbate existing socioeconomic inequalities, resulting in violations of basic human rights related to access to water, food, land, and healthcare services. Although Namibia has established legal and political frameworks aimed at addressing climate change in both international and national contexts, these efforts continue to face challenges in their implementation. This includes ensuring that climate policies do not overlook the needs of marginalized groups, such as rural communities, women, and indigenous populations, who are disproportionately affected by climate change. To address these issues, this paper introduces the Human Rights Integration Framework for Climate Policy Evaluation (HRIFCPE). This innovative tool provides a systematic approach to assessing how well human rights are integrated into Namibia’s climate policies. The framework is designed to ensure that climate-related laws and policies effectively protect human rights, focusing on vulnerable communities and aligning policy actions with human rights standards. By employing the HRIFCPE, Namibia can better evaluate the effectiveness of its climate policies, ensuring they contribute to both climate resilience and the protection of human rights for its citizens.
This article explores the intersection of climate change and energy colonialism in Africa, highlighting the ongoing exploitation of the continent's natural resources under the guise of the global energy transition. Africa, rich in renewable energy potential such as solar, wind, and hydroelectric power, has been experiencing renewed interest from both Western and Asian countries, but this interest often mirrors historical patterns of colonial exploitation. As global temperatures rise due to human-induced climate change, the push for renewable energy sources has intensified. However, the transition to clean energy is not just a technological shift; it is deeply entangled with the legacy of colonialism. The dynamics of resource extraction and energy production in Africa remain shaped by colonial-era practices, where the continent's resources are exploited to benefit foreign powers while local communities continue to face economic marginalization. While the energy transition is motivated by the need to mitigate climate change, it risks repeating the exploitative patterns of the past if African nations do not assert greater control over their energy resources and production. This shift in energy systems — from fossil fuels to renewables — represents a fundamental transformation in how energy is produced, distributed, and consumed globally. In Africa, however, the challenge is ensuring that this transition is equitable, and that the benefits of renewable energy are not once again siphoned off to the global North, but rather, contribute to local development and resilience in African countries. The article calls for an urgent rethinking of the energy transition in Africa to ensure that it is not simply a continuation of energy colonialism but a step toward genuine energy sovereignty for African nations.
This case study examines the intersection of social justice and climate change within the context of Namibia's Community-based Natural Resources Management (CBNRM) programme. The CBNRM programme aims to empower communities living in Namibia’s communal lands by giving them the authority to manage and benefit from natural resources, such as wildlife, forests, and water. However, the study outlines several challenges that prevent these communities from fully benefiting from their natural resources. Among these challenges are the impacts of climate change, which exacerbate environmental degradation, reduce resource availability, and disrupt traditional livelihoods. Additionally, inequalities within the sector, such as limited access to markets, lack of technical and financial support, and historical land dispossession, hinder the effective participation of marginalized groups, particularly women, youth, and indigenous people, in the management of natural resources. The study highlights that these challenges have significant implications for the well-being and development of affected communities. It disrupts their ability to build sustainable livelihoods, undermines their capacity for resilience against climate impacts, and perpetuates existing social and economic inequalities. The case study offers recommendations to improve the efficacy of the CBNRM programme. These recommendations focus on addressing the barriers created by climate change and inequalities, such as ensuring equitable access to resources, strengthening the capacity of local communities, integrating climate adaptation strategies, and fostering more inclusive decision-making processes. By addressing these issues, the study suggests that the CBNRM programme can be more effective in promoting both environmental sustainability and social justice for Namibia’s rural communities.
This article explores the concept of climate justice within the framework of Namibia’s environmental adaptation. It focuses on Namibia’s susceptibility to the climate crisis as a developing, semi-arid country. While environmental adaptation strategies are crucial for mitigating these challenges and safeguarding the livelihoods of affected communities, there are concerns regarding the equitable distribution of resources. The article identifies key challenges and gaps in achieving climate justice. It also assesses the effectiveness of ongoing adaptation efforts and evaluates how they address social justice and equity concerns, and the needs and priorities of Namibia’s poor.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) (known as the Paris Agreement) includes the goal of limiting global warming to below 2°C (and ideally below 1.5°C) above pre-industrial levels. Current promises of emissions reductions by nations fall short of what is needed to meet this target. Instead, global average temperatures could exceed the 1.5°C warming mark by as early as the next decade, and the 2°C threshold in the decade thereafter (CDKN Global, 2018). For vulnerable countries like Namibia, these seemingly small increments in global temperature can lead to distinct local climatic effects, which can interact with, and exacerbate, existing vulnerabilities.
The future will either be green or not at all." This has become a widely known quote, notably repeated by the Australian environmentalist and politician Bob Brown, while addressing the Senate. Green jobs are crucial for addressing climate change, as they provide a sustainable route for both economic development and environmental conservation. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, green jobs encompass any work that aids in preserving and improving environmental quality. This includes positions in agriculture, industry, services, or administration that aim to lower energy use, reduce pollution, safeguard ecosystems, and support communities in adapting to climate change (Worldwatch Institute, 2008). In Namibia, the importance of green jobs is heightened by the country’s distinct environmental challenges and opportunities.
The fish that sees its water is getting shallow cannot be stranded is an exhibition project that was curated at The Project Room in June 2023, and the Franco-Namibian Cultural Centre in August 2024. The show is a project of the Owela Live Arts Collective Trust. This exhibition’s point of departure is an observation of the recurrence of fish in contemporary Namibian art. By simply attending a local exhibition or working through a collection of Namibian art, one is likely to find representations of or engagements with fish or other water resources. A curatorial intervention of this nature therefore reflects on the ways in which fisheries and water cultures have been historically expressed in Namibian art. The title, the fish that sees its water is getting shallow cannot be stranded, is a popular African proverb which metaphorically and literally speaks to experiences of survival, livelihoods, and mobility. It emphasises both the fish and water as relational, marked by movement.
Uranium, apparently in commercial quantities, has been discovered by Headspring Investments, a subsidiary of Uranium One, the international exploration, mining and processing arm of the Russian state-owned company Rosatom, in the main underground artesian potable water aquifer of the Stampriet Artesian Basin (SAB) in the Leonardville area. Because of the high water table, this can only be mined by the in-situ leach (ISL) mining method. In conjunction with high water usage by irrigation operations, this method has the potential to cause extreme contamination of the potable water by the highly toxic solutions associated with mining operations. There are no mining activities at present, but an application for an environmental clearance certificate to carry out ISL test mining has been submitted by Headspring Investments to the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT).
In this article, we examine the financing architecture and the conception of the Hyphen Hydrogen Project (HHP) and look at its consequences for Namibia’s position in global capitalism. Based on guided expert interviews and a document analysis, we analyse the interests and resources within the project of the Namibian state, as well as those of foreign actors such as Germany. Based on our analysis, we present three plausible scenarios arising from the HHP and Namibia’s hydrogen ambitions, of which we consider green extractivism to be the most plausible. The findings of our article indicate that Namibia’s dependence on the capitalist centre tends to deepen, despite the presentation of the HHP as an egalitarian partnership.
This paper examines the potential socioeconomic and environmental implications of Namibia’s emerging green hydrogen economy, focusing on the Hyphen Hydrogen Energy project. Based on 18 months of research, including document reviews and over 60 interviews, it assesses anticipated benefits, risks, and stakeholders involved. Despite Namibia’s renewable energy potential, findings indicate that primary gains may favour international corporations, with limited benefits to Namibian society. Opportunities for local job creation, value chains, and resolving Namibia’s energy issues appear limited, while unique biodiversity is put at risk. The project’s financing structure and lack of transparency raise concerns that it may perpetuate social inequalities, with Global North entities exploiting Namibia’s natural resources for the sake of a “green” energy carrier. The study calls for stronger accountability and transparent planning processes to align Namibia’s green hydrogen economy with the needs of its people, emphasising the role of civil society in advocating for equitable outcomes.
In March 2022, late President Hage Geingob was quoted as having said that the oil reserves discovered off the coast of Namibia do not belong to Namibians because the majority shareholders of oil rights are foreigners. According to the lead story of 9 March 2022 of The Namibian (The oil is not ours, 2022), Geingob reportedly said: "Legally it [the oil] is not ours. Legally it is owned by the investors, with 90%, but we are going to get it through taxes and royalties until we nationalise and become socialists, and we do not want that." The Director General of the National Planning Commission, Obeth Kandjoze, publicly supported this statement on various occasions. The Geingob statement, by extension, arguably applies equally to all Namibia’s natural resources, such as diamonds, uranium, oil, natural gas, lead, copper, zinc, fauna, flora, and marine resources. This, minimally, begs several questions: What is meant by ‘natural resources’? Who legitimately owns the natural resources of a country? And what duties arise from natural resource ownership? The Geingob statement, unsurprisingly, caused much consternation in certain quarters. The sole object of this typology is to respond to and debunk the Geingob statement.
This article has been translated and adapted from an article published in (in different versions) in Switzerland, Canada, and a daily newspaper in Namibia. Due to the significance of this topic, we included it in this journal.
This case study focuses on tin and lithium mining around Uis in Namibia’s Erongo Region. It illustrates the struggles of many marginalized communities to hold big mining corporations and government departments accountable. The community contends that certain mining activities are illegal because permissions were granted without the prescribed procedures being followed. In many cases, mining destroys the environment and causes losses in income and livelihoods, as well as displacement, without any tangible benefits accruing to the affected communities. The extraction of these minerals follows the same colonial extractivist patterns of environmental destruction, economic dislocation, cultural erasure, and negative health impacts. The promised benefits to the community do not materialize, and no one is able to hold the transgressors accountable.
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