A major government battle over Namibia’s controversial marine phosphate mining plans has erupted, with Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform Minister Inge Zaamwani formally challenging the environmental clearance granted to the Sandpiper phosphate project.
Zaamwani has appealed against Environmental Commissioner Timoteus Mufeti’s decision to grant Namibian Marine Phosphate (NMP) an Environmental Clearance Certificate (ECC), putting the controversial seabed mining project under renewed scrutiny.
The appeal was lodged with Environment and Tourism Minister Indileni Daniel in terms of the Environmental Management Act and challenges the decision in its entirety, including every condition contained in the clearance certificate and the accompanying notification.
The Ministry of Environment and Tourism confirmed yesterday that the appeal had been received.
“The appellant hereby appeals against the decision by the environmental commissioner to grant an environmental clearance certificate,” states the notice filed through the Office of the Attorney General. Mufeti granted the ECC for the Sandpiper project on 5 August 2026, clearing the way for a project that proposes to dredge phosphate-rich sands from Namibia’s seabed using specialised vessels.
The project is backed by Omani businessman Mohammed Al Barwani and Namibian businessman Knowledge Katti. But the approval has triggered fierce opposition from sections of the fishing industry, environmental organisations and scientists who fear that seabed dredging could interfere with marine ecosystems and commercially important fish stocks.
The Confederation of Namibian Fishing Associations chairperson Matti Amukwa said the minister’s appeal should ensure that all necessary procedures are properly followed. “It’s an issue of all the processes to be followed and then we have to protect our marine ecosystem,” Amukwa said.
The ECC decision has also fuelled political concern, with President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah reportedly expressing opposition to marine phosphate mining and describing it as “an experiment” during a meeting with senior government officials.
The controversy is heightened by the fact that there is currently no commercial marine phosphate mining operation anywhere in the world.
Environmental organisation Ocean Conservation Namibia has warned that seabed mining could cause serious damage to fragile marine habitats. It argues that dredging could destroy seabed habitats, generate sediment plumes, affect water quality and disrupt marine food chains.
Independent fisheries management scientist Dr Carola Kirchner has also questioned whether the environmental assessment underpinning the project adequately reflects current conditions in Namibia’s ocean. Kirchner has called for updated, species-specific fisheries assessments, particularly concerning the recovering small-pelagic resource. She said older baseline information used in the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment does not provide a contemporary picture of pilchard abundance in the proposed mining area.
According to Kirchner, a 2025 MFMR/NatMIRC survey estimated Namibia’s total sardine biomass at approximately 887,739 tonnes, with significant concentrations recorded in southern parts of the survey area.
She stressed that the new data does not prove that dredging would damage the sardine stock, but argues that it demonstrates the need for current information before fisheries risks can be properly assessed. Kirchner is calling for an updated assessment examining the possible overlap between mining activities and fish resources, sediment-plume exposure and wider food-web impacts.
Zaamwani’s appeal comes as government pushes a broader reform of Namibia’s fisheries sector, with the minister arguing that the country must strengthen science-based decision-making and protect marine resources for future generations.
The fisheries reform agenda includes stronger biological safeguards, improved monitoring and surveillance, marine ecosystem protection and greater accountability when decisions depart from scientific advice.
The phosphate mining dispute now places those principles under the spotlight.
For Namibia’s fishing industry, the central question is no longer simply whether phosphate can be extracted from the seabed — but whether the country can pursue new ocean-based economic activities without putting existing fisheries, marine ecosystems and coastal livelihoods at risk.
The appeal by Zaamwani could therefore become a defining test of how Namibia balances mining ambitions against the protection of its ocean economy.
By Rudi Bowe
