By Duncan Mboyah (Special Correspondent)
A Namibian environmental trust has scooped the 2024 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Sultan Qaboos Prize for Environmental Conservation.
The Namib Desert Environmental Education Trust (NaDEET), a non-profit organization received the award after dedicating its work towards sustainable development and environmental education in the deserts of the southern African country.
Viktoria Keding, Director and co-founder of NaDEET thanked UNESCO and the government of Oman for the award.
Keding promised to continue with the good work of doing the job of conservation and creating awareness on conservation.
NaDEET, established in 2003 and operates environmental education centres in and around the Namib and Nature Reserve also won a US$100,000 cash award.
Their activities encourage participants to live sustainably in one of the world’s most fragile ecosystems.
So far over 16,000 Namibians have already participated in a NaDEET Centre programme since its founding.
In addition to its Centre-based programs, NaDEET is also extending its impact nationwide through initiatives on education for sustainable development.
The two-year program has trained hundreds of teachers, leading to the implementation of over 740 activities on education for sustainable development in schools across Namibia, reaching more than 75,000 students and teachers.
From 2017-2019, NaDEET was a lead organization in the drafting and finalization of the Namibian National Environmental Education and Education for Sustainable Development (EE/ESD) Policy, the first stand-alone policy of its kind in southern Africa.
The organization’s efforts have been recognized through various accolades, including the 2018 UNESCO-Japan Prize on Education for Sustainable Development.
Launched in 1991 through a generous donation from Sultan Qaboos Bin Said Al Said of Oman, the UNESCO Sultan Qaboos Prize for Environmental Conservation recognizes, every two years, outstanding contributions to the management and conservation of the environment and raising awareness on the importance of environmental conservation for human well-being.
It recognizes NaDEET’s significant contributions to promoting sustainability and environmental education in Namibia.
The Centre’s immersive, hands-on programs work with adults and children to build sustainable practices, including solar cooking, water conservation, and recycling.
