Rangelands remain drier than normal

Rangelands in Namibia continued to be drier than normal in March this year.

This is according to ecologist Cornelis van der Waal, who - in the 'State of the Namibian Rangeland' report for March - said that average greenness includes parts of northern Kunene and central Ohangwena, as well as the far southwestern area of the //Karas Region.

Since February, the far northern parts along the Angola border have dried out substantially, he said.

In February, the status report also showed that drier-than-normal areas included the Erongo, Khomas, Omaheke, Hardap and //Karas regions, as well as the southern parts of the Oshana, Oshikoto and Otjozondjupa, and the southern and western parts of Kunene. The Zambezi Region ranged from normal to below normal. Above-average conditions are currently experienced in the northeastern parts of the Kunene, northern parts of the Omusati, Oshana and Oshikoto regions as well as western parts of Kavango West.



Growing season

Meanwhile, Van der Waal said plant productivity in large parts of Namibia remained poor in March and has even deteriorated.

Exceptions include the far northwest, where plant productivity is above average.

“The growing season, while not over yet, is approaching its end and farmers and land users should urgently prepare for a possible forage deficit if the dry conditions continue.”

He explained that it is important to monitor the status of rangelands because livestock production in Namibia is almost entirely dependent on the productivity of its rangelands, which may plummet to near zero during severe droughts.

The key component of the early warning system is based on freely available remote sensing technology that measures active vegetation growth across Namibia in near real time, he said. Therefore, comparing current vegetation activity patterns with the 10-year average for the same area during the same time of year provides an objective view of the rangeland status.