NamTip investigates how Namibia’s savanna rangelands are approaching critical ecological thresholds due to the combined pressures of climate change and unsustainable land use. These pressures can lead to abrupt and potentially irreversible desertification tipping points, with far-reaching consequences for biodiversity and the communities that live in these areas. “Dryland ecosystems, which support the livelihoods of billions of people worldwide, are increasingly at risk of crossing these tipping points” explains project leader Prof. Anja Linstädter. “In NamTip, we have worked closely with local stakeholders to better understand these dynamics and to co-develop practical, evidence-based strategies to prevent degradation and restore affected areas”. By combining ecological and social research, as well as scenario modelling, the project aims to provide tools and policy-relevant knowledge for sustainable land management in vulnerable drylands.
The first part of the trip will be dedicated to the NamTip Winter School, taking place from 16 to 21 June (during the Namibian winter, hence the name) at the Okatjikona Environmental Education Centre in the Greater Waterberg Landscape Region. Titled “Identifying, Preventing and Reversing Tipping Points in Social-Ecological Systems”, the programme brings together Honours and Master’s students from the University of Namibia (UNAM) and the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST). The six-day course combines theoretical sessions, hands-on modules and field excursions to long-term research sites and the Waterberg Plateau National Park. Topics include rangeland degradation assessment, climate change adaptation, drone-based mapping, social-ecological systems analysis, as well as policy analysis and modelling exercises. Designed to build early-career capacity, the Winter School also fosters dialogue between Namibian and German students and researchers.
Following the Winter School, the Final NamTip Meeting will take place from 23 to 26 June, bringing together researchers, policy-makers, and practitioners for three dedicated events:
- On 23 June, a stakeholder workshop in Okakarara will focus on managing desertification tipping points on freehold farms.
- On 24 June, a second workshop in the communal village of Ozangarangombe will address these challenges from the perspective of communal farming systems.
- On 26 June, a press event in Windhoek will mark the formal conclusion of the project. Government representatives, academics, members of local organizations and of the press will attend as project partners present key research outcomes and officially hand over fact sheets summarizing practical and policy-relevant recommendations derived from project findings.
The Potsdam delegation includes, alongside Prof. Günther and Prof. Linstädter, project manager Thomas Bringhenti, PhD candidate Lisa-Maricia Schwarz, and BSc student Carlo Renner. Other project partners include the Universities of Bonn, Cologne, and Tübingen, ISOE – Institute for Social-Ecological Research, the UFZ Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, UNAM, NUST, the Namibia National Farmers Union (NNFU), and EduVentures.
Link to NamTip website:https://www.uni-potsdam.de/en/namtip