Namibia

Namibia borders the Atlantic Ocean on the southeastern coast of Africa. The Namib Desert and Kalahari Deserts dominate the landscape. Namibia is the world’s first country to formalize protection of the environment in its constitution. Less than a quarter of the country is used for human activities, in its majority by urban use. Namibia has high biodiversity rarity of terrestrial land vertebrates at a global scale. When analysed as single taxons, the rarity of amphibians, birds, mammals and reptiles is also high. The rarity of marine fish and mammals is also high. Challenges to biodiversity include water depletion and degradation; desertification; and wildlife poaching.