Martha Ndilipune Jonas

AREA OF EXPERTISE: Livelihood and social inclusion of peoples and local communities, transformative governance for a sustainable and innovative blue society, gender, climate change and social capital.

AFFILIATION: University of Namibia (Namibia)

“I am a social scientist who has majored in Sociology, Geography & Environmental Studies, and specialised in Development studies. My expertise spans around understanding communities and how they interact with their environments, focusing on matters of concern in societies and theories applicable to that particular society such as gender, inclusivity, and social capital.”

Impact

“My work on the One Ocean Hub embraces working with local communities on the blue society through participatory research in the form of workshops and focus group discussions. Some of the themes discussed are ocean benefits and challenges experienced by local communities who derive livelihood from coastal activities and the type of development taking place in coastal areas. Through engaging the various groups, I found that to maintain and sustain the sea and its resources, there is a need to realign policies and establish a regulatory framework to successfully manage marine resources, thus my interest in ocean governance. However, to empower coastal communities, the concept of Community-Based Natural Resources Management (CBNRM) should be applied to the coast this will enhance social networks and collaborations that can improve the local communities’ participation in ocean activities.”

Making waves

“I organised a seafood and product festival for local communities living in Swakopmund, Henties bay and Walvis bay in Namibia 8-9 December 2023. The aim of the festival was to promote ocean literacy and to familiarise coastal communities (notably youth, women and artisanal fishermen) to various seafood and products. The festival had a great impact specifically on the youth and women in the three towns.”

Recent publication

Alex T. Kanyimba and Martha N. Jonas, Barriers to Integrating Financial Inclusion for Coastal Small-Scale Fishermen into Namibian Fisheries Policies and Regulatory Frameworks. 2023 – read here >>

Artwork: Margherita Brunori