> Why focus on enviornment?
Poor people depend disproportionately on the environment for their livelihoods. Despite growing attention to environmental issues over the last two decades, in¬sufficient progress has been made in integrating environment issues into national development priorities and financing those priorities. Namibia faces severe en¬vironmental constraints and uncertainties; which if not properly addressed will prove to be an impediment to the attainment of national development goals. The inherent linkages of poverty reduction and proper environmental manage¬ment need special attention given that persistent droughts and recurrent floods in the country continue to catalyse emergency situations. The environment is a legacy, and it is an important cornerstone of Namibia’s economy, a source of food and a source of empowerment to many people, mostly the rural poor. It should therefore be protected and managed effectively. Recognising that environment is intrinsically inter-linked with addressing socio-cultural and economic issues; En¬suring environmental sustainability is one of the mandatory cross-cutting themes in NDP 3, thus it forms the basis for Namibia’s sustainable development. Given that, the UNDP support in the area of environment and energy is to strengthen national capacities to manage the environment in a sustainable manner while ensuring adequate protection of the poor.
Issues demanding attention
On the global scale, the environment is being confronted by issues such as cli¬mate change, habitat loss, pollution, intensification of human activities, habitat fragmentation and land degradation. Namibia is no exception. It is only through taking action towards the management of such catastrophes that the environ¬ment will survive. If not controlled, such issues may negatively impact the de¬velopment gains made by developing countries, such as Namibia. Given the fact that the overall management lies in the hands of human resources, management capacities, competencies and capabilities need to be built; both at the individual and institutional levels. For the purpose of addressing specific environmental is sues, development of innovative projects and strategic programmes has been prioritised. UNDP is currently committed to providing support to main¬stream environmental and energy issues into development planning; mobi¬lize finance for improved environmental management; address increasing threats from climate change; and build local capacity to better manage the environment and deliver services, especially water and energy. UNDP recog¬nizes that disaster risk reduction has many elements in common with climate risk reduction.

How do we work?
UNDP works in close collaboration and partnership with arrange of partners, including the government of the Republic of Namibia, Non-Governmental Organisations, local communities, regional economic blocks, bilateral/ mul¬tilateral donors and development partners to ensure that issues of environ¬mental concerns are supported and mainstream. In addition, UNDP support Namibia to meet all of its commitments to international conventions, for example, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). UNDP also works at both the national and local level to enhance institutional capacities, raise environ¬mental awareness, provide policy-related and strategic advices, offer techni¬cal support, and develop environmental sound poverty reduction projects. UNDP’s mandate for the E&E Unit is based upon Article 95 (l) of the Namibian Constitution; which sets the stage for the formulation of policies and legis¬lation that aim at safeguarding the country’s natural resources heritage for the benefit of current and future generations. To achieve these ambitious Constitutional objectives, both institutional and individual capacities in Na¬mibia will need to be strengthened to realise environmental management for sustainable development.