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Eco
Awards Namibia: Praise for Accommodation - 13.03.05
Honourable Ambassador, Member of the Namibia Tourism
Board, Managing Director of the NTB, NTB Manager for
Central Europe, Ladies and Gentlemen from the Travel
Sector and the Media,
Before getting started I would like you to take
a look around. Do you see a tree? A meadow? A deer?
If it were summer now, we could perhaps sit outside
on a slope, in the shade of trees, surrounded by the
twitter of birds, and you would run your fingers through
the grass while listening to me. Instead, we are sitting
in a concrete box. The picture outside is similar: tarred
roads, sidewalks covered with stone slabs, high-rise
buildings made from steel and glass and concrete are
everywhere. A veritable concrete desert. The result
of handling nature ruthlessly. Nature, as it once spread
out here in its original state – the trees, the
meadows, the deer – was systematically pushed
back, obstructed with buildings and destroyed by your
ancestors and mine, by your grandparents and parents,
and by yourself, too. This, after all, is the very reason
why you like to spend your vacation in countries like
Namibia. Because unspoiled nature still exists in abundance
there - with camel thorn trees, vast plains full of
grasses, and deer which we call Kudu.
In order to ensure that this does not change in Namibia,
to ensure that I and my children and grandchildren do
not turn Namibia into a concrete desert, to ensure that
you and your children and grandchildren can have your
fill of nature when you visit us – in order to
ensure this you are helping us to develop a powerful
awareness for our environment and to utilize our natural
resources carefully, before it is too late. You might
not be aware of it, but you are helping us, and indeed
you are helping in several ways: by supplying a deterrent
example, by your experience in nature conservation,
by spending your vacation in Namibia and – with
your taxes. Because your government is involved in the
European Union’s programme which assists us with
advice and support – and money - in developing
our country and protecting our natural resources.
For this, and I am totally serious, I am deeply grateful
to you and your government, and I thank you also on
behalf of my country. In fact I feel obliged to briefly
present to you the latest project which we have started
with your support: the Eco Award Namibia. The Eco Award
Namibia is a mark of distinction for accommodation establishments
which are planned and managed according to eco-friendly
principles. The identification mark is a flower, a desert
flower. It symbolizes the interplay of water, earth
and sun, which brings about natural growth and thereby
points to the future.
Similar to the quality grading system for accommodation,
from one to five stars, the Eco Award is an eco-seal
of quality ranging from one to five flowers. And as
with the awarding of stars, an inspector assesses accommodation
establishments according to set criteria, and a jury
then determines the number of flowers which are awarded.
Like the badge with the stars, establishments can display
the flower emblem at their entrance, in their brochures
and on their website.
Sceptics might argue that this is just another marketing
gimmick. Scepticism is of course more than justified
at a time when marketing and PR agencies manage to make
even big-time polluters look like a nature conservation
organization – just think of the advertising campaigns
of oil companies and car manufacturers. Organizations
or projects like ours which really have the core of
the matter at heart, instead of appearances, therefore
have to earn their trust by unrelenting efforts at persuasion.
This is what I want to do here and now. I want to convince
you that our government and our travel sector are genuine
in their intentions. With your support we have devised
a sound concept, which is carefully thought-out: practically
oriented, cost effective and tailored to our circumstances.
At more than one occasion you have already heard that
Namibia is a desert land, with fragile eco-systems and
relatively little water. This country was, and partly
still is, burdened beyond its capacity by extensive
agriculture – the concept of this ecologically
damaging agriculture, by the way, was imported by settlers
from Europe, that is, by my and your ancestors. The
reason for ecologically damaging farming could and can
not simply be seen as farmers being particularly inconsiderate
or ruthless. The reason was and is that the economic
system does not punish overexploitation of nature, but
rather favours it. Germany has become an economic power
– also at nature’s expense.
Since Namibia’s independence in 1990 more and
more tourists come to visit our country. Many farmers
sold their farms to tourism enterprises, which built
lodges, or turned the property into a guest farm themselves.
The result: more and more land is now utilized for tourism
instead of stock farming. Tourism lends economic value
to our nature. However, this alone does not guarantee
that the land is now utilized in an environmentally
friendly manner. The economic system still allows companies
which cause long-term damage to the environment to reap
short-term profits. Somebody who doubles his number
of rooms, even though the groundwater level in the borehole
5 km away is dropping alarmingly and the trees in the
area are starting to wither, will at least increase
his short-term earnings. Somebody who simply buries
incombustible waste on his own grounds, instead of taking
it to the next little town for appropriate disposal,
will at least save short-term costs.
Also, many do not know or do not give much thought to
how they can make their business more eco-friendly with
simple methods. Take for example toilet flushing. One
does not have to rip out all the cisterns immediately
and replace them with new ones, equipped with a save
button; for starters it is quite sufficient to put a
few biggish stones into old cisterns so that less water
is flushed – luckily we have more than enough
stones everywhere in Namibia.
The Eco Award Namibia is based on a two-tier approach
of reward and enlightenment. Accommodation establishments
which are managed as environmentally friendly as possible
are rewarded with the eco-seal of flowers. In this we
are counting on your support, of course: help us to
make the Eco Award known; and promote the concept by
not only comparing the price-performance-ratio of an
accommodation establishment but also by looking out
for the eco-seal of quality.
The extensive Eco Award catalogue of criteria illustrates
in detail how accommodation establishments can be operated
in a more environmentally friendly manner. We did not,
by the way, simply make up the criteria, they were thoroughly
researched. Eco-seals which have proved successful in
other countries served as a model. We added to them
and tailored them to our circumstances, of course. The
catalogue consists of several pages. I won’t go
into detail, I’ll just give you a brief summary.
The main categories are water, waste water, waste, energy,
the environment and the upliftment of local communities.
The category about water contains steps which ensure
that consumption is kept as low as possible; in the
category about waste water possibilities of purification
and re-use, as well as preventing damage to the environment
are highlighted; the subject of waste also deals with
recycling and safe disposal. Regarding energy, the focus
is on renewable sources like solar modules – as
opposed to fossil sources like diesel, on which the
common type of generator depends. Nature conservation
measures are listed under the environment heading, and
also steps for taking care of wildlife. And those who
contribute to the upliftment of local communities are
also collecting points; we find this quite important
because environmental protection can only succeed when
it is supported by the staff and their families, and
also by the villages in the vicinity.
Participation in the Eco Award Namibia is voluntary.
Applicants are visited by an inspector for critical
assessment according to the set criteria. A jury peruses
the report and then decides about the number of points.
The standard is very high even for obtaining the first
flower: 50 percent of the possible total number of points
has to be achieved; 60 percent are needed for two flowers,
70 percent for three, 80 percent for four and 90 percent
for five.
The go-ahead for competing for the first Eco Award was
given in the end of November – coinciding with
the end of the high season in the travel business, when
the whole sector leans back in exhaustion or goes on
summer holiday (December and January in Namibia). Thus,
only a few weeks remained for entering and even less
time for the inspection, especially since some of the
participating establishments are more than 1.000 kilometres
apart. Against this background we are more than satisfied
with the first turnout for the Eco Award.
And now you surely want to know who the recipients of
the very first flowers are. They were awarded to Sossusvlei
Lodge on the fringe of the Namib, in south-western Namibia,
and to Eningu Clayhouse Lodge close to the international
airport east of Windhoek. Consider the courage that
it takes to enter within such a short time and without
much opportunity to prepare for the inspection, and
also consider the high standard that was set. Nevertheless,
Sossusvlei Lodge immediately qualified for one flower.
With just under 60 percent of the possible total of
points it missed the second flower only by an inch.
The lodge is situated at the road leading to the famous
Sossusvlei and the highest dunes in the world, which
block the dry Tsauchab River’s way to the ocean
– therefore the pan briefly turns into a small
lake during the rare years of sufficient rainfalls.
Eningu Clayhouse Lodge achieved even more than 70 percent
of the possible total and was thus awarded with three
flowers. Situated close to the airport in the bush savannah,
this lodge is excellently suited for a stopover after
arrival or before departure. Congratulations to Eningu
Clayhouse Lodge and Sossusvlei Lodge!
Ladies and Gentlemen, these two distinctions only mark
the start of the Eco Award. More establishments are
inspected every month, and Sossusvlei Lodge is thirsting
for the opportunity to pick its second flower. But even
in Namibia it will take a while before everyone is talking
about the flowers and the eco-seal becomes fully established.
In two months we will take a big step forward at the
Namibia Holiday and Travel Expo, our own travel fair
in Windhoek. Our association, the Hospitality Association
of Namibia, holds its Gala Evening as part of the Expo.
During that evening we will introduce the Eco Award
once again and we will formally present the flowers
to the recipients – by then it will be whole bouquets
of flowers, no doubt. We do not intend to stop at accommodation,
by the way. Why not create an Eco Award, at a later
stage, for tour operators and for car rental companies?
I trust that I have convinced you of the benefits of
the Eco Award Namibia concept and of our genuine intentions.
If I have, please do everything in your power to contribute
to the success of the Eco Award Namibia. And you are
most welcome to see for yourself on-site that this initiative
is bearing fruit; after all, it does not happen every
day that one’s taxes are put to good use and that
the result is tangible. Well, at least this is true
for our trees and grassy plains; our deer are not that
easy to get hold of (Photos Kudu, Springbok, Gemsbok).
As you can see, we happen to have various kinds of them.
We will gladly assist you with planning your inspection
tour through Namibia. We are at the Namibia stand, right
here in the concrete desert, in hall 20, stand 114.
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