"Namibia: An ecological travelogue", with Prof. Maria Rosa Paiva.
"Extending over 825 615 km2 shared among 2.6M Homo sapiens and (at least) 1400 species of vertebrate animals, Namibia´s diversity is hard to beat. National Parks, Nature Reserves, deserts where mirages can be touched, savannas, woodlands, lakes and salt pans boost 28 vegetation types, covering rocks that encompass 2 600 M years - from the Archaean to the Phanerozoic age. Native peoples, like the Sam, Damara and Herrero, still keep their traditional lifestyles. Diogo Cão and Bartolomeu Dias touched the coast in 1485-1488, yet only 300 years later Dutch and English settlers arrived. South West Africa (SWA) became a German “protectorate” in 1884, then a South African colony in 1920, reaching independence in 1990. Today 15% of the economy relies on mining, mostly diamonds and on farming. Tourism is the fastest growing sector, cherished by the local communities and partially contributing to sustainability. Although the GDP per capita is close to $US 5 000., income inequalities are gigantic, originating visible tensions. Which path will apparently ecologically sustainable Namibia follow? "
The talk has been rescheduled to 13th April 2023, 14:00, and it will also be streamed online here: https://videoconf-colibri.zoom.us/j/99157641229
