Unlocking The Tourism And Aquaculture Potential In Kavango East, Namibia

Published on August 15, 2025

Kavango East, successful northeastern Namibia, is simply a region rich | successful possibilities waiting to beryllium realised. With Rundu arsenic its lively heart, nan area boasts stunning landscapes, colourful taste traditions, and nan cool travel of nan Okavango River. Yet, while nan region offers truthful much, its roads, powerfulness lines, and h2o supplies still request work. Without nan correct infrastructure, tourism and aquaculture—the 2 sectors that could really pump caller power into nan economy—stay limited. Local business owners show america that without reliable accommodation and backing successful these fields, their dreams of description are stuck successful park. This station looks intimately astatine their worries, nan hurdles they face, and nan solutions that could move Kavango East’s insights into growth.

Tourism: A Missed Opportunity

Tourism is 1 of nan astir move sectors globally, contributing to economical growth, occupation creation, and nan improvement of section communities. In Namibia, tourism is simply a cardinal driver of nan economy, pinch nan superior metropolis Windhoek and coastal towns for illustration Swakopmund and Walvis Bay continuing to put heavy successful their section attractions to tie visitors. However, successful Kavango East, nan tourism assemblage remains underdeveloped, chiefly owed to nan deficiency of infrastructure and finance successful tourer facilities.

Rundu, arsenic nan economical and administrative centre of Kavango East, has immense imaginable to go a cardinal tourism hub. The municipality is situated on nan Okavango River, 1 of nan astir ecologically important rivers successful Southern Africa. The river, mixed pinch nan adjacent Bwabwata National Park, creates a unsocial blend of earthy beauty and wildlife, offering a cleanable mounting for ecotourism, escapade tourism, and taste tourism. Despite this, nan municipality lacks basal tourism infrastructure specified arsenic visitant centres, accommodation facilities, and proscription links that would make it an charismatic destination for tourists.

Local entrepreneurs person raised concerns that nan region’s nonaccomplishment to prioritise tourism infrastructure improvement is hindering economical diversification. Without due facilities, nan area struggles to pull some section and world visitors. While towns successful coastal regions of Namibia proceed to spot investments aimed astatine boosting tourism, Kavango East remains mostly neglected successful this regard. The deficiency of attraction to this captious assemblage is simply a missed opportunity for economical maturation and occupation creation successful nan region.

Aquaculture: A Promising Industry successful Need of Support

In summation to tourism, different assemblage pinch untapped imaginable successful Kavango East is aquaculture. The region’s proximity to nan Okavango River and its abundant h2o resources make it an perfect location for food farming. Aquaculture, if developed correctly, could play a important domiciled successful diversifying nan region’s cultivation activities, improving nutrient security, and providing a reliable root of income and employment.

However, nan improvement of aquaculture successful Kavango East has been severely hampered by nan deficiency of infrastructure and support from authorities. One of nan cardinal issues raised by section entrepreneurs is nan absence of an aquaculture agency successful nan region, which would supply much-needed guidance and training for aspiring food farmers. This spread successful support has near galore imaginable food farmers without nan basal resources and knowledge to pat into nan industry.

The communicative of a food farming installation successful nan region highlights nan missed opportunities successful aquaculture. A building intended to service arsenic a hub for food farmers has been near abandoned for much than a decade. Construction of nan N$16 cardinal installation began successful 2012, but advancement stalled aft nan first contractor grounded to meet nan position of nan project. African Silver Engineering was later appointed to decorativeness nan activity successful 2018, but costs disputes led to further delays. As a result, nan building has remained unused for nan past 13 years.

The nonaccomplishment to complete and operationalise nan aquaculture installation is simply a important oversight, particularly considering nan region’s imaginable for food farming. With nan correct training, resources, and infrastructure, food farming could importantly heighten nutrient security, peculiarly during droughts aliases periods of debased harvest production. Furthermore, it could supply a reliable income root for section farmers, reducing their reliance connected accepted cultivation activities.

The Case for Trophy Hunting: Another Economic Opportunity

In summation to tourism and aquaculture, location is different area wherever Kavango East could use economically: trophy hunting. The region is location to respective conservancies, which are areas of onshore managed for wildlife conservation and sustainable assets use. Trophy hunting, erstwhile managed properly, tin beryllium a lucrative manufacture that generates important gross for section communities and conservation efforts.

However, farmers and conservancy managers successful Kavango East person pointed retired nan deficiency of system plans for trophy hunting successful nan region. The absence of general regulations and strategies to beforehand trophy hunting intends that nan region is missing retired connected a imaginable root of income that could support conservation efforts and use section communities. The income generated from trophy hunting could beryllium reinvested into section improvement projects, providing much-needed infrastructure, education, and healthcare services for agrarian communities.

Government Response and nan Path Forward

The Namibian authorities has recognised nan value of tourism, aquaculture, and sustainable wildlife guidance for nan economical improvement of Kavango East. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform (MAWLR) has acknowledged nan concerns raised by section entrepreneurs and is taking steps to reside nan issues.

For example, nan MAWLR has allocated costs successful nan 2025/26 financial twelvemonth to rehabilitate h2o infrastructure and build sanitation accommodation successful nan region. These improvements are aimed astatine supporting cultivation activities, including aquaculture, and improving surviving conditions for section residents.

In addition, nan government, successful collaboration pinch nan Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), has been conducting training sessions for section farmers to heighten their aquaculture practices. These initiatives purpose to build nan capacity of section farmers, equipping them pinch nan skills and knowledge needed to successfully prosecute successful food farming. The government’s efforts to support sustainable cultivation improvement and empower section communities are promising steps toward unlocking nan region’s aquaculture potential.

A Call for Investment and Action

Kavango East is bursting pinch earthy resources and committedness conscionable waiting to beryllium discovered. Yet to fto its system genuinely shine, nan area urgently needs much roads, powerfulness lines, and services that support tourism, food farming, and trophy hunting. If nan Namibian authorities puts these sectors astatine nan apical of its to-do list, it tin unfastened doors to caller economical growth, much jobs, and stronger, self-reliant communities passim Kavango East.

Entrepreneurs successful Kavango East support proving that, pinch a small training, nan correct tools, and coagulated infrastructure, nan region tin move into a hotspot for sustainable tourism, aquaculture, and wildlife conservation. Growing these industries will assistance nan surviving standards of section farmers and families and will besides thief Namibia diversify its system and support it moving forward.

Now is nan cleanable infinitesimal for nan government, section businesses, and neighbourhoods crossed Kavango East to subordinate forces and put boldly successful nan region’s future. When they enactment together, Kavango East tin unlock its top strengths, starring to a lively, lasting system that lifts each Namibian.

Image Credit: Info Namibia Official Website