Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform, Inge Zaamwani said Namibia is intensifying efforts to declare more marine protected areas as the country works towards meeting international biodiversity commitments.

Zaamwani said oceans remain critical to life on earth, regulating the climate, producing oxygen and supporting livelihoods.

She also emphasised that the ministry has identified ecological and biological sensitive areas and is progressing toward declaring some protected areas .

Namibia has already conserved nearly forty percent of its terrestrial areas, only 1.69 percent of its marine areas currently enjoy protected status.

"Fulfilling our commitment to the convention on biological diversity's 30% target, and so what does this 30 by 30 target mean? It commits the members of participating countries to conserve at least 30% of earth, earthland, inland water, coastal and marine areas."  Said Inge  Zaamwani 

As a member of the Benguela Current Convention, Namibia continues to work closely with Angola and South Africa to strengthen regional ocean governance and protect shared marine resources.

Thus, Minister Zaamwani urged Namibians to take responsibility for keeping the coastline free from pollution.

"Even if you have never seen the ocean or touched the ocean, just imagine that it is what sustains your life every day; everything you do, the earth, the oxygen, the water and the food you consume comes from the ocean. "

Marine and coastal conservation expert, Carolin Mutorwa notes that Namibia's ocean plays a vital role in national food security, economic growth and environmental sustainability.

" The ocean also offers thousands of direct and indirect jobs that are supported by industries, and one example is also 90 thousand direct jobs that are supported by the fisheries sector alone, so it's a huge player for our GDP and for the income generation. " Said Carolin Mutorwa.

The Director of Resource Management in the Ministry, Graca D'Almeida has called for a renewed relationship between humanity and the ocean.

"Globally, the fisheries sector generates 24 billion annually; it provides employment for 12 million people and provides at least 12 per cent of the animal protein intake. This is the fish that we are eating for over 3 billion people; it sustains over 600 million livelihoods worldwide."