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News: 2025

July 2025: Radio interviews on the causes of desertification in Germany and Namibia
(left) view of Lieberoser desert with dry grass and conifer trees in the background, (right) view of sand dunes from the Namibian desert
Photo: Jan-Herm Janßen, Thomas Bringhenti

July 2025: Radio interviews on the causes of desertification in Germany and Namibia

In two recent German radio interviews, Prof. Anja Linstädter compared the drivers of land degradation in Namibia and Germany, urging greater focus on prevention strategies as climate change increases desertification risks.

July 2025: NamTip team presents key project findings at GlobalTip Final Conference
Group of panelists sitting in front of the audience and debating with a screen projection in the background
Photo: Diego Menestrey-Schwieger, Meed Mbidzo

July 2025: NamTip team presents key project findings at GlobalTip Final Conference

NamTip Principal Investigators joined fellow researchers in Frankfurt am Main to share critical insights on detecting and preventing social-ecological tipping points in vulnerable regions.

June 2025: NamTip hosts Winter School and Final Stakeholder Workshops in Namibia
very large group of pictures including researchers and farmers posing under a large tree
Photo: Anja Linstädter

June 2025: NamTip Hosts Winter School and Final Stakeholder Workshops in Namibia

NamTip engaged students, researchers, policymakers, and local communities in hands-on learning and dialogue on sustainable rangeland management and desertification prevention in Namibia.

June 2025: Final batch of Factsheets published ahead of NamTip Workshop
Overview of factsheets 9, 10, 11 and 12 with their title pages
Source: NamTip

June 2025: Final batch of Factsheets published ahead of NamTip Workshop

Four new NamTip factsheets offer practical insights into the importance of the soil seed bank, resilient forage production, and farmers' strategies to combat desertification.

June 2025: New NamTip video highlights ecological fieldwork
Cover image of NamTip video showing the title and a drone picture of a communal area surrounded by rangeland
Source: NamTip

June 2025: New NamTip video highlights ecological fieldwork

The video offers a closer look at the project's experimental approaches used to study and restore degraded rangeland ecosystems in Namibia.

May 2025: New paper explores how desertification emerges and how freehold farmers respond
Graphical abstract of paper by Grieger et al. 2025 showing rangeland as a social-ecological system
Source: Grieger et al. 2025

May 2025: New paper explores how desertification emerges and how freehold farmers respond

Lena Grieger led an interdisciplinary study combining remote sensing and social science data to understand the drivers of desertification and the freehold farmers’ coping strategies.

May 2025: NamTip Winter School featured as global event on Desertification and Drought Day 2025
Poster of Desertification and Drought Day 2025 and map showing global events on this day
Source: UNCCD

May 2025: NamTip Winter School featured as global event on Desertification and Drought Day 2025

By building local scientific capacity and promoting practical solutions to land degradation, the NamTip Winter School supports the UNCCD’s global efforts to combat desertification.

May 2025: PhD student defends thesis on drone-based rangeland monitoring
Dr. Vistorina Amputu wearing the graduation hat and title slide of her presentation
Photo: Vistorina Amputu

May 2025: PhD student defends thesis on drone-based rangeland monitoring

Dr. Vistorina Amputu’s innovative research highlights how drone technology can revolutionize rangeland monitoring and support adaptive land management in Namibia’s semi-arid regions.

May 2025: New interdisciplinary Factsheets are out
Overview of front pages of factsheets #6, #7 and #8
Source: NamTip

May 2025: New interdisciplinary factsheets are out

The latest NamTip factsheets offer practical, field-based insights and strategies to support sustainable rangeland management in Namibia’s communal areas.

April 2025: First NamTip PhD student defends her thesis
PhD graduate Ndamonenghenda Hamunyela raising her arms to celebrate her achievement; title page of her thesis presentation
Photo: Ndamonenghenda Hamunyela

April 2025: First NamTip PhD student defends her thesis

Dr. Ndamonenghenda Hamunyela’s research, with a strong focus on soil seed banks and plant recruitment dynamics, offers practical insights into detecting early-warning signals of rangeland degradation.

April 2025: Ambassador of Namibia visits Potsdam
Namibian Ambassador shaking the hand of the President of the University of Potsdam in front of university buildings at Neues Palais
Photo: Marita Böhning

April 2025: Ambassador of Namibia visits Potsdam

A delegation from the University of Potsdam, including NamTip project leader Prof. Anja Linstädter, met with the Namibian Ambassador, H.E. Martin Andjaba.

March 2025: More Factsheets published
Overview of two NamTip Factsheets
Source: NamTip

March 2025: More Factsheets published

The new factsheets cover the topics of historical factors contributing to desertification in communal areas, as well as the causes of bush encorachment.

February 2025: First NamTip Factsheets are out!
Overview of 3 published factsheets
Source: NamTip

February 2025: First NamTip Factsheets are out!

The first factsheets introduce the NamTip project, examine drones' use in adaptive rangeland management, and present soil indicators of rangeland health.

January 2025: New interdisciplinary paper
Cattle resting under the shade of a tree in a communal area of Namibia
Photo: Ildikó Orbán

January 2025: New interdisciplinary paper on understanding desertification at the village level

Diego A. Menestrey Schwieger led a comparative analysis integrating methods from rangeland ecology and anthropology.

January 2025: Update from TipEx
Vegetation emergence from dry soil in the surroundings of a rainout shelter
Photo: Mark Bilton

January 2025: Update from TipEx

Following early rainfall, vegetation is emerging around the TipEx rainout shelters, while the ground beneath them remains bare.

2024
Collage of pictures showing cows grazing on rangeland, researchers on the field, group picture with project members and stakeholders and educational activities with school learners.
Photo: NamTip

Previous News (2023-2024)

News from 2023 and 2024 can be found here.