Polemics, Magazine of Diplomatic Academy of Vienna, International opinion articles

Sustainable Development in the Okovango Basin

by Raphael Stermann

The Okovango River Basin is a near-pristine aquatic ecosystem encompassing parts of Angola, Namibia and Botswana. While studying the transboundary management of this unique river basin as part of the DA’s Environmental Security course, I came across the Namibia Nature Foundation (NNF) and on the off-chance I applied for a summer internship with them. A month later, I was on a plane to Namibia.

Various elements encouraged me to apply for an internship in Namibia: I perceived this summer as being my last opportunity for an “exotic” challenge during my academic life; I have always been interested in sub-Saharan development issues; the country enjoys a very stable political and economic situation; and English is the official language. As a student of the DA’s ETIA program (MSC in Environmental Technologies and International Affairs), the NNF and its emphasis on sustainable development held a natural attraction for me. The spontaneous application that I sent off at the beginning of June caught the attention of an economist needing assistance for the creation of a Sustainable Development Index (SDI). By the end of June, I was already on my way to Namibia, having solved visa and travel issues in record time.

My three months in Windhoek, capital city of Namibia, really flew by. The NNF has been an active player in the foundation of today’s transnational cooperation for the sustainable management of the river basin. The SDI that I was working on was under the umbrella of the government’s sustainable land management program, a nation-wide initiative to reduce land degradation. I thus had a fantastic opportunity to work closely with the affiliated ministries (especially the Ministry of Environment and Tourism) and other development support organizations active in Namibia (UNDP, IRDNC, etc.).

In a nutshell; I helped designing and structuring the SDI as well as the household survey questionnaire from which most of the data would be pulled. I performed data analysis and developed a data management system. Occasionally I also joined an NNF team to meet rural communities. The main purpose was to identify their needs and see how NNF, via government funding, could offer its assistance. Additionally, I performed other minor tasks such as researching voluntary carbon offset programs from airline companies worldwide and finding out about the possibility of developing such a program for Air Namibia.

All in all, my experience at the NNF enabled me to grasp the overall functioning of a major environmental NGO committed to sustainable development, in a country where environmental issues are numerous and have to be managed wisely. From the search for funds to the project realization and impact assessment, it was very instructive to see how development support is managed.

From time to time, I also lent a hand at an orphanage in the suburbs of Windhoek, where some of my housemates worked. This truly was a sensational experience. It was also with my housemates that I traveled all across Namibia. I mainly traveled during the week-ends, exploring really amazing and diverse landscapes with a stunning fauna and flora, in addition to meeting very nice people. All that is left is to thank all the people who made that journey a wonderful one, and my last long summer break truly memorable.

Return to the Career index page