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Date : 17/03/2003
Source: Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
Title: Moosa: Free State Provincial Waste Management Lekgotla


ADDRESS BY THE HON VALLI MOOSA, MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS AND TOURISM, AT THE FREE STATE PROVINCIAL WASTE MANAGEMENT LEKGOTLA, 17 March 2003

Programme Director; MEC S Balot; Officials from the National, Provincial and local government; Distinguished experts and guests; Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is indeed a pleasure for me to join you experts in the deliberations about waste and waste management matters.

We are gathered here today to acknowledge contributions made by the waste management experts and everyone in the development of the waste management as a science, in our lifetime. To me waste management science is the foundation for sound environmental decision making. Sustainable environmental development is based on sound and appropriate management of wastes.

I am pleased to say that as a country, we have reached a sterling moment for environmental management especially waste management where much more efforts are being engineered to ensure that our current state of waste management is improved.

The Government has set goals and policies to achieve better ways of waste management in South Africa. The policy relating to waste management addresses domestic, commercial, mining, industrial, medical and all other forms of waste generated all over the country. Waste management is one of the dynamic sciences highly considered in relation to environmental policy implementation towards means and solution to address sustainable developmental problems facing our societies. It is evident that the efforts of the government to achieve a sustainable environment, which is not harmful to its citizens, are clearly visible, and credit must go to waste management science that is incredibly evolving as a means to better environmental solutions. A gathering of this nature signifies the milestone and commitment of our people to a better environment and serves as a blueprint for the way forward in which the Government could tap into the innovative undertakings by various experts to address environmental problems.

Sometime ago in 2001, we promulgated regulations to prevent the use of those very thin non-reusable plastic carrier bags freely supplied by retail stores. The process is at a very advanced stage and the regulations will be law by 9 May 2003. Measures are being finalised to control the manufacture and import of non-compliant shopping plastic bags.

The plastic bags regulations will help to set standards relevant to our environmental obligations. This is part of the strategy to have a clean environment for all as it is echoed in our Constitutional rights: section 24 which says that everyone has the right to the environment that is not harmful to their health and well-being and to have the environment protected for the present and future generations.

The Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism is the lead agent for the environment and takes overall responsibility for integrated pollution and waste management in South Africa. Within the framework of achieving this responsibility, the government identified seven goals in the National Waste Management Strategy (NWMS) that form the integral part of implementation. Which are: -

1. Effective Institutional framework and legislation.
To create, develop, implement and improve an effective, adequately resourced and harmonised institutional framework to allow integrated approaches by various government departments and other stakeholders to achieve a common ground in addressing waste management.

2. Pollution prevention, waste minimisation, impact management and remediation.
The government promotes the reduction in the waste stream as well as ensuring an economic environment, which favours recycling, resource, reduce, recovery and reuse mechanisms.

3. Holistic and integrated planning
The government is to develop mechanisms to ensure that waste management considerations are effectively integrated into the development of policies, strategies and programmes so as to achieve appropriate provisioning of waste management in South Africa.

4. Participation and partnership in integrated pollution and waste management governance.
The government is to establish mechanisms and processes of effective public participation to ensure that communication strategies in all spheres of government address public participation so as to achieve community involvement in integrated pollution and waste management governance.

5. Empowerment and education in integrated pollution and waste management.
To promote the education of South Africa's people to increase their awareness of and concern regarding waste issues, and assist in developing the knowledge, skills, values and commitment necessary to achieve successful ways of waste management.

6. Information management
The objective is to establish effective and efficient information systems, including the development of appropriate pollution indicators to ensure informed decision-making and enable public participation in the governance of integrated pollution and waste management.

7. International co-operation
To develop mechanisms to deal effectively and in the national interest with international issues affecting waste management. The objective is to co-operate internationally on common waste management concerns, giving priority to the Southern African region.

The vision of our government is to develop, to put into action and to uphold an integrated pollution and waste management system, which contribute to sustainable development and a measurable improvement in the quality of life. This will be achieved by harnessing the energy and commitment of all South Africans for the effective prevention, minimisation and control of pollution and waste.

For our country to succeed with environmental management, all South Africans, especially the environmental experts like you, need to constantly develop environmentally sound technologies so that environmental problems we create with our production processes are addressed appropriately. This calls for an awareness and education drive. Conferences of this nature provide the required platform for information exchange between experts to enhance environmental management.

This conference today is another important contribution towards enhanced environmental management and the time, has therefore, come for all of us to think innovatively about environmental management.

Empowerment of our people with necessary skills ensures that the environment in which we live is sustainable and acceptable.

THE WSSD DELIBERATIONS AND DELIVERABLES

South Africa's hosting of the Summit has also had important externalities. The first has been the enabling of a vibrant multi-stakeholder participation, both in the formal WSSD halls as well as the parallel events and on the streets. The second has been the winning of international respect for South Africa, its peoples and government in the manner of the hosting as well as chairing of the summit. The third has been the enormous political capital gain by Africa as a continent on the brink of development.

DISCUSSION

Summary of achievements in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation for combating poverty, addressing global inequality and promoting sustainable development.

A package of new targets to reinforce and supplement the Millennium Development Goals was achieved during the WSSD negotiations. These targets are captured in a bold global plan for combating poverty and promoting sustainable development.

Targets agreed include:

* Eradicating poverty: A package of targets and actions in support of the Millennium Development Goals were agreed, including:
(i) halving, by 2015, the proportion of people living in poverty, who suffer from hunger
(ii) achieving a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020; and
(iii) establishing a World Solidarity Fund to eradicate poverty and to promote social and human development in developing countries.

* Water and sanitation: Agreed to halve the proportion of people without access to proper sanitation by 2015. This complements the previous goal of halving the proportion of people without access to clean drinking water by 2015. The sanitation target is an important victory for the developing world as it will stimulate much needed infrastructure development.

* Energy: Agreed to take actions to improve access to affordable energy services, in the context of achieving the Millennium Development Goals. However, no agreement was reached on specific targets to phase out energy subsidies and to increase the share of world energy produced from renewable energy sources.

* Health: Agreed:
(i) to develop partnerships to enhance health education and achieve global health literacy by 2010;
(ii) on a programme to reduce the mortality rate for infants and children under 5;
(iii) to implement all commitments agreed in the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS; and
(iv) that a WTO accord on patents should not prevent poor countries providing medicines for all. In addition to these health targets, a package of targets and actions was agreed on the management of chemicals and waste.

These include:
(i) agreement that by 2020, chemicals will be made and used in ways to minimize severe harmful impact on humans and the environment;
(ii) agreement to reduce, prevent and control waste and pollution and their health related impacts by undertaking the necessary initiatives by 2004.

* Agriculture and food security: Agreed to halve, by 2015, the proportion of the world's people who suffer from hunger, and realize the right to a standard of living that is adequate for health.

* Biodiversity and natural resources: A package of targets were achieved, relating to natural resources broadly, terrestrial diversity as well as marine biodiversity and fishing. These include:
(i) development of integrated water resource management and water efficiency plans by 2005;
(ii) agreement to achieve a significant reduction, by 2010, in the current rate of loss of biological diversity;
(iii) Agreed to restore depleted fish stocks by 2015 and develop plans of action to manage fishing capacity, eliminate illegal fishing, establish marine protected areas and protect the marine environment from the impact of land-based activities.

* Trade, Finance and Technology: Agreed to:
(i) protect the balance achieved in Doha, while highlighting key aspects relating sustainable development;
(ii) a 10 year work programme to accelerate the shift towards sustainable consumption and production;
(iii) urge developed countries to make concrete efforts towards the target of 0.7% of GNP as ODA, and
(iv) tremendous gains in the areas of technology transfer and technology development in the form of partnerships.

* Regional implementation in Africa: Two important targets were achieved:
(i) agreed to support the NEPAD objectives to secure modern energy access for 35% of Africa's population within 20 years;
(ii) agreed to support Africa's national programmes to regenerate the agricultural sector, sustainably develop fisheries and increase investment in infrastructure and technology.

* Principles: The reaffirmation of all 27 Rio Principles and in particular the precautionary approach principle and the principle of common but differentiated responsibility.

* Vulnerable groups: A package of targets to support vulnerable groups was achieved. These include:
(i) enhance the participation of women in sustainable agriculture and food security
(ii) agreement to facilitate women's access to healthcare in a way that is consistent with basic human rights as well as religious and cultural values; and
(iii) agreement to support the Millennium Development Goal of ensuring that, by 2015, children are able to complete primary school and have equal access to all levels of education.

THE POLOKWANE DECLARATION

DEAT in collaboration with the provinces, municipalities, Salga, business, CBOs and NGOs has successfully initiated and launched the Polokwane Waste Summit with the resultant Polokwane Declaration signed by government and all of our partners. It is overdue that we have to report back to our stakeholders on our various commitments to signed Declaration.

The departments of Provincial and Local Government and Environmental Affairs and Tourism have taken it further to co-host a workshop around May this year to reflect on the deliverables achieved and challenges we faced on the Polokwane Declaration. Allow me to extend an invitation to you all to attend a forum where we will all be reporting back on the progress made since the signing of the Polokwane Declaration in September 2001.

It is upon every South African to take up this challenge and ensure that we achieve sustainable environmental management for the benefit of the present and future generation.

It is through collective efforts of citizens like yourselves that we shall make it happen. Let us work hard to implement our policies with clear targets, goals and time frames. We no more need to produce documents as we have plans and policies in place. Implementation will, push back the frontiers of poverty as we will be creating jobs as we manage the waste.

Thank you and keep up with the good work

Source: Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (http://www.environment.gov.za)

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