B2Gold launches ‘Re-Wilding the Future’ concept
There has been a dramatic decline in the productivity of farmland in Namibia over the past century – a result of bush encroachment and the loss of perennial grasses.
This has been exacerbated in the past few years by drought and in the years ahead, the situation is likely to deteriorate further as the impacts of climate change become more severe.
In efforst to try and alleviate the situation, B2Gold’s Managing Director, Mark Dawe announced and presented a ground-breaking initiative in parternship with the Namibian Chamber of Environment (NCE).
The two will spearhead, a potential public private partnership (PPP) that will enable the two to leave a lasting legacy long after mining operations cease the Otjikoto Mine.
The concept was presented as a documentary film produced by B2Gold Namibia and is called “Re-Wilding the Future”.
According to Dawe, the target area is the Waterberg, with a vision to link B2Gold land and the Waterberg Plateau Park into an integrated conservation and wildlife management landscape that optimises biodiversity protection as well as unleashing wildlife and landscape values through tourism, wildlife use and vertically integrated value chains.
Namibia has a global competitive advantage: its wildlife, its natural ecosystems and its landscapes. It also has an extremely good policy environment. Namibia stands head and shoulders above all other countries in terms of its green economy potential.
“This is because of its good mix of biodiversity, open landscapes, rich cultures, good policies, infrastructure, service industries, stability and private-public collaboration. The only thing lacking are innovative models to demonstrate how the full complexity of Namibia’s green economy can be harnessed and developed (with value addition) to make the land more productive and to create jobs,” Dawe said.
The smart PPP approach is now being explored to develop such a model, involving B2Gold Namibia, the Ministry or Environment and Tourism, and the NCE.
