The Coastal Environmental Trust of Namibia (CETN) celebrated its 40th annual Walvis Bay bird count in February. CETN promotes sustainable development to help protect and create awareness for the surrounding coastal and desert areas. Wilderness has proudly participated in the bird counts over the years and this year’s count was particularly fitting, as we are also celebrating 40 years of Wilderness.
The bird count creates awareness of the bird species in the Walvis Bay wetlands and promotes the importance of protecting this fragile ecosystem. Over 90 people participated in the count, including school pupils, University of Namibia students, the public and Wilderness staff and Explorations guides. This year 84,035 birds and 41 species were counted. Rare and exciting sightings included little tern, osprey and red-necked phalarope.
The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT) in Windhoek sends all the Namibian bird counts to the University of Cape Town, MEFT and Wetlands International in Britain for research purposes. Wilderness Namibia is proud to positively contribute to this important initiative.
