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The Sperrgebiet National Park, hidden treasure of the South is launched

The Sperrgebiet National Park (SNP) covering some 26 000 sq in the south - western corner of Namibia is the newest addition to Namibia's protected area (PA) estate. SNP is the second largest protected area after the Namib - Naukluft Park and adds another three percent to the current PA coverage in Namibia.

The area still known as Diamond Area 1 under the Diamond Act has been closed to the public under tight security for the last 100 years following the discovery of the first diamond at Kolmanskop near Lüderitz in 1908 by a railway worker, Zacharius Lewala.

The proclamation of the Sperrgebiet as a national park follows a Cabinet decision that was made in 2004. The Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) as the ministry mandated to manage PAs has since made great strides in putting mechanisms in place for official proclamation and effective management of the park.

The Ministry's vision for the SNP is to protect, manage and sustainably develop the SNP within the context of the greater Succulent Karoo, Nama Karoo, Namib and Coastal ecosystems, to enhance conservation and socio - economic values for the region and nation and to place primary importance on the globally significant biodiversity and landscape values of the area.

The Cabinet decision of 2004 to proclaim the SNP makes provision for the formation of the Park Advisory Committee (PAC) to handle co - management activities of the park. The PAC aims to bringing together stakeholders to provide advice and guidance for strategic direction and broad management issues of the SNP. In the SNP the following reasons makes co - management for this PA a necessity:

Although proclaimed as a national park, the area still remains as Diamond Area 1 under the Diamond Act with associated security and access control issues;
As a national park, the area is to be opened up for controlled tourism activities, and the current security and access procedures need to reviewed for non - mining license areas and operationalised;
Mining activities will still continue as well as major rehabilitation work undertaken by NAMDEB. Therefore, the 2003 Sperrgebiet Land Use Plan commissioned jointly by the Ministry of Mines and Energy, the Ministry of Lands and Resettlement and the MET, which formed the basis for the Cabinet submission for proclamation, recommends formation of an advisory body;
The Government and NAMDEB is working towards proclaiming the Oranjemund Town as a fully fledged municipality;
Other bordering towns such as Lüderitz, Aus and Rosh Pinah, as well as the Karas Regional Council have keen interests in ensuring that the park provide economic benefits to the Region;
The Cabinet directs the MET to explore alternative means of financing essential park management and maintenance through revenues earned from tourism in the SNP.

The Sperrgebiet is a special area in terms of biodiversity. The Succulent Karoo ecosystem is the most diverse desert system in the world and is one of the world's top 25 global biodiversity hotspots. The area is known to have high plant, particularly succulent, diversity.

Some 1 050 plants are known to occur in the SNP, nearly 25 percent of the entire flora of Namibia on less than three percent of the land area of the country.

The area also boasts some 80 terrestrial and 38 marine mammal species, 35 coastal and marine birds, almost 60 wetland birds and some 120 terrestrial bird species. Almost 100 reptile species, 16 frog species and a great number of insects and other invertebrates, probably 90 percent or more undescribed to science, also occur.

The biodiversity importance of the SNP has seen investment from donors to assist with management capacity building and strengthen biodiversity protection and awareness raising of the unique Succulent Karoo Biome. Such initiatives include the Succulent Karoo Ecosystem Programme (SKEP), Strengthening the Protected Area Network Project (SPAN) and the Namibia Coast Conservation and Management (NACOMA) projects. Together the three projects have worked to strengthen capacity, provide equipment, strengthen management, finalise business and tourism plans and raise awareness.

The SNP launch took place on Friday, 6th February 2009 at Kolmanskop near Luderitz town. Hon Netumbo Nandi - Ndaitwah was the key note speaker at this historical event. This event was attended by representatives from all levels of society, including senior government officials, Namdeb, NGOs, the tourism sector and civil society.

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