Dear NUST-BUSH Project Members, Stakeholders and Invited Guests
After careful consideration, and in light of the ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) developments, we’ve made the difficult decision to postpone the 2nd Biomass Symposium that was scheduled to take place from 22-23 October 2020. The proposed dates have been moved to February 2021, the dates will be shared in the coming months. While this decision comes at a time of universal uncertainty, we take the safety and health of our guests, staff and community very seriously. We urge everyone to follow the guidelines and protocols put forth by public health officials.
As you may well be aware, the Namibian government has called on the public to limit gatherings to 10 persons to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, thus it will not be possible for us host the event at this time. We hope you can join us at the 2nd Biomass Symposium on the rearranged dates in February 2021.
We will be in touch with any changes, and please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or concerns:
Elizabeth Mabakeng (Event Coordinator) at +264 61 207 2728 , or you can take a look at our webpage for updates: http://bush.nust.na/ .
We hope this finds you well.
In continuous efforts to upscale the Biomass Utilisation by Sustainable Harvest (BUSH) project, the 1st Namibian Biomass Symposium (NBS) was held in November 2019. The event was held in Windhoek and had an attendance of about 100 people from various disciplinary backgrounds. The Feb 2021 event will be the second event and aims to bring together industry professionals from all sectors of Namibia’s interconnected biomass industries with specific emphasis in scientific research and the publishing of such research. The NBS was borne from the belief that Namibia’s woody biomass is equally dependent on conservation and utilisation. Thus, without appropriate conservation, utilisation cannot be sustainable.
The 2nd NBS event will provide an excellent opportunity to scientific researchers and institutions involved with research and development within biomass related sectors, to showcase and present their work to a broader Namibian audience. It will be the ideal platform for researchers to share their results from a scientific perspective.
Furthermore, the proposed theme of “Exploring Namibia’s Bush Bioeconomy” will give recognition and acknowledgement to the role of the scientific research within bush biomass management from the often opposing perspectives of conservation vs utilisation. The aim of the event is not only to promote Namibian researchers but also to support the greater SADC region on a much broader level through the subsequent publishing of the articles presented at the event.