TIRI MASAWI
The Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT) Indileni Daniel has warned visitors to Etosha National Park to remain vigilant after a raging wildfire destroyed nearly a third of the park’s grazing land, threatening wildlife and tourism in Namibia’s flagship conservation area.
The government on Sunday said it’s still pondering a state of emergency.
The government has roped in the military,police, well wishers and the ministry’s officials to deal with the blaze which continues to destroy everything on its way since Tuesday last week.
Daniel said they are yet to determine the number of wild animals that have been killed by the blaze.
“To date, the ministry has deployed 150 personnel alongside 311 members of the Namibian Defense Force. The response is supported by two helicopters for aerial surveillance and water bombing, six fire trucks, six fire engine machines, five fire blowers, two Land Cruisers equipped with water tanks, and one water truck provided by the Oshana Regional Council,” she said. Despite these efforts,Daniel said the situation remains challenging due to strong winds, dry vegetation, and limited firefighting equipment.
“I am currently on the ground in Etosha National Park to assess the extent of the fire damage, evaluate the operational needs of deployed teams, and provide strategic guidance to ensure an effective and coordinated response and provide support to the brave men and women working tirelessly to contain the fires,” she said.
She added“At this stage, the full extent of wildlife casualties cannot be confirmed. A proper postmortem assessment will be conducted once the fires are fully contained to determine the impact on species and habitats,” she said.
STATE OF EMERGENCY
On Sunday night, Vice President Lucia Witbooi said the Government was still weighing options on whether to call a state of emergency.
The Presidency said aerial imagery will be undertaken to determine the extent of the spread of the fire and the area destroyed.
“No State of Emergency has been declared yet and a decision will be taken once all information is obtained. During the past three days, the fire has spread to the north-eastern parts of the Etosha National Park. On Friday, 26 September 2025, the fire had spread into the communal areas of Omusati and Oshana regions particularly in the constituencies of Uuvudhiya, Otamanzi and Ruacana. Strong winds and dry vegetation contribute to the fire spreading rapidly,” Witbooi said .
The Presidency added that a raft of measures has been put in place including the urgent sitting by a committee chaired by Secretary to the Cabinet, Emilia Mkusa, as Chairperson of the National Disaster Risk Management Committee to find solutions.
According to the Presidency, the Committee considered all factors and critical needs as identified by the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism.
These needs included human resources, equipment for firefighting and protective masks, food ration packs, graders for clearing priority fire cutlines and mobile clinic for emergencies
John Grobler, a journalist who has many years of experience in covering the environment, said the situation is bad.
“It’s going to hit the tourism sector hard because big spending foreign tourists come here above all to see wild animals in their natural habitat,” he said.
He said both fires, the first one starting at the Okaukejo dump site, the second in the west from negligent and possibly illegal burning of charcoal are due to the managerial oversight failure at the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism.
“Why was charcoal making allowed in the first place on any farms adjoining the Etosha National Park,” he said.
Grobler said there has been a culture of commercial promiscuity that prevailed that undermined ecological sustainability, something that has done serious damage to our country’s biodiversity.
“Someone has to be held publicly accountable,” he said.
The Charcoal Association of Namibia (CAoN) has denied that its members’ operations were the source of a recent wildfire in Etosha National Park, despite official suspicions that the fire likely began at a nearby charcoal production site. CAoN insists its members have maintained a clean fire control record with no fires originating from their activities over the last three years. However, the Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism (MEFT) has confirmed the fire was likely started by charcoal activities before spreading into the park.
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