| Type: | Ministry |
| Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT) | |
| Seal: | Coat of arms of Namibia.svg |
| Jurisdiction: |  Republic of Namibia |
| Headquarters: | Windhoek |
| Region Code: | NA |
| Minister1 Name: | Pohamba Shifeta |
The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT) is a government ministry of Namibia, with headquarters in Windhoek.[1] It was created at Namibian independence in 1990 as Ministry of Wildlife, Conservation and Tourism.[2] The first Namibian environment and tourism minister was Niko Bessinger,[3] the minister is Pohamba Shifeta.[4]
The ministries self-declared mission is "to promote biodiversity conservation in the Namibian environment through the sustainable utilization of natural resources and tourism development for the maximum social and economic benefit of its citizens." Its mandate is derived from the Constitution of Namibia, specifically Chapter 11 "Principles of State Policy" and Article 95 "Promotion of the Welfare of the People".[5]
Namibia is the first African country that has integrated environmental conservation in the national constitution.[6]
The ministry has three departments:[7]
It further consists of seven directorates:
All environment and tourism ministers in chronological order are:[2]
| Picture | Name | Party | Term start | Term end | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minister of Wildlife, Conservation and Tourism | |||||||
| 1 | 1948–2008 | 1990 | 1995 | ||||
| Minister of Environment and Tourism | |||||||
| 2 | 1930–1999 | SWAPO | 1995 | 1997 | |||
| 3 | 1946– | SWAPO | 1997 | 2005 | |||
| 4 | 1945–2021 | SWAPO | 2005 | 2008 | |||
| 5 | 1952– | SWAPO | 2008 | 2012 | |||
| 6 | 1969– | SWAPO | 2012 | 2015 | |||
| 7 | 1968– | SWAPO | 2015 | 2020 | |||
| Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism | |||||||
| Pohamba Shifeta | 1968– | SWAPO | 2020 | ||||