The Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) is a government ministry of Namibia, with headquarters in Windhoek. It was created at Namibian independence in 1990 as Ministry of Wildlife, Conservation and Tourism. The first Namibian environment and tourism minister was Niko Bessinger,Christof Maletzky (26 March 2008): Niko Bessinger passes away The Namibian the minister is Indileni Daniel.

Mandate

The ministries self-declared mission is "to promote biodiversity conservation in the Namibian environment through the sustainable utilization of natural resources and tourism development for the maximum social and economic benefit of its citizens." Its mandate is derived from the Constitution of Namibia, specifically Chapter 11 "Principles of State Policy" and Article 95 "Promotion of the Welfare of the People".

Namibia is the first African country that has integrated environmental conservation in the national constitution.

Structure The ministry has three departments:

Tourism, Planning and Administration Natural Resources Management Environmental Affairs and Forestry

It further consists of seven directorates:

Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) Directorate of Forestry (DoF) Environmental Affairs (EA) Planning and Technical Services Scientific Services Tourism and Gaming Administration, Finance and Human Resources

MET also contains the Etosha Ecological Institute in Okaukuejo.H.H. Berry. 1997. Historical review of the Etosha Region and its subsequent administration as a National Park. Madaqua 1997, 20(1): 3-12

Ministers All environment and tourism ministers in chronological order are:

# Picture Name Party Term start Term end Minister of Wildlife, Conservation and Tourism 1 Niko Bessinger 1948–2008 SWAPO 1990 1995 Minister of Environment and Tourism 2 Gert Hanekom 1930–1999 SWAPO 1995 1997 3 Philemon Malima 1946– SWAPO 1997 2005 4 Willem Konjore 1945–2021 SWAPO 2005 2008 5 Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah 1952– SWAPO 2008 2012 6 Uahekua Herunga 1969– SWAPO 2012 2015 7 Pohamba Shifeta 1968– SWAPO 2015 2020 Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism Pohamba Shifeta 1968– SWAPO 2020 Minister of Environment and Tourism 8 Indileni Daniel 2025

See also List of national parks of Namibia Protected areas of Namibia

References

External links Official website Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism at the Commonwealth of Nations