The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT) is a government ministry of

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

, with headquarters in

Windhoek Windhoek (; ; ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek, which ...

. It was created at

Namibian independence The history of Namibia has passed through several distinct stages from being colonised in the late nineteenth century to Namibia's independence on 21 March 1990. From 1884, Namibia was a German colony: German South West Africa. After the First ...

in 1990 as Ministry of Wildlife, Conservation and Tourism. The first Namibian environment and tourism minister was

Niko Bessinger Nikolaus Onverwag 'Niko' Bessinger (12 June 1948 – 25 March 2008) was a Namibian politician and independence activist. Bessinger was born on 12 June 1948 in Walvis Bay, South West Africa. Born into the Goreseb clan which is closely related to ...

, the minister is

Pohamba Shifeta Pohamba Penomwenyo Shifeta (born 27 March 1968) is a Namibian politician. He was Namibia's Minister of Environment and Tourism from March 2015 to 21 March 2025. Early life and education Shifeta was born at Ongenga in the Ohangwena Region. He ...

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 The Constitution of Namibia is the supreme law of the Republic of Namibia. Adopted on 9 February 1990, a month prior to Namibia's independence from apartheid South Africa, it was written by an elected constituent assembly. Preamble "Whereas ...

, 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

Ministers

All environment and tourism ministers in chronological order are:

References

External links

Official website
Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism
Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism
at the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an International organization, international association of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, 56 member states, the vast majo ...

Environment and tourism Environment and tourism ministers of Namibia

Tourism in Namibia Environment of Namibia 1990 establishments in Namibia {{Namibia-gov-stub

Mandate

Structure

Ministers

See also

References

External links