1. Background Information of The Okongo Landscape

1.1 Description of the Focal Landscape The Okongo Focal Landscape is situated in the far eastern Ohangwena Region. The landscape is characterized by flat topography, woodland on sandy soils, and livelihoods based mainly on livestock, dryland cropping, and the use of forestry products. The Land- scape is located mainly in the Okongo Constituency in Ohangwena Region, with a small amount of overlap into the Mpungu Constituency in Kavango West Region and the Nehale Lya Mpingane Constituency in Oshikoto Region.

The relevant features of the landscape are shown in the figure below. The landscape encompasses different forms of natural resources management com- munity-based institutional structures namely; the Okongo Conservancy, Okongo Commu- nity Forest, and the Omufitu Wekuta Community Forestry. The Okongo Conservancy and Community Forest have been in operation since 2009 while the Omufitu Wakuta was registered in 2013. Both community forests fall under the perimeter boundaries of the conservancy. This overlay of the conservation areas boost strong institutional led by the community members and legally supported by the laws.

1.2 Ethnic Groups The Okongo Focal Landscape is inhibited by the Ovakwanyama people, a sub-group of the Aawambo people and the San people particularly the! Kung /Xun and some Hai//om. While the Aawambo people are agro-pastoralists who depend on the land for farming both crop production and livestock rearing, the San people are hunters and gathers who have long depended on the forest and forest-based resources for their livelihoods. The Namibia Development Trust (NDT) is the Consortium in charge of overseeing the im- plementation of all landscape activities for this Focal Landscape.

1.3 Population and demographics The population in the Okongo Focal Landscape has been calculated from the 2011 cen- sus data, using the NSA’s disaggregated figure for the exact area of the focal landscape (3,133 people) (NSA 2021 pers. comm.) and applying to this the annual growth rate of 2.4% for the region (NSA 2012). This calculates to 3,972 people. In 2011 the sex ratio was roughly equal, with a very small male bias (50.9 men to 49.1% women).

The average household size of the Ohangwena Region in 2015 was 5.2 people/ household (NSA, 2016). Using this figure, Okongo has 764 households in the Landscape. The popula- tion density of the Focal Landscape calculates to 3.0 persons/km2. This is much lower than the average for Ohangwena Region, which is 23.0 people/km2 (NSA, 2012), making Ohangwena the region with the highest population density in the country. The much lower density in the Landscape is a reflection of the fact that the Landscape lies outside of the Cuvelai wetland, where population density is the highest in the country. Lacking the resources of surface water and cultivatable land that are found in the Cuve- lai, the Landscape is simply unable to support that many people.

Ohangwena Region as a whole has a relatively young population, with 44% of the people being less than 15 years old (NSA, 2012) (Table 2.2.1). This proportion is higher in rural areas, at 45.5%, and there is also a relatively high proportion (9.2%) of elderly people aged 60 and above in rural areas of Ohangwena (NSA, 2012). These values are roughly similar to the national average in rural areas, which is 41.4%, attributed to the trend for working-age people (older than 15) to migrate away from rural areas and into urban situations where there are potentially better work opportunities (NSA, 2012).

1.4 Livelihoods and employment Officially, the employment rate for Ohangwena Region is 57% (NSA 2012, Table 5.84), which is slightly lower than the national average of 63.1. Of the people in Ohangwena aged 15 years and older, 50.9% of them are engaged in the category ‘agriculture, forestry, and fishing (Table 5.100). These figures show the high proportion of people who work directly with the local natural resources. In Okongo FL, the main source of household income is farming for 30.0% of the population, wages and salaries for 29.5%, old-age pensions for 26.5%, and non-farming business activities for 9.7% (NSA 2021, pers. comm.).

Livelihoods in Ohangwena Region are primarily based on livestock keeping, with relative- ly small areas of crops and gardens. These activities are supplemented with the use of timber and other non-timber forest products.

1.5 Education The 2011 education statistics for Ohangwena Region are as follows. The percentage of infants attending Early Childhood Development programs was 11.2% in Ohangwena, which is slightly higher than the national rural average of 9.8% (NSA 2012 Table 5.2.1 p48). The literacy rate for Ohangwena Region was 86.3% (NSA 2012 Table 5.3.1.2 p49). School en- rolment in Ohangwena was 71% in 2011, compared to the national average of 63.2% (NSA 2012 Figure 5.3.2.3.2 p52).

1.6 Health The 2011 national census data provide little health information. The only useful indicator is the percentage of disabled people; for Ohangwena Region this is 5.4%, which is slightly higher than the national average of 4.7% (NSA 2012 Table 5.53 p132). 1.7 Household assets and resource use The proportions of households that possess certain assets and use certain resources are informative of the livelihoods of the residents (NSA 2012 Tables 6.50 to 7.152). The five statistics below give an indication of average material wealth and use of local natural resources in the Ohangwena region (NSA 2012).

Criterion Ohangwena Region Averages for Namibia

Households that possess a car 14.6% 22.3% (Table 6.33 p171)

Households that possess an 1.5% 6.3% animal-drawn cart

Households that live in a tradi- 82.0% 37.7% tional dwelling (Table 7.11, p179)

Households that use wood for 87.9% 53.6% cooking (Table 7.91 p194)

Households that use wood for 83.3% 46.3 heating (Table 7.123 p200)

Table 1: Household assets and resource use

2. Main geographic features and land uses in the Okongo Focal Landscape

2.1 Topography and soils The Focal Landscape is flat and forms part of the large Kalahari basin which covers much of north-eastern Namibia. The Kalahari sandveld comprises deep, grey to reddish sands classified as ferralic arenosols, which are relatively poor in nutrients and have the little water-holding capacity (Bhalla & Rothauge, 2019). The soils are primarily suited for graz- ing although they can be used for dryland farming.

2.2 Vegetation The sandy substrate supports extensive woodlands, with dominant large trees being Zambezi teak (Baikiaea plurijuga), kiaat (Pterocarpus angolensis), rosewood (Guibourtia coleosperma), mangetti (Schinziophyton rautenenii), and burkea (Burkea Africana). The first three of these listed species are valued for their timber, while mangetti provides nuts that are used as food. Some areas are quite densely bush encroached, with flame- thorn (Acacia ataxacantha) predominating. These are the areas described as ‘scrub’ which occurs in all areas of the Landscape (Bhalla & Rothauge, 2019), while fairly pristine areas of forest occur in the eastern and southern parts of the landscape. These trees and lower scrubby cover form what is classified as North-eastern Kalahari Woodland (Mendelsohn, et al., 2002). Timber resources are available for harvesting under controlled management. Frequent veld fires are responsible for losses of large trees and result in the bush encroachment that is observed (Mendelsohn & el Obeid, 2005)

The approximate area under the three main vegetation types /classes as calculated by Bhalla (2019) is presented in Table 3 13 below. The trend for the change in land cover type/class averaged over 16 years (2003-2018), as calculated by Bhalla (2019) is present- ed in the table below. 2.3 Surface and groundwater There is very little naturally occurring surface water in the landscape, apart from a few small pans and small iishana where rainwater accumulates for short periods in the wet season (Bhalla & Rothauge, 2019). All domestic needs are met through groundwater; water needs for livestock are the same but there is a short period when locally ponded rainwater is available. Settlements rely on boreholes with diesel and solar pumps.

3. NILALEG Intervention

3.1 Planned activities through the NILALEG Project

3.1.1 Establish a multistakeholder coordination structure that will spearhead the imple- mentation and monitoring of Integrated Landscape Management. 3.1.2 Facilitate Participatory Land-use Planning Training 3.1.3 Develop. Implement and Monitor management plans and protocols for sustainable land and forest management 3.1.4 Update Community Forest Management plans for Okongo. 3.1.5 Establish FFA on drought-resistant fodder 3.1.6 Conduct awareness-raising sessions on sustainable forest management practices - Host a logo competition for the development of a logo for Okongo Community Forest. 3.1.7 Develop, implement and monitor a plan for restoration of Savannah for grazing / forest for mixed agroforestry. 3.1.8 Training of farmers on livestock and rangeland management 3.1.9 Train and equip Regional Council /community monitors for ongoing monitoring and enforcement of restoration sites and protocols. 3.1.10 Establish a Ziminia Orchard 3.1.11 Facilitate the development of Small Grant Applications and support the successful applications with the establishment of the Enterprises 3.1.12 Upscaling of the existing wood workshop at Omauni to furniture Making Enterprise 3.1.13 Drilling & installation of 5 boreholes for support to livestock management and Crop and fodder production. Inquiries: Ms. Marlyn Mbapaha Project Coordinator Namibia Development Trust (NDT) Tel: +264 65 220289 [email protected]