The Omaruru Basin Management Committee

The OmBMC is established as a River Basin Management Committee in terms of the Water Resources Management Act No. 24 of 2004 and approved amendments and regulations to the Act as published in the Government Gazette of the Republic of Namibia and all relevant national legislation and regulations pertinent to integrated water resource management, IWRM. 

This Committee shall serve in an advisory capacity to the Directorate of Resource Management of the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry and the Minister on water related issues affecting the Omaruru Basin.

The Vision of the OmBMC is:
The efficient and equitable access to water, ecologically sustainable use of the water and riparian resources and sustainable, integrated use of related resources in the Omaruru Basin to ensure wise management of the basin resources to protect its biodiversity, vital ecological functions and life support systems for the current and future benefit of the people living in and dependent on the resources of the basin .

The overall function of the OmBMC is to concern itself with the conservation, use, development, research, management and control of water resources and their quality within the Omaruru Basin. To:

Protect, develop, conserve, manage and control water resources and water resource quality within its water management area;

Promote community participation in the protection, use, development, conservation, management and control of water resources, in its water management area through education and other appropriate activities;

Supervise the preparation of an integrated water resource management plan for the basin which plan shall be submitted to the Minister for consideration when developing the national Integrated Water Resource Management Plan;

Make recommendations to the Minister regarding the issuance of licenses and permits under the Water Resources Management Act.

Promote community self-reliance, including the recovery of costs for the operation and maintenance of waterworks;

Monitor and report on the effectiveness of policies and action in achieving sustainable management of water resources and resource quality in its water management area;

Collect, manage and share such data as are necessary to properly manage the basin in coordination with the Ministry;

Develop a water research agenda, together with the Ministry, appropriate to the needs of water management institutions and water users within its water management area;

Help resolve conflicts relating to water resources and water resource quality in its water management area;

Determine an abstraction charge based on the approved abstraction licence volumes in accordance with the approved policy in concurrence with the Minister for data collection, resource monitoring and other approved purposes;

Investigate all applications for licences to abstract and use water within their water management area as forwarded by the Minister to the OmBMC in accordance with the Water Resources Management Act 24 of 2004 and after due consideration make recommendations to the Minister

Perform any such additional functions as the Minister may direct or assign under the Water Resources Management Act.
 

Members of the Omaruru Stakeholders’ Forum at one of the formative meeting to set up the Omaruru Basin Management Committee in April of 2007 on one of our field trips to a commercial farm (Kollmitz) in the Omaruru Basin.

Members of the Women’s Garden Project in Hakahana coming together with the director of the Namibia Nature Foundation to receive awards for the training they had been given. This group is one of the recipients of the sponsorship and training from NNF’s and this sponsorship has now been passed on to the OmBMC.

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