In August, I travelled to Namibia to take part in the Namibian Islands’ Marine Protected Area (NIMPA) Management and Marine Protected Area (MPA) Expansion Training, following a brief stop in Johannesburg. The week began with a warm welcome from local hosts and the opportunity to finally meet many collaborators in person, after months of virtual work.
The workshop celebrated significant progress made in the last two years:
• NAMCOB, the Namibian Foundation for the Conservation of Seabirds, has grown from inception to its first successful penguin release and now employs rangers to monitor seabird colonies across NIMPA’s islands.
• Waves of Change, a collaborative art project with schoolchildren and local artists, has transformed Lüderitz with conservation-themed murals, bringing colour, awareness, and opportunities for local creatives.
• Wider community engagement initiatives include small-scale fisheries support and the launch of an ocean literacy syllabus for schools.
My main role at the workshop was to represent SAERI’s contribution through the NIMPA+ Data Portal. I explained how the portal provides a central hub for coordination, transparency, and collaboration, with the potential to transform how marine data is managed and used in Namibia. By sharing and re-using existing datasets, we can strengthen decision-making, support policy development, and reduce duplication of effort. As I put it during my talk, “data being held in hidden databases is like fertiliser in the corner of a field; it just creates a stink. Spread it out, and see what grows.”
The message was well received, with both the Ministry of Fisheries and NAMCOB expressing strong interest in linking their monitoring data directly to the portal. This was encouraging, as wider data integration is exactly what makes the portal a powerful tool for research, policy, and collaboration.
Over the two days, government agencies, scientists, civil society organisations, and community leaders explored opportunities for NIMPA’s future. We heard from:
• Angus Middleton (Namibia Nature Foundation) calling for Namibia to embrace its identity as a marine nation.
• Judith Brown (Blue Marine Foundation) highlighting global evidence for the benefits of well-managed marine protected areas.
• Gabrielle Thomas and Nicki du Plessis exploring innovative conservation financing, from blue bonds to biodiversity credits.
• I also delivered a GIS training session, demonstrating how spatial data supports mapping habitats, tracking fishing activity, and planning enforcement.
• Other sessions showcased AI for conservation, research case studies, and practical monitoring priorities.
Beyond the formal programme, I met with senior staff in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform IT department to discuss opportunities for collaboration between their developing systems and the NIMPA+ Data Portal. The meeting was positive and opened the door to future cooperation on digital integration.
The workshop closed with both optimism and realism: clear successes, recognition of challenges (particularly around livelihoods and community impact), and a shared commitment to expanding and strengthening marine protection in Namibia. For me, it was a privilege to contribute on behalf of SAERI, and to see first-hand the enthusiasm for the NIMPA+ Data Portal as a key tool in supporting conservation, communities, and collaboration.
After the workshop, I took some annual leave to explore more of this wonderful nation, from mountains to coastlines, and even managed to sneak in a Swakopmund parkrun, where I set a new PB. Another reminder that whether on the trails or in SAERI projects, I’ll keep hitting the ground running.
