VZCZCXRO0275
PP RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHWD #0081/01 0640817
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 050817Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY WINDHOEK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0381
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 WINDHOEK 000081 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV TSPL TBIO EAGR ECON AMGT APER EPA WA
 
SUBJECT: Embassy Science Fellows Program 2009: Namibia 
 
REF: STATE 10843 
 
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Summary 
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¶1. (U)  U.S. Embassy Windhoek is pleased to provide our request for 
a 2009 Embassy Science Fellow.  This proposal is keyed to reftel. 
 
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Section 1: 
Subject of Proposal and General Information 
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¶2. (U)  Proposal Topic: Disease Surveillance for Aquatic Organisms 
in Namibia 
 
The Embassy Science Fellow will provide guidance in setting up 
disease surveillance programs for mariculture and freshwater 
aquaculture farms.  The fellow will be expected to advise 
responsible government ministries on the most appropriate aquatic 
disease-surveillance program for Namibia, taking into consideration 
resource constraints (staffing, equipment and funding).  The fellow 
will also be expected assist in developing small pilot surveillance 
programs on one or more farms. 
 
¶3. (U)  Name of Host Institution(s): 
 
Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR) 
Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) 
National Standards Institute (NSI) - An agency under the MTI 
Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) 
Ministry of Health and Social Services (MHSS) 
Ministry of Agriculture, Water, and Forestry (MAWF) 
 
The Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR) will be the 
primary sponsoring institution. The fellow will also have close 
collaboration with other ministries.  The MFMR is responsible 
aquatic disease surveillance reporting to the World Organization for 
Animal Health (OIE).  National animal health reporting (including 
aquatic) is the responsibility of the Veterinary Department of the 
Ministry of Agriculture Water and Forestry.  Post has worked closely 
with MFMR and other government officials to craft this proposal. 
All parties have expressed a strong interest to work with and learn 
from an Embassy Science Fellow.  MFMR officials understand that 
proper access to government and other officials will be critical to 
the successful completion of the fellowship. 
 
¶4. (U)  Preferred Time Frame and Length of Fellowship: The best 
times to carry out this work would be September to November 2009, or 
February to April 2010.  December and January in Namibia are not 
good times to work in Namibia as most government employees take 
prolonged vacations during the so called "Festive" and school summer 
vacation season.  Due to the scope of work, this fellow may need to 
commit to the maximum three month period. 
 
¶5. (U)  Skills that Successful Fellows Should Possess:  The Fellow 
is expected to be scientifically qualified in disciplines relating 
to aquatic disease diagnostics and surveillance.  The MFMR expects 
someone with at least six years working experience in the shellfish 
disease diagnostics field, as well as adequate knowledge on 
shellfish diseases and monitoring thereof.  The fellow should have 
experience in the diagnosis of oyster and abalone diseases, and 
specifically OIE-listed diseases.  In the freshwater sector work 
will primarily target disease surveillance of tilapia and catfish. 
The fellow should be able to provide guidelines for disease-scoping 
in freshwater fish and be competent in the diagnosis of Epizootic 
Ulcerative Syndrome (EUS), with a generalized knowledge of 
freshwater fish disease.  The Fellow should be competent in both 
histological and polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based techniques, 
including amplified restriction fragment polymorphism (AFLP), in 
order to assist in training of staff in these techniques. 
 
¶6. (U)  Security Clearance:  No security clearance is required to 
participate in this activity. 
 
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Section 2: Proposal Description 
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¶7. (U)  Namibia has for several years been developing a commercial 
mariculture industry.  Faced with a 37 percent unemployment rate, 
the government is keen to see mariculture expand further as it is a 
labor-intensive industry.  Despite a devastating (but rare) red tide 
event that occurred in 2008, Namibian waters, fed by the 
nutrient-rich Benguela current, are largely free of pollutants that 
contaminate the waters in other locations.  This makes Namibia an 
ideal location for growing oysters, abalone, and other mollusks. 
Namibian oysters grow to "market size" in half the time of other 
oyster-growing regions and they are known for their high quality and 
superb taste.  The bulk of current mariculture production goes to 
export markets in South Africa and Asia.  Experts argue that there 
 
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would be high demand for Namibian oysters in Europe and the United 
States, if Namibia was permitted to export to those markets. 
 
¶8. (U) Given appropriate food safety measures Namibia's mariculture 
industry could easily penetrate the high-value markets in Europe and 
the United States. Disease surveillance has become an increasingly 
urgent issue for Namibian mariculture farmers.  Shellfish outbreaks 
are becoming more common around the world, crippling shellfish 
industries (e.g. the recent Herpes virus outbreak in the French 
oyster industry).  Namibia imports shellfish spat from various 
places in the world - a dangerous practice without in-house 
monitoring and testing capabilities.  Diseased spat imports could 
act as a disease vector for both native and farmed species of 
mollusks along the Namibian coast as well as in neighboring 
countries (Angola and South Africa). 
 
¶9. (U)  Namibian Government (GRN) has been actively promoting the 
development of inland freshwater fish farms to boost economic growth 
and to diversify and fortify the diet of average of Namibians (which 
tends to be dominated by maize and meat products).  Disease 
outbreaks at inland fisheries could devastate the limited gains that 
government and private partners have made in developing freshwater 
fish farms. 
 
¶10. (U)  The MFMR currently has a small microbiological laboratory 
at its Swakopmund Institute (NatMIRC) for marine research and the 
Kamutjonga Inland Fisheries Institute (KIFI) for freshwater 
research.  The MFMR wishes to develop NatMIRC into a disease testing 
and surveillance facility. The fellow will be expected to help 
establish a basic diagnostic competence in the laboratories at both 
NatMIRC and Kamutjonga with regard to diagnosis of disease in the 
species presently being farmed.  Ideally the Embassy Science Fellow 
would assist in training staff, students, and/or industry personnel 
in the running of a surveillance program.  The fellow would also 
train the aforementioned in proper laboratory procedures. 
 
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Section 3: Administrative Support 
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¶11. (U)  Post acknowledges that it must provide the Embassy Science 
Fellow with housing, office support, in-country travel arrangements, 
and other logistical support.  The fellow will have to spend time in 
the capital Windhoek, on the coast in Swakopmund, and at the 
Kamutjonga Inland Fisheries Institute (KIFI) in the Kavango region. 
Available Embassy housing will be used while the fellow is in 
Windhoek.  If no Embassy housing is available in Windhoek, we will 
provide housing at well established short-term lodging facilities. 
We will provide the same in Swakopmund and Kamutjonga.  The MFMR 
will provide shared office space in both Swakopmund and Kamutjonga, 
while the Embassy can provide space while the fellow is in Windhoek. 
 The Embassy will provide a cell phone and laptop computer.  The 
laptop will be configured for wired and wireless (3G) internet 
access so the fellow will be able to use his/her computer at any of 
the three locations.  Namibia has good infrastructure as compared to 
other Sub-Saharan African countries.  Internal travel between 
worksites should be relatively easy as Namibia has a good road 
network.  Communication and access electronic information is 
generally not a major problem as the telecommunications network is 
fairly modern and reaches all population centers. 
 
 
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Section 4: RSO Concurrence 
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¶12. (U)  Windhoek is not a post in "unaccompanied tour status".  RSO 
has cleared on this proposal.  RSO will provide the Embassy Science 
Fellow a safety and security briefing upon arrival in Namibia. 
 
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Section 5: Contact Information 
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¶13. (U)  The State Department Point of Contact (POC) is Embassy 
Economic and Commercial Officer Frank DeParis. He can be reached by 
phone at: +264 61 295-8549, fax at: +264 61 295 -8603, or email at 
deparisf@state.gov. 
 
MATHIEU