Namibia’s tourism industry has the potential to help achieve sustainable development in line with national, regional and international development plans, according to a UN official.
United Nations Resident Coordinator to Namibia, Kiki Gbeho on Tuesday in a statement said, the dynamic tourism sector, which provides employment for many Namibians, is key in ensuring that people are able to fulfill their basic human needs including food, education, clean water and shelter, falling in line with the targets of many of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“Namibia is one of a small number of countries where the environment and tourism sectors are combined in one Ministry, indicating the linkage between conservation and tourism and thus steering the path for conservancy,” she said.
Gbeho said with the prominence of conservancy practices implemented in Namibia, they can assure that SDG 13 “Climate Action,” SDG 14 “Life Below Water,” SDG 15 “Life on Land” are met.
“Goals 13, 14 and 15 ensure that we will protect our precious environment, as a healthy, thriving environment in which biodiversity is sustainably managed and lays the foundation for many aspects of life,” she added.
Furthermore, she said that the resulting employment and income from the tourism industry allows people to sustain livelihoods, subsequently positioning tourism as an important driver to eradicate poverty and national development plans. Enditem
Source: Xinhua/NewsGhana.com.gh
