We are proud to announce Lignaverda’s first afforestation project in Namibia. This year, in close collaboration with the Namibian Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, we will execute a pilot project on a 86 ha plot at Siya in the West Kavango Region in the north of Namibia. In this pilot project we will validate the state-of-the art direct sowing technique successfully used by Lignaverda in Senegal where already over 4000 ha of degraded land has been reforested. 

Apart from that, Lignaverda will test in Siya whether spontaneous natural regeneration (managing and protecting spontaneous regrowth of tree seedlings) can be a proof of concept for specific Namibian regions. Furthermore, we will explore how native, drought-resistant trees can be sustainably mixed with fruit trees with a commercial value. 

To conclude with, in Siya, we will strengthen our ties with academic research through collaborations with the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) (research on carbon storage potential of various vegetation types) and the University of Antwerp (research on soil fertility improvement). With these initiatives, Lignaverda is setting the scene as a pioneer for further larger-scale afforestation in the southern hemisphere and will be among the first organisations to contribute to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Great Green Wall Initiative.