The Social and Economic Challenges in Times of Climate Change and the COVID-19 Pandemic in Namibia

Although Namibia is an independent and peaceful country with a progressive constitution, colonial hangovers and environmental patterns including drought, deforestation and floods are some factors that have trapped her in poverty (Kaereho et al., 2016). Climate change has been identified as one of the most daunting challenges of the twenty-first century, causing an increase in seawater levels, changes in global temperatures, and droughts and floods in many parts of the world. Moreover, in the early part of 2020, the world had the worse experience of the 21st century—an unimaginable and unpredictable pandemic. Before the outbreak of COVID-19, plans and practices were in place to explore the links between the economy and climate change, focusing on the economic crisis conveyed by climate change. However, they have inclined to be treated separately in policy and practice in many developing countries. But many of these plans were put on halt as the fight against pandemics became the priority. In addition, with the outbreak of COVID-19, many countries also witnessed the connection between climate change, COVID-19 and the economy, with special relevance to the community and environment. This paper is a qualitative explorative with the use of the grounded theory approach. The data was collected by the use of existing data that has been systematically collected and analysed. The study employed a thematic content analysis method.