Namibia

Namibia

Namibia / or officially the Republic of Namibia is a country located in the southwest of the continent of Africa, bordered to the west by the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. Although it has no borders with Zimbabwe, less than 200 meters from the riverbed separates them at points closest to them

Namibia is a member state of the United Nations, a member of the Southern African Development Community, a member of the African Union, and a member of the Commonwealth Union

The drylands of Namibia were inhabited since the early ages by the San tribes or as they are called the Bushmen, Damara, and Nama tribes, and since about the 14th century AD were inhabited by the Bantu immigrant people who came with the expansion of Bantu. Most of the territories became protectorate of the German Empire in 1884 AD, and remained a German colony until the end of World War I in 1920, mandating the League of Nations since 1948 to impose its laws on South Africa and the policy of racial discrimination in Namibia. In the year 1878, the port of Walvis Bay and the Penguin Islands were annexed to the Cape Colony under the British Crown, and it became an integral part of the new union of South Africa in its establishment in 1910 AD

The uprisings and demands of African leaders led the United Nations to take direct responsibility on the ground. The South West African People Organization (SWAPO), as the official representative of the Namibian people, recognized in 1973 AD that Namibia was an independent country. However, it remained under the administration of the Republic of South Africa during this period as a country called Southwest Africa. After that, internal violence, South Africa installed an interim administration in Namibia in 1985. Namibia gained full independence from South Africa in 1990, with the exception of Walvis Bay and the Penguin Islands, which remained under South African control until 1994

Namibia has a population of 2.1 million people. Agriculture, herding, tourism and the mining industry - including mining of precious stones, diamonds, uranium, gold, silver, and basic minerals - are the backbone of the Namibian economy. Because of the arid Namib Desert, it is one of the least densely populated countries in the world. Namibia enjoys high political, economic and social stability

The total area of ​​Namibia is 825,418 km2, and thus it ranks 35 in the classification of countries by area. It is also one of the least densely populated countries in the world (2.5 people per square kilometer), meaning that it is second to last before Mongolia. In Namibia, there are many national parks, including Itoha National Park

Namibia can be divided into three geographical regions:

Namib Desert: from which the name of the country is derived. It is considered one of the oldest deserts in the world, if not the oldest at all. This arid desert covers about 15% of the area of ​​Namibia, with sand dunes and gravel plains

The central plateau: extends from north to south, and the average height ranges between one thousand and two thousand meters, and varies between rugged mountain ranges and sandy valleys

. The Kalahari Desert: located in the east of the country, extending into the territories of Botswana, Angola, Zambia and Zimbabwe

Namibia is one of the few countries in the world that specifically addresses the conservation and protection of natural resources in its constitution. Article 95 states that "the state must work actively to promote and preserve the welfare of the people by adopting international policies aimed at the following: the maintenance of basic ecosystems and ecological processes, the biological diversity of Namibia, and the use of living natural resources on a sustainable basis for the benefit of all Namibians, whether in the present and the future "

In 1993, the newly formed government of Namibia received funding from the United States Agency for International Development by sitting in a Limited Environment (LIVE) project. The Ministry of Environment and Tourism with financial support from organizations such as CAMA, Endangered Wildlife Trust, and the Canadian Ambassador Fund, together form a community-based natural resource management support structure. The main objective of this project is to promote sustainable management of natural resources by giving local communities the rights to manage wildlife and tourism