Speech by Marthinus Van Schalkwyk, Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, during the National Assembly debate on the Budget Vote of the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism

Partnerships, protection and prosperity

Madam Speaker, it is a great privilege to present the Budget Vote for Environmental Affairs and Tourism on 5 June, World Environment Day. Globally, the chosen theme for 2007 is "Melting ice, a hot topic?" Madame Speaker, climate change and other environmental issues have recently, and within a very short period of time, dominated world news, and captured the imaginations of ordinary people around the world.

Over a 15 year period, international dialogue on environmental issues has moved from being principally the concern of environmentalists to becoming a universal concern that is now in the mainstream. Today, environmental issues are on the agenda of virtually every global forum, including the Group of Eight (G-8), Group of twenty (G-20), United Nations (UN) Commission on Sustainable Development, World Bank, World Trade Organisation and the World Economic Forum.

Our department remains firmly committed to our pledge to entrench and enforce the right of all South Africans to a clean and safe environment and to secure sustainable development that also furthers economic growth and social objectives. To this end, we have had to ensure that the process of mainstreaming environmental issues is accelerated in South Africa. Our approach is to galvanise partnerships in order to secure the best possible outcomes for environmental protection and economic prosperity for all our people.

Partnerships for prosperity

Madame Speaker, the partnerships consolidated by Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) over the past year have done much more than aid the protection of our environment for future generations. Our partnerships have also made an outstanding contribution to the economic well-being of many South Africans. Nowhere is this more evident than in the tourism sector.

Tourism sector performance

The tourism industry, given pride of place amongst Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa's (AsgiSA) priority sectors, has outdone itself yet again. Arrival statistics for 2006 show that South Africa received almost 8,4 million international arrivals, an increase of more than one million visitors compared to the previous year, and resounding evidence that the focused marketing efforts of South African Tourism (SAT) are paying off in every sense.

Thus far, the implementation of the airlift strategy, the result of a strong partnership between DEAT, SAT, the Department of Transport and the private sector, has shown impressive increases in capacity to bring tourists to South Africa. Between September 2006 and January this year, rights for almost 1,4 million additional seats per year were secured.

Sharing the fruits of tourism growth

It is of paramount concern to DEAT that the fruits of growth experienced by the tourism sector are accessible to all South Africans. The Tourism Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) Charter Council has been hard at work over the past year.

The Department of Trade and Industry's Broad Based BEE Codes were gazetted on the 9 February 2007, and we are hard at work in aligning our charter with these codes.

Open Africa route

In order to fulfil the revenue, seasonality, distribution, length of stay and transformation requirements of the South African tourism industry, DEAT is funding the Open Africa Route initiative. The development of these routes will focus on the packaging of second economy products into tourism experiences. 23 existing routes are being revised to include second economy operators, and three new routes are being developed. On average each route will assist 30 Second Economy operators.

Rest assured, Madame Speaker that we are providing a comprehensive range of support measures to ensure that second economy operators are well equipped to meet the high expectations of both local and international travellers. 2 025 small-medium micro enterprises (SMMEs) will be trained on Tourism Awareness and 810 will be trained through business management, human resource management, marketing and financial management courses. Two thousand and five hundred SMME rooms will be graded by 2009.

Tourism safety and awareness

I met with key industry stakeholders earlier this year and we have widespread buy-in for our Tourism Safety and Awareness Strategy that will be launched in September this year, during our tourism month celebrations. The strategy involves pro-active measures as well as support measures where incidents have occurred. The safety tips booklet for tourists has been revised and was distributed at the Tourism Indaba that was held last month. We are working with the SAPS on our Tourism Safety and Awareness Handbook for practitioners, which will serve as the definitive guide for the entire industry.

Partnerships for protection

Our partnerships have assisted us to come up with strategies, implementation plans, legislation and management practices that place us in a stronger position to protect our environment for the benefit of all our people.

Climate change

Our roadmap for a national climate policy recognises that the solution to the critical challenges we face should be addressed through integrated government planning, in collaboration with stakeholders through the National Climate Change Committee (NCCC) and a strengthened multilateral regime.

To this end, the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Climate Change led by DEAT initiated the Long Term Mitigation Scenario (LTMS) process. This process will outline the range of ambitious but realistic scenarios of future climate action, notably long-term emissions scenarios and their cost implications. In addition, various national departments, provinces and cities are refining their sector plans in line with the National Climate Change Response Strategy. Working closely with industry, DEAT will also be finalising our updated Greenhouse Gas Inventory. All this will inform our first ever Long Term National Climate Policy. We plan to publish this during 2008/09.

DEAT will also initiate a process that will, over the next few years, match our efforts on the mitigation scenario building process. This will culminate in a National Adaptation Plan.

Nature based tourism and wildlife are cited by some 30% of international visitors as key attractions in conservation areas and beyond. With tourism contributing just over eight percent to our GDP, the economic impact of climate change on tourism could be very large indeed.

Globally, by mid century, 20% to 30% of plant and animal species are likely to be at increased risk of extinction as a result of climate change. In sub-Saharan Africa, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) indicated that between 25% and 40% of animal species in national parks will see further increases in threat status. South African Fynbos and the Succulent Karoo ecosystem seem particularly vulnerable and for a mean global temperature increase of between two and three degree Celsius during this century, we stand to lose between 50% and 65% of our unique Fynbos.

In order to conserve our magnificent heritage and key environmental assets, and ensure that these are passed on intact to the children and grandchildren of our nation, and indeed the world, we have to recognise that our knowledge base is incomplete. Within DEAT, we will focus pro-actively on enhancing research on the impacts of climate change on key environmental assets and biodiversity management on land and in our oceans. This will inform ecosystem planning, biodiversity management, the management of marine resources, park management and climate change adaptive plans.

Our national parks and trans-frontier conservation areas

Infrastructure development funds allocated to South African National Parks (SANParks) totals R574,9 million. Coupled with the R600 million that is being spent on the infrastructure component of the Expanded Public Works Programme, total expenditure on upgrading, as well as new rest camps, tourism roads, fences and other infrastructure, will have exceeded R1 billion by 2010.

In terms of 2010 accommodation, SANParks signed a Memorandum of Co-operation with the Federation International Football International (FIFA) accommodation and ticketing company, match providing soccer fans with the chance to have a truly unique World Cup experience. In the event that SANParks is called on to provide more accommodation units than are currently available in its inventory, the organisation has made provisions to erect, at short notice, tented accommodation to meet any demands that may be placed on the facilities. Provision of services in national parks throughout the 2010 World Cup tournament will occur with very minimal disruption to domestic visitors who remain the organisation's backbone.

In June 2005 eight Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states adopted a strategy aimed at positioning our Trans-frontier Conservation Areas (TFCAs) and Trans-frontier Parks (TFPs) as premier international tourism attractions for 2010 and beyond. We therefore plan, before the end of the year, to hold at least two investor conferences, one in South Africa and one in Europe to attract investment into major tourist facilities within the TFCAs.

Our marine and coastal management

Partnerships with industry and communities have enabled us to make major progress with the allocation of fishing rights. Following the 2001 allocation of medium-term fishing rights of two to four years, last year the department allocated long-term commercial fishing rights of 8 to 15 years in 20 fishing sectors. The biggest challenge in the rights allocation process was to balance declining and migrating marine living resources with the high demand for access to these resources. A total of 2 542 long-term commercial fishing rights were allocated to successful applicants and appellants, significantly improving the transformation profile of the industry. The estimated wholesale value of production in the fishing industry was approximately R4,5 billion last year.

We are strengthening our partnerships with non-governmental and community-based organisations. A case in point is the interim relief agreement that was reached with Masifundise. Whilst we are finalising our small scale and subsistence fishing policies, we have instituted a temporary measure, granting interim relief to about 1 000 fishers in communities between Port Nolloth and Arniston. Government and fishing industry stakeholders have also agreed to move towards establishing a future unified liaison structure. We had a constructive meeting with the industry yesterday and agreed on principles for a representative body to advise the department. The structure will include representatives from all sectors of industry and skilled specialists.

Honourable members, we have also taken the bull by the horns with regard to the Marine Living Resources Fund (MLRF). We are implementing a turnaround strategy, focusing on short-term interventions as well as medium term strategies for addressing the state of the fund, both financially and organisationally. Progress against this strategy is being closely monitored and we have given the House a progress report subsequent to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) hearings.

Madam Speaker, scientific studies show that the abalone resource remains on the verge of collapse. It seems that there is little prospect of recovery in the short term. The main causes of the decline in abalone are poaching and ecosystem effects; most notably, the migration of West Coast Rock Lobster into areas where abalone is located. Environmentally, an intricate relationship exists between abalone, sea urchins and rock lobsters. During the early 1990's, when rock lobster migration started, it led to the complete demise of the sea urchin population and to a severe reduction in the recruitment of juvenile abalone. The impact of the encroachment is that two of the four abalone zones were lost to the fishery.

Despite many successful examples of monitoring and surveillance of the abalone sector, the resource continues to decline at an alarming rate. If by November we do not see a significant reversal of this situation, we will be forced to announce a plan to close down the commercial abalone sector for a period of about 10 years, which is what is required for the resource to recover. The challenge for our department will be to enlist the support of other departments and state agencies, locally and provincially, in the joint development of alternative livelihood strategies for those fishers and communities who will be adversely affected by the potential closure of the abalone fishing sector. It is my belief that marine aquaculture can play an important role in filling such a gap.

Marine aquaculture is an integral part of our strategy to diversify the fishing industry. Taking into account the global picture, as well as our local needs, we are almost ready to gazette the first ever marine aquaculture policy for South Africa. The policy aims to create an enabling environment that includes looking at achieving transformation and broadening participation in the industry through SMME initiatives and facilitating finance and skills development. Our policies are also intended to improve the management and control of environmental impacts and increase the resource base to a more diverse suite of species. It gives me pleasure to announce that our Department will be initiating four marine aquaculture projects, one in each coastal province, in the 2007/08 Financial Year.

Legislation and Regulation

Madam Speaker, DEAT will continue to strengthen its regulatory muscle through the development of legislation, regulations, norms and standards to facilitate better management of the environment. We have prioritised pro-active risk management and strict regulatory enforcement. Our legislative programme this year includes four bills that will be tabled in parliament, the National Environmental Management Act (Nema) Amendment Bill dealing principally with environmental management inspectors, the Waste Bill, the Nema Chapter 5 Amendment Bill dealing with environmental impact assessments (EIAs) and the Integrated Coastal Management Bill.

The department published draft norms and standards for the management of elephant populations in South Africa for public comment in March. We received over 700 pages of comments, from a wide range of individuals and organisations by the closing date of 4 May 2007. The comments have been consolidated into a single document, which will now be discussed with the provincial authorities and other requisite stakeholders before being amended and finalised.

The regulations relating to threatened and protected species, developed after an intensive public consultation process, were published in February 2007 for entry into force on 1 June 2007. However, after consultation with some provincial MECs the date of entry into force was postponed to 1 February 2008 to allow provincial authorities enough time to make the necessary preparations for implementation. I want to make it clear that this is in no way intended to signal a softening of our position on reprehensible practices such as canned hunting of large predators. These regulations signal the start of a clean-up of the hunting industry. They lay the basis for a well-regulated and ethical hunting and game farming industry in South Africa. The hunting industry is an important industry but its long term survival will be guaranteed only if it is based on defensible practices.

We are therefore opposing court action initiated by the South African Predator Breeders Association in the High Court in Bloemfontein against these regulations. I want to make it clear that South Africa has a long-standing reputation as a global leader on conservation issues. We will not allow our achievements to be undermined by unethical and rogue practices.

The Integrated Coastal Management Bill was gazetted in December 2006. This new piece of legislation will lead to the adoption of a new approach in managing the nation's coastal resources. This will promote social equity and make better use of coastal resources, whilst also protecting the natural environment. Comments received from the public participation process indicate overwhelming support for the Bill and its principles. These comments have now been incorporated into a new version of the Bill which is scheduled for tabling in Parliament later this year.

Environmental impact assessments (EIAs) are internationally recognised as an important tool to enable governments to ensure that environmental considerations are taken into account when reaching important decisions on development and investment. Since the promulgation of the 1997 EIA Regulations approximately 50 000 applications have been submitted to EIA authorities. The 1997 Regulations were repealed on 3 July 2006, at which time 5 859 of these applications were still pending finalisation. In the period between 3 July 2006 and 31 March 2007, 3 034 of these applications were finalised, reducing the number of pending applications by more than half.

Chapter Five of the National Environmental Management Act (Nema) and the EIA Regulations are currently being amended in order to ensure that our processes are as efficient as possible. These amendment processes will be concluded by the second half of this year. These amendments are intended to eliminate problems, correct thresholds and further rationalise the system so that EIAs can be processed even more speedily. Furthermore, the Nema amendment provides the powers in law to introduce further strategic planning tools that will in the medium term mean that less individual EIAs will be done as environmental planning is better integrated into the overall planning process.

In conclusion, Madame Speaker, I would like to thank the department, under the capable leadership of Director-General Pam Yako, each and every DEAT staff member, as well as the Chief Executive Officers and boards of our statutory bodies for their tireless efforts to build partnerships for protection and prosperity. None of the achievements that I have spoken of today would be possible without the hard work and dedication of these outstanding individuals whose commitment to consolidating the achievements of our first decade of freedom is without question.

I would also like to express my thanks to our Deputy Minister, Rejoice Mabudafhasi, for her hard work and support this year, as well as to Honourable Langa Zita, Chairperson of our Portfolio Committee, and to every member of the committee, which remains involved, committed and active.

I would also like to thank our numerous partners, both beyond and within our borders, including industry, non-governmental organisations and communities for working with us to achieve collectively what none of us could have achieved individually.

I thank you

Issued by: Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
5 June 2007