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Date : 04/06/2004
Source: Ministry of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
Title: M van Schalkwyk: Mail & Guardian Greening the Future Awards


KEYNOTE SPEECH BY MARTHINUS VAN SCHALKWYK, MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS AND TOURISM, AT THE MAIL & GUARDIAN GREENING THE FUTURE AWARDS, Johannesburg, 4 June 2004

Partnerships for a Greening Revolution

There is something extraordinary happening in South Africa. It is not well documented. It is not entirely planned or centrally coordinated. It is not yet universal, but its power is undeniable. It is a groundswell of support, a critical mass that is building, with one shared central theme - the absolute imperative to protect, preserve and promote our natural environment.

Today South Africa celebrates the culmination of National Environment Week. It has been a week of important events like the official declaration yesterday of four new Marine Protected Areas, and the signing on Tuesday of international grants for biodiversity and conservation in South Africa worth more than $11 million. It has seen the President sign into law our new Biodiversity Act, and it has brought new awareness of key environmental issues to the attention of our people.

The most important events however have not been those attended only by Ministers, Mayors, or Premiers - they have also been the every-day activities of the millions of South Africans who strive to make a positive difference to our environment in their own lives. In homes, businesses, factories, schools, churches and community centres we are experiencing a quiet greening revolution.

It is to recognise the leaders and innovators of this greening revolution that we gather here today. The Mail & Guardian Greening the Future Awards foster and encourage ever-better practice in industry, commerce, and communities. These awards, linked closely to the outcomes of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) last year, shed light on the work being done beyond the normal reach of cameras and spotlights.

South Africa has been at the forefront of implementing the WSSD agreements, and we have been internationally recognised for these achievements. We have, for example, already reached the WSSD targets for water and sanitation, and we are on track to eliminate backlogs in water infrastructure by 2008 and sanitation provision by 2010. With the declaration of our four new Marine Protected Areas, we have brought almost 19% of our coastline under protection - within reach of the 20% target set at the WSSD and the World Parks Congress. We will, this year launch new national parks, aiming to meet the World Conservation Union target of 10% of land area under protection, and we plan to ensure that 200 000 unemployed South Africans will gain employment and an income in the environmental sector between now and 2008.

We have cleared 200 000 hectares of alien vegetation, rehabilitated 40 wetlands, cleaned 700 Km of coastline, and established 32 waste management programmes, yet this is not the basis of the South African greening revolution. No wave has ever been powered from above - it is in our neighbourhoods and communities that the push for a greener future is gathering momentum.

Take for example the JSE's new Socially Responsible Investment Index (SRI), launched in May - the first of its kind in an emerging market. Combining the triple bottom line practices of environmental, economic and social sustainability it is an initiative with great potential to focus corporate energies on changing and greening our future.

The sheer scope and diversity of award nominees present here today bears testimony to this truth - that environmental management is something that cannot be successfully driven by Government alone. True success requires real partnerships that create the space for innovation.

In our quest to realise the vision of a prosperous and equitable society living in harmony with our natural resources, our Department of Environmental Affairs and tourism recognises the importance of both the so-called brown and green issues. We will work with you, over the next decade, both to promote conservation and sustainable development of our natural resources, and to protect and improve the quality and safety of our environment.

One of our most important focus areas will be to streamline and improve the effectiveness of the environmental impact management process. This will include revised legislation and regulations, the implementation of service fees for Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) from 2005, and a 20% reduction in the time it takes to process an EIA by 2007.

Another focus area will be on improving the quality of our air in South Africa. The Air Quality Bill will be resubmitted to Parliament later this year, and will aim both to reduce emissions and to bring air quality in 50% of identified pollution hot spots under control in the near future. Provincial and local air quality officers will also be appointed. I was greatly pleased to see that one of the finalists in the awards today is the South Durban Basin Multi-point plan - a project which our department helped to initiate, one that we have continued to champion, and an issue that is at the top of our agenda. Like so many other nominees here today, their work aligns directly with the priorities of our Department.

You are all familiar, I am sure, with the strategies that have been employed to reduce plastic waste in our country. The plastic bag legislation has been an important component of this drive. We will, in the term of this Government, be turning our attention to waste reduction and recycling in other waste streams - and this will be the focus of new waste management legislation next year.

In all of these endeavours we will need your help, your support, and your active participation. This is the key to the success of our Greening revolution - partnerships in action.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Mail and Guardian for sponsoring the Greening the Future Awards - and for making a real contribution to the recognition of excellence in environmental management. I would also like to commend the judges for their hard work, and especially to wish all the finalists the best of luck for the eventual outcome. I think though that we should also pause here to congratulate each and every nominee - their actions have not been motivated by awards, but by a sincere desire to make a lasting difference to our environment.

Finally I would like to thank the people of South Africa - the foot soldiers and partners in our Greening revolution.

Enquiries: Riaan Aucamp
Cell: 083-778-9923
Issued by: Ministry of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
4 June 2004

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