Ounongo Repository (Namibia Univ. of Science and Technology)
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Cultural sensitivity and intercultural communication competency
No full textGuest lectureThe guest lecture presents theory and practical aspects for successful application of intercultural communication competency in a diverse working environment
Impact of rainfall gradient on carbon storage in the dry woodland ecosystemo of Kavango and Zambezi
No full textNamibia is currently a signatory on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as a non-Annex I party. As a non-Annex I party, Namibia is required to ‘provide information on greenhouse gas inventories’, but they currently lack sufficient baseline data. The study aims to answer whether increased rainfall increases the amount of carbon stored above and below ground for two important timber species (Burkea africana and Pterocarpus angolensis) found along the natural rainfall gradient in North-eastern Namibia. From this aim, three research objectives were set. The first is to compare whether rainfall results in statistically different non-destructive measurements in the tree species investigated. The second is to develop and compare different allometric models that link non-destructive measurements of trees to above and below ground carbon values, to determine which produces the highest accuracy (about 30% uncertainty level). The third is to determine whether rainfall influences woody biomass for either species
Potential use of 3D-derived products generated from unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imagery for monitoring forest degradation and woodland structure changes in the Namibian dry woodlands
No full textDifferent remote sensing approaches (in terms of data and analysis) have been demonstrated to be efficient mechanisms for monitoring changes in woodland cover. The use of optical remote sensing in monitoring dry woodlands has proved challenging and resulted in underestimating the cover and distribution of open woodlands (Bastin et al., 2017). With the use of an integrated LiDAR and SAR approach, Mathieu et al. (2018) have demonstrated an effective means to assessing the distribution and fractional woody cover of savanna forests (including the dry woodlands of Namibia
Thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Natural Resource Management at the Namibia University of Science and Technology
No full textThe distribution of the world’s flora and fauna is shaped by different environmental factors. Such factors operate either locally, regionally or globally to influence species distribution. Studies of vegetation-environment relationship are very crucial especially under current and future changes in climate. The Kalahari basin also known as ‘thurstland’ offers an excellent basis for these studies at a sub-continental scale due to its variability and uncertainty of rainfall, high day temperatures and a uniform soil substrate that makes the Kalahari highly susceptible to climate change. This study was aimed at determining the main environmental factors influencing the distribution of vegetation, and investigate changes in the main plant functional and structural attributes in response to the detected main environmental factors along the Kalahari aridity gradient. Five study sites were selected along the Kalahari aridity gradient in central Namibia. Ten 50 m x 20 m plots were demarcated at each site in which grasses and phanerophytes were sampled using PCQ and BECVOL sampling methods respectively. For each site, grass sward density and for phanerophytes species richness, diversity, total basal area, total canopy volume, leaf volume production at 1.5 m, 2.0 m and 5.0 m, and density were calculated. Results revealed that mean annual rainfall was the main environmental factor influencing vegetation distribution on Kalahari sands. Phanerophytes in high rainfall areas were mainly evergreen with big leaves whereas phanerophytes in low rainfall areas were mostly decidious with small leaves. Phanerophytes species richness, diversity, total basal area, total canopy volume, leaf volume production at 1.5 m, 2.0 m and 5.0 m and density increased with rainfall while grass sward density decreased with increasing rainfall mainly due to competition from increasing phanerophyte density. It was concluded that overall phanerophyte productivity declines with decreasing rainfall and vice versa, and is anticipated to decrease further under projected change in climate
Communal land
No full textCommunal land is one of the land tenure systems in Namibia, the other being freehold land tenure system. At independence in 1990,Namibia resolved to retain communal land on the basis that majority of the population derived their livelihoods from communal land.Notwithstanding the increasing urban population in the country since independence, the majority of the Namibian population still lives in the communal areas, and many of the urban-based population continue to have close relations in rural areas. Similarly, while sources of livelihoods in the communal areas have been diversified, communal land continues to serve as an important basis of people’s livelihoods
Ecosystem services and small-holder farming practices -between payments, development support and right- an integrated approach (ILMI Working paper 10)
No full textSmall-scale farmers in north-central Namibia face numerous challenges, ranging from low crop yields, high rainfall variability and land degradation which is threatening the long-term productivity of the land, to social changes that are reducing the work force available for farming. This paper aims to assess existing land use practices (LUPs) and to determine their relationship to ecosystem services (ES). As agriculture (crop and livestock farming) is the dominant land use in northern Namibia, it is the main driver influencing environmental services and will be in the focus here. We suggest ways of combining an improvement of provisioning services (especially food production and thus livelihoods of small-scale farmers) together with regulating services (e.g. climate regulation through carbon storage and soil fertility conservation) to create multiple benefits at the landscape level. In addition to identifying suitable LUPs, we argue that any activity trying to improve ES should count on the already existing initiatives and interventions and look for synergies and complementarities
Land, livelihoods and housing Programme 2015-18
No full textThe current paper derives from work conducted in the context of the Revision of the Mass Housing Development
Programme (MHDP) that the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development (MURD) commissioned to the Integrated
Land Management Institute (ILMI) at the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST). The paper
contains only publicly-available information and was prepared for public dissemination of issues related to the
work undertaken for the Ministry in the context of this project
Climate change and adaptive land management in southern Africa – assessments, changes, challenges, and solutions
No full textCapacity-building in the Southern Africa Science Services Centre for Climate Change and Adaptive Land Management (SASSCAL) is an essential part of the initiative’s science programme. One of the major capacity limitations identifi ed at the Southern African Development Community (SADC) level is in the fi eld of Earth Observation, Geographic Information Systems, and Remote Sensing. Within Task 303, a collaborative Master of Science degree in Geographic Information Systems, Remote Sensing, and Earth Observation was designed and implemented by four SADC universities: University of Botswana (UB), University of Zambia (UNZA), Cape Peninsula University of Science and Technology (CPUT, SouthAfrica), and Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), the coordinating university.)Federal Ministry of Education and Researc
Urban land delivery
No full textThere has been rapid growth in urban populations in Namibia (Pendleton et al, 2014). This growth is amongst predominantly amongst less educated, poorer migrants from rural areas in search of opportunities in urban areas. From the data available the estimated shortfall of either titled land or houses appears to be above 150 000 and increasing at about 11 000 per year (Weber, 2017). This trend of urbanisation is occurring not only in Namibia but across the world, particularly now in developing countries. Continued urban migration should be encouraged, as even though new urban migrants are poor, by and large their lives are better in urban areas. However, the delivery of titled land in urban areas in Namibia has been hamstrung by several legislative and regulatory procedures with a number of negative consequences (De Vries, 2009)
The impacts of pragmatic knowledge on the effectiveness of oral communication: English teachers of Adama science and technology university in focus
No full text* Ph.D. Scholar, Andhra University, College of Arts and Commerce, Department of English ** Associate Professor/Deputy Director, Department of Communication, Faculty of Human Sciences, Namibia University of Science and Technology, Windhoek, NamibiaThe main purpose of this study was to explore the impacts of pragmatic knowledge on the effectiveness of oral communication. Both quantitative and qualitative methodology were employed in this study. The study was conducted in Adama Science and Technology University and the data were collected from 33 English language teachers. Purposive sampling was used to select the study sample. The data collection instruments used during the study were Multiple Choice Questionnaire, Discourse Completion Test, Interview and Communication Quiz. All the data collection instruments were developed after the necessary literature were reviewed. The data gathered through the Multiple Choices Questionnaire and Communication Quiz were analyzed based on percentages while the data collected through Discourse Completion Test and the Interviews were analyzed descriptively. The findings of the study revealed that, the majority of the English language teachers in Adama Science and Technology University have lower pragmatic competence. It was learned that the majority of the teachers have problems of communication. The collected data revealed that poor pragmatic competence has greatly affected the effectiveness of oral communication. Finally recommendations such as including pragmatics skills in language classes and giving short term training about application of pragmatics were forwarded based on the findings of the study