Gobabeb Research & Training Centre

Workshop on the rehabilitation of impact scars (vehicle tracks and laydown areas) in the Namib

The gravel plains of the central Namib are sensitive ecosystems that have been exposed to human disturbance since before the First World War. These disturbances have been increasing in intensity over the last few decades, mostly as a result of recreational off-road driving, exploration and prospecting activities. More recently, increases in exploration drilling for uranium, mining and filming activities, mostly occurring in Protected Areas, have brought the issue of ecological rehabilitation of these surface scars into sharp focus.

As part of our 50-year celebration, stamp designer Anja Denker has created a Gobabeb stamp collection which is now available for sale. Please click here for pricing and ordering information.

Summer Development Programme (SDP) participants, friends, interested stakeholders and the simply curious will gather at Gobabeb for the reportback from the SDP 2012/ 2013 season. A Role Play backed up by extensive hard data will tell attendees about their findings. In the Swakop River, 37% of all Faidherbia albida are dead while in the Kuiseb River only 4% are dead. Why the discrepancy? Come and find out.

NERMU (the Namib Ecological Restoration and Monitoring Unit) at Gobabeb recently received a new four-wheel drive bakkie which will be used by the Centre in its efforts to monitor the impacts of mining in the central Namib. NERMU is being sponsored by the German government and coordinated through the Geological Survey of Namibia. To show their commitment to Namibia's sustainable future, Indongo Toyota has sponsored part of the costs of a new vehicle.