Nedbank Namibia, in its continuous efforts to invest in environmental sustainable development through its Go Green Fund, is currently in the process of planting 58 trees across Namibia. At an event held in the capital this week, the bank also handed over a cheque of over N$1 million to the Namibia Nature Foundation (NNF) to be used towards funding environmental projects which in most cases are focused on research that helps generate new information needed to manage our country’s environment and wildlife resources sustainably.
The planting of the trees is being spearheaded by the bank’s staff across the country and is part of an in-house transformational initiative to create awareness amongst such staff to be more mindful of the environment and to be sustainable in all their efforts. The handing over of the N$1 million cheque coincided with Earth Overshoot Day which was observed on 02 August this year. Earth Overshoot Day marks humanity’s failure to protect the earth’s resources.
“Caring for our environment is not a choice, it is a responsibility. It is very clear that the continued investment into sustainable development is imperative if we want to preserve the finite resources of our world, and continue to address the developmental needs of the future. Through our vehicle and home loan finance facilities, Nedbank is able to provide small-grants for programmes dealing with conservation, protection and the wise management of Namibian habitats and indigenous plants,” Dr Edward Turner, Nedbank’s Executive for Corporate and Investment Banking said.
At the same event, the Deputy Minister of Environment and Tourism, Tommy Nambahu, emphasized the importance of conserving our country’s natural resources. “It is our responsibility to conserve Namibia’s natural resources and derive socioeconomic benefits sustainably from them. This means the continued support in educating our communities in the wise management of these resources and the continued investment in research-education, to better understand our changing environment, that will ultimately allow us to adapt and become resilient,” he said.
Many worthy projects have been supported through the Go Green Fund partnership between Nedbank and the NNF which spans over 16 years. Such programmes include the Namibia Desert Environment Education Trust, which received close to half a million for their work in environmental education, the EcoAwards Namibia, an organization that rewards responsible Tourism – that encourages consumers to be more aware of their natural world and the impact of their operations on the environment. The Go Green Fund also supported the Community Conservation Fisheries Project, who developed community based management system to address overfishing in the Kavango and Kwando rivers.
“We need to ensure that we continue to build on these environmental sustainability successes. We have a long way to go, but with the experts within Namibia, our engaged civil society and with public and private partnership such as the relationships shared between Nedbank and NNF, we will find solutions together to ensure the conservation of our environment for future generations to come,” Nambahu said.