By Joe-Chintha Garises
WINDHOEK, July 20 — Deputy Prime Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah and Indian Minister of Environment, Forestry and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav signed a memorandum of understanding on Wednesday.
The agreement is aimed at facilitating cooperation in biodiversity conservation and sustainable wildlife management and conservation.
Nandi-Ndaitwah is visiting India to attend the 17th CII-EXIM Bank Conclave on India-Africa Growth Partnership.
Specifically, the two countries seek to promote the conservation and restoration of cheetahs in their former range areas from which they went extinct, and Namibia is facilitating permits for eight cheetahs to be exported to India.
This will further enhance the conservation of species by diversifying its global range. Furthermore, the two countries are to share and exchange expertise and capacities aimed at promoting cheetah conservation.
India and Namibia will also share good practices in technological applications, mechanisms of livelihood generation for local communities living in wildlife habitats, and sustainable management of biodiversity.
The two countries will support advances in these spheres at international forums including meetings of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna.
The countries also agreed to collaborate in areas of climate change, environmental governance, environmental impact assessments, pollution and waste management and other areas of mutual interest.
Through this agreement, Namibia and India will also exchange personnel for training and education in wildlife management, including sharing of technical expertise.
India will train and support Namibians in smart patrol, and population estimation techniques and facilitate required equipment for surveillance and monitoring. India will also provide two places for Namibians in the 10-month Post Graduate Diploma Course in Wildlife Management.
The agreement will run for a period of five years.
