South Africa's official opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), yesterday launched its environmental policy.

The document, entitled "In Trust for the Nation", proposed measures to address environmental degradation. The party explained that the policy embraces a new approach to the environment, recognising human requirements, as well as the need to protect and preserve South Africa's natural resources for generations to come, while at the same time creating new job opportunities in a low carbon economy.

The DA emphasised that it understood the link between economic prosperity and sustainability.

The DA cited a recent State of the Environment Report pointing to a "general decline" in the state of South Africa's environment. The party said that it would be short-sighted not to recognise that matters of the environment affect every sphere of government. Efforts to create jobs and alleviate poverty could be significantly undermined by the over-exploitation of resources and the degradation of the environment.