June 2025: NamTip Project Hosts Winter School and Final Stakeholder Workshops in Namibia
A series of successful events marked a vibrant June 2025 for the NamTip project, coordinated by Prof. Anja Linstädter and involving several members of the her working group, underscoring its strong commitment to research, capacity building, and stakeholder engagement in addressing desertification in Namibia’s rangelands.
The activities began with the NamTip Winter School (16–21 June), held at Okatjikona in the scenic Waterberg Plateau Park. Fourteen Honours and Master’s students from the University of Namibia (UNAM) and the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) took part in an intensive, week-long interdisciplinary program. The program combined theoretical sessions with hands-on field excursions (Fig. 1) and was delivered by NamTip scientists, including UP PhD student Lisa-Maricia Schwarz. The dynamic exchange between lecturers and students created a highly interactive and enriching learning environment. Participants documented their impressions and experiences in an online diary, available here.
Following the Winter School, the NamTip Final Meeting featured a series of stakeholder-focused events, bringing together researchers, policymakers, farmers, and community representatives. Two regional workshops were held in the Waterberg region (23–24 June):
- The first workshop, in Okakarara, centered on sustainable rangeland management on freehold farms. It included practical presentations by NamTip researchers, participated discussions on strategies to prevent desertification tipping points, and a joint field visit to the project’s experimental sites.
- The second workshop, in the communal village of Ozangarangombe, focused on the Ovaherero communal land use system. More than 80 participants—including local farmers and conservancy members—explored locally adapted restoration strategies such as selective bush thinning, rotational split-grazing, and the reintroduction of native forage grasses. This interactive workshop (Fig. 2) was conducted in both English and Otjiherero, and also featured poster presentations by local school learners, supported by NamTip’s implementation partner EduVentures.
The events concluded with a press event on 26 June 2025 in Windhoek. In front of an audience of government officials, scientists, civil society representatives, and media, the NamTip team presented key findings from the project and handed over newly developed factsheets. These provide science-based, actionable recommendations for climate-resilient and sustainable rangeland management in Namibia.
High-level representatives from the University of Potsdam (including the President, Prof. Oliver Günther), UNAM, and NUST attended these final events, which were also covered in a press release by the University of Potsdam.
