The Sperrgebiet: Namibia's Least Known Wilderness

Title: The Sperrgebiet
Subtitle: Namibia's Least Known Wilderness
Editor: John Pallet
Publisher: Desert Research Foundation of Namibia (DRFN) and NAMDEB Diamond Corporation (Pty) Ltd.
Windhoek, Namibia 1995
ISBN 9991670939 / ISBN 99916-709-3-9
ISBN 9789991670935
Original softcover, 21 x 30 cm, 84 pages, throughout colour photos

Book Condition:

Good. Minor traces of shelf wear.

About: The Sperrgebiet: Namibia's Least Known Wilderness

Many people helped compile The Sperrgebiet: Namibia's Least Known Wilderness, an environmental profile of the Sperrgebiet. The first step taken by the editors was to solicit a number of specialist reports from a variety of people who had worked in the Sperrgebiet or who were otherwise familiar with aspects of the history or environment of Diamond Area 1. This surprisingly rich assemblage of information was then condensed into its present form. The Sperrgebiet: Namibia's Least Known Wilderness presents information on the natural resources of the Sperrgebiet and the potential that the area holds.

It is intended to lay the basis for future planning and management, and to direct attention to the valuable historical and biological resources that remain largely unknown to the Namibian public and tourists. Because of the wide scope and large area covered in the profile, information is broadly based. It is not intended as an environmental assessment, although some impacts of current mining and other potential uses are highlighted. It should certainly not act as a substitute for any assessment of a development project that, by Namibian law, is required before commencement.

Any specific area that is targeted for prospecting, mining, agriculture, tourism or other development must therefore be investigated in more detail. Recommendations are given with the long-term, sustainable use of the natural resources in mind. The limited knowledge and awareness of the Sperrgebiet emphasizes a need for further work. This lack of information and appreciation of the area hampers decision-making and hinders planning. These deficiencies need to be addressed urgently to prevent irreversible loss of the potential that the Sperrgebiet holds for Namibia.

Content: The Sperrgebiet: Namibia's Least Known Wilderness

FOREWORD
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
PART ONE
INTRODUCTION
Why the forbidden territory?
Why an environmental profile?
Regional setting
Past and present management of the Sperrgebiet
Namibia's unique opportunity!
ENVIRONMENTAL SENSITIVITY OF THE SPERRGEBIET
Areas of high sensitivity
The Orange River valley
The coast and coastal dune hummocks
Inland inselbergs, mountain ranges and rocky outcrops
Areas of low sensitivity
Conclusion
Recommendations for use of high and low sensitivity areas
Information and training
Assessment and monitoring
Vehicle tracks
Borrow pits
Waste disposal
Core refuge areas
FUTURE OPTIONS FOR THE SPERRGEBIET
Development options
Options and implications
Prospecting
Mining
Oil refinery
Power generation - gas, wind, nuclear power
Toxic waste disposal
Harvesting and processing of marine resources
Agriculture
Game farming
Leisure and health establishments
Conservation
Tourism
Research, education and training
Constraints
Water
Soils
Isolation
High security
Wind
Rehabilitation and prevention of destruction
Planning
TOOLS FOR GOOD ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
The Namibian Constitution
The Minerals Act
Environmental Assessment Policy
Namibia's Green Plan
Other legislation
International environmental conventions
Convention on Biological Diversity
Convention to Combat Desertification
The Ramsar Convention - the 'wetland treaty'
PART TWO
GEOLOGY AND GEOMORPHOLOGY
Summary
Geology
Sediment movement in the Sperrgebiet
Geomorphology
Recommendations
Soils of the Sperrgebiet
PALAEONTOLOGY
Summary
Fossils and mining: a mutually beneficial relationship
The northern Sperrgebiet
The southern Sperrgebiet
Ancient animals from Arrisdrift
Recommendations
CLIMATE
Summary
Winds
Rainfall
Fog
Temperature and evaporation
VEGETATION
Summary
Factors influencing the vegetation
The vegetation zones
The Coastal Zone
Revegetation of sand dumps in Mining Area 1
The Central Sand Plains
The Eastern Sand Plains
Emergency grazing in the Sperrgebiet
The Rocky Outcrops and Inselbergs
The Lower Orange River Zone
Conservation of the vegetation
Recommendations
ANIMAL LIFE
Summary
Diversity
Mammals
Animal movements and the eastern boundary fence
Locally extinct mammals
Biodiversity, Red Data species, endemics and flagship species - how are conservation prioritities justified?
Seals and other marine mammals
Flagship species for the Sperrgebiet
Conservation priorities for the Sperrgebiet
Alien mammals
CONTENTS
Birds
Seabirds and wetland birds
Breeding seabirds
The plight of the African Penguin
Migrant seabirds
Wetland birds
The Orange River mouth - an internationally recognized wetland
Conclusion: seabirds and wetland birds
Inland birds
Barlow's Lark - a near-endemic to the Sperrgebiet
Reptiles and frogs
Reptiles
Frogs
Invertebrates - insects, spiders, scorpions, snails, and others
Insects
Spiders, scorpions, centipedes and millipedes
Desert snails
Research and monitoring in the Sperrgebiet
Recommendations
THE ORANGE RIVER
Summary
Southern Africa's most important river
The 1988 Orange River floods 60 The Orange River mouth system
Farming on the lower Orange River
Conservation and impacts of developments on the river
Demand management
Recommendations
THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT
Summary
Rock Lobster (Crayfish)
Mariculture
Seaweeds
Offshore islands
The coastline itself
Sandy beaches
Rocky shores
Recommendations
ARCHAEOLOGY
Summary
Early Stone Age (Earlier than 150 000 years before present)
Middle Stone Age (150 000 - 20 000 years BP)
Later Stone Age (20 000 - 500 years BP)
Early contacts with Europeans
Shipwrecks on the Sperrgebiet coast
Recommendations
HISTORY
Summary
The nineteenth century - colonial trade and expansion
Diamond fever
Diamonds at the Orange River mouth
Sand, fortune and "gesundheit" - early life in the diamond settlements
Recent growth of CDM (now NAMDEB) and Oranjemund
Recommendations
DIAMOND MINING
Summary
Mining in the early Twentieth Century
Present-day mining by NAMDEB
Mining Area 1
Elizabeth Bay
Auchas
Contractual operations
Offshore, deep water mining
Recommendations
HUMAN PERSPECTIVES ASSOCIATED WITH MINING IN THE SPERRGEBIET
Summary
NAMDEB's formal economic and social contribution
Profile of the NAMDEB workforce
The situation in the North - absentee farmers and extended families
What the future holds
Recommendations
REFERENCES