Urbanisation and the environment in Namibia : policy implications of the rural-urban relationship

Abstract

Central to a policy for sustainable urbanisation in Namibia, is the recognition of rural-urban relationships. The cross cutting spatial and sectoral issues, of circular migration need to be incorporated in an urbanisation policy. Government policies based on the assumptions of linear development theories such as 'urban bias', which isolate rural from urban as two mutually exclusive areas, mask the fact that poverty is experienced by urban and rural dwellers alike. At the crux of sustainable urbanisation in Namibia, is the ability of urban areas to absorb rapidly urbanising populations by way of provision of adequate urban infrastructure and services, housing and employment opportunities. In tum, this requires appropriate urban local governance, management and planning. The adoption of approaches which embody flexibility, adaptability, cooperation between the urban roleplayers, and speed of response are key to a sustainable urban environment. In the absence of urban conditions which can support a rapidly increasing population, migrants and the urban poor are forced to maintain a foothold in both rural and urban areas as a mechanism of risk diversification and survival. Mere survival, as embodied in circular migration in Namibia, does not suggest a process which can attain economic, social and biophysical sustainability. The implication is that the longer the conditions of circular migration remain entrenched in Namibia, the less likely the attainment of conditions of sustainability, and the more likely the further degradation of the environment, which ironically would probably further necessitate the split of households across the spatial continuum. Policies, such as Namibia's National Resettlement Policy, which target beneficiaries spatially and sectorally, tend not to have the expected benefits of poverty alleviation, and instead, often unintentionally, have the disbenefit of further entrenching poverty and circular migration. Fundamental then, to the sustainability of urbanisation in Namibia, is the integration of rural, urban and environmental policies, in turn requiring multi-sectoral and multi-spatial policies based on a thorough understanding of the forces underpinning circular migration.