Legislation (Nature Conservation Ordinance of 1975) was amended in April 2017 to include a new provision that no person shall enter a game park or nature reserve with a plastic bag.
We call upon the sector which includes tour operators and the Namibia Tourism Board to inform and educate their clients or customers on this new restriction.
This ban is specific to plastic carrier bags commonly used for shopping as the amendment makes exceptions to plastics which:
1. Are designed to be used for the disposal of waste;
2. Are designed for agricultural purposes;
3. Are used for sampling or analysis;
4. Constitute, or form an integral part of, the packaging in which goods are sealed prior to sale in the local market or for export; or
5. Are transparent resealable bags.
A person who contravenes this ban is liable to a fine not exceeding N$500 or to imprisonment not exceeding 6 months or to both such a fine and such imprisonment.
The Ministry will step up efforts to enforce this ban over the coming months. Namibia’s game parks and nature reserves are areas of outstanding natural and ecological value that are managed to protect their ecological integrity and for the long term conservation of nature.
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Source: Ministry of Environment and Tourism Namibia
Joseph!