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This is the mini-site for the HIV/AIDS-Environment Working Group (HEWG).
The HIV/AIDS Environment Working Group (HEWG) is a committee made up of representatives from the Ministry of Environment and Tourism/SPAN project, Namibia Nature Foundation (NNF), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Namibia Association of Community based Support Organizations (NACSO), UNAIDS and the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS).
The HEWG developed a concept to establish the links between the HIV/AIDS pandemic and natural resource management. The goal of this study is to ensure that the links between HIV/AIDS, the environment and natural resource management are well understood and effective mechanisms are being implemented to counter negative impacts to people and natural landscapes of southern Africa both within and outside protected areas.
The project will have three phases and its focus will be two-fold and integrated. First, it will look at the institutional side of conservation, i.e. National Parks and other state land; and second, it will look at the societal side, i.e. communities and communal conservancies, tribal authorities, farmers’ unions, etc. By looking at the institutional actors, the societal actors and the links between the two, the project seeks to understand the full impact of HIV/AIDS on environmental conservation and natural resource management. Conversely, it also seeks to gauge the impact of environmental degradation on populations infected with HIV/AIDS. The Project will address this HIV/AIDS and environment connection in two major ways: research and comprehensive service delivery.
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