Omaiopanga Landscape Profile

1. Background information of the Omaiopanga Focal Landscape 1.1 Description of the Focal Landscape The Omaoipanga Focal Landscape is located in the Opuwo Urban and the Opuwo Rural Constituencies of Namibia’s North-Western areas, in Kunene Region. It is characterized by arid to semi-arid conditions with rainfall averaging 200 – 400 mm, mountainous and undulating terrain, and livelihoods based heavily on livestock farming and seasonal crop farming. The pristine and breath-taking landscape through which many tourist tour companies criss-cross while visiting Kunene North. 1.2 Ethnic Groups The Omaoipanga Focal Landscape is inhibited by mainly the Ovaherero, Ovazemba, and the Ovahimba people, one of the ethnic groups that have preserved their cultural her- itage but are also amongst the marginalized groups in Namibia. The Integrated Rural Development and Nature Conservation (IRDNC) is the Consortium responsible for over- seeing the implementation of the activities in this landscape. 1.3 Population and demographics The population in the Omaiopanga landscape has been calculated from the 2011 census data, using the NSA’s disaggregated figure for the exact area of the focal landscape (3,415 people) (NSA 2021 pers. comm.) and applying to this the annual growth rate of 2.3% for the region (NSA 2012). This calculates to 4,286 people. In 2011 the sex ratio was slightly biased towards males (52.1%). Based on the average household size of the region (4.5 people/ household) (NSA 2016), Omaiopanga has 952.4 households in the landscape. The population density is 1.7 persons/km2, which is double the regional density of 0.8 persons/km2 in 2011 (NSA 2012). This is probably because part of the landscape includes the southern and south-western parts of Opuwo and the large informal settlement that extends southwards from Opuwo along the C43 road towards Sesfontein. Beyond the peri-urban area, the population is sparsely distributed in scattered small settlements. Kunene Region as a whole has a relatively young population, with 41.7% of the people being less than 15 years old (NSA 2012). This proportion is higher in rural areas, at 45%, and there is also a relatively high proportion (7.3%) of elderly people aged 60 and above in rural areas of Kunene (NSA, 2012). 1.4 Livelihoods and employment Officially, the employment rate for the region is 64.4%, which is slightly higher than the national average of 63.1% (NSA 2012). Of the people aged 15 years and older, 53.2% of them are engaged in the category ‘agriculture, forestry and fishing. This is probably en- tirely agricultural. In the Omaiopanga FL, the main source of household income is wages and salaries for 63.9% of the population, cash remittances for 10.9%, old-age pensions for 8.4%, and farming for only 8.2% of the population (disaggregated data from NSA 2021, pers. comm.). This shows the high reliance of the majority of households on wages and salaries. Rural livelihoods are primarily based on livestock keeping, with relatively small areas of crops and gardens. These activities are supplemented with the use of natural resources for food, medicines, and occasionally for sales. Goats and cattle are the critical assets for supplying meat and milk and raising cash (Vaughan, et al., 2003). They form the foundation of people’s livelihoods. Donkeys and horses are also kept, being used mostly for transport purposes. Goats are used for their meat (household consumption) and local sales, while cattle are used primarily for their milk products, and they are slaughtered and consumed locally. Generally, access to marketing opportunities for livestock is poor; the animals are seen more as a ‘bank ac- count’ and a reserve in times of need. There are strong cultural values associated with cattle, such as being used for rituals, ceremonies, and payments. Seasonality is import- ant for people’s livelihoods, although movements following the availability of pastures and water are becoming restricted as more and more land becomes permanently occu- pied with the increasing population of people and livestock. 1.5 Education Education statistics for Kunene Region as a whole are generally lower than the national averages. For instance, the Kunene percentage of infants attending Early Childhood De- velopment programs is only 7.3%, compared to the national average of 13.3% (NSA 2012). The literacy rate for the region is 59.4% for ages over 5, and 64.9 for over 15’s; both figures are the lowest in the country (NSA 2012). School enrolment was 39.3% in 2011, compared to the national average of 63.2%; this was also the lowest in the country. 1.6 Health There is little information available on the health status of the Kunene population. The only indicator is the percentage of disabled people; for the region, this is 3.8%. This is lower than the national average of 4.7% (NSA 2012). 1.7 Household assets The proportions of households that possess certain assets are informative of the life- style of Kunene households (NSA 2012). Each of the criteria below is the predominant one or two items recorded by NSA in the 2011 census, giving an indication of average material wealth and use of resources in the region. Criterion Kunene Region Averages for Namibia Households that possess a car 15.2% 22.3% Households that possess an animal-drawn cart 13.2% 6.3% Households that possess a TV 24.8% 37.9% Households that live in a traditional dwelling 41.1% 37.7% Households that use wood for cooking 77.3% 53.6% Households that use wood for heating 50.8 46.3 2. Main geographic features and land uses in the Omaoipanga Focal Landscape 2.1 Topography and soils The topography of Namibia’s western highlands, where the landscape is situated, is generally hilly and undulating, with rugged mountains dissected by the many tributaries of westward flowing rivers. The landscape forms part of the western escarpment belt of Namibia (Mendelsohn, et al., 2002). Soils are generally thin and coarse-textured, while they are deeper in the valleys but subjected to sporadic floods. All areas are therefore susceptible to erosion as a result of the gravelly texture of the soils and steep gradients; these factors are exacerbated where pastures are intensively used and over-grazed. Despite the potential of restoration that the landscape has, what meets the eye is barren land and soil erosion as evident in the forms of the gullies locally known as ozondoto. These are a result of too much pressure on the land and unsuitable agricultural land use combined with climatic changes as can be seen in the picture below. 2.2 Vegetation Mopane trees are the dominant plant throughout the landscape, with other scattered shrubs and low trees (such as Commiphora, Acacia, and Euphorbia) growing in the rocky soils (MET, 2015). The low rainfall and shallow soil do not allow trees to grow taller than about 3 meters, so the vegetation is the lowest scrubby cover, although tall trees grow in the river beds and scattered patches. For instance, baobabs occur in some areas. Trees and dense bushes (such as Ana tree (Faidherbia albida), Salvadora bushes (Salvadora persica), Tamarisk shrubs (Tamarix usneoides) line the river courses where soil moisture is more readily available. The approximate area under the three main vegetation types / classes as calculated by Bhalla (2019) is presented in Table 3 1 below. The trend for the change in land cover type/class averaged over 16 years (2003-2018), as calculated by Bhalla (2019) is presented below. Grass cover is generally very sparse or absent all together due to the high grazing pressure. Most of the Landscape is heavily overgrazed (Figure 1 3) (Bhalla & Rothauge, 2019): pastures are only intact on relatively higher slopes where livestock pressure is less in- tense due to the difficulty of access and further distance from water. In many areas, there are conspicuous signs of land degradation: lack of soil cover and leaf litter, ab- sence of perennial grasses, capping of the soil, and erosion gullies. 2.3 Surface and groundwater Short-lived flows in the river courses generally represent the only incidences of surface water, although there are scattered springs and some small earth dams. Water sources are therefore mainly sub-surface, relying on boreholes with diesel and solar pumps. 3. NILALEG Project Key Activities Intervention 3.1 Establish a multistakeholder coordination structure 3.2 Facilitate Participatory Land-use Planning Training 3.3 Develop. Implement and Monitor management plans and protocols for sustainable land and forest management 3.4 Establish plots for drought-resistant fodder, drought-resistant shrubs, re-seeding of perennial grasses through FFA to support restoration activities 3.5 Conduct training Climate Change Awareness and Climate Change adaptation with a focus on Climate-Smart Agriculture, 3.6 Develop, implement and monitor a plan for restoration of Savannah for grazing /forest for mixed agroforestry. 3.7 Training of farmers on livestock and rangeland management 3.8 Train and equip Regional Council /community monitors for ongoing monitoring and enforcement of restoration sites and protocols. 3.9 Construct earth dams in support of agroforestry and livestock management 3.10 Restoration of gullies through establishing an indigenous tree plantation 3.11 Support community members in the development and management of Small Grant Enterprises 3.12 Upscaling of the existing camp into an Ecotourism Facility at ……. 3.13 Construction of two bridges at ……. to enable access to crop fields for community members in support of agroforestry activities. 3.14 Drilling of 2 boreholes for livestock and crop 3.15 Set up micro drip irrigation system 3.16 Procurement of livestock (Cattle) Inquiries: Mrs.

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