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Date
: 04/06/2004
Source: Ministry of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
Title: M van Schalkwyk: World Environment Day
SPEECH BY MARTHINUS VAN SCHALKWYK, MP, MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENTAL
AFFAIRS AND TOURISM, AT THE NATIONAL CELEBRATIONS OF WORLD
ENVIRONMENT DAY, uShaka Marine World, Durban, 4 June 2004
WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY: SA CELEBRATES BY SECURING OUR ENVIRONMENTAL
FUTURE
It's great to be in Durban to celebrate our environment. Our
environment belongs to all our people.
As we come together to celebrate World Environment Day with
communities and people all over the globe, we should remember the
words of one of KwaZulu-Natal's most famous residents, Mahatma
Gandhi, who said that the Earth provides enough to satisfy every
man's need, but not enough to meet every man's greed.
The temptation when approaching a subject like the environment is
to make the mistake of thinking on the sweeping scale of history.
It is convenient to look at our world and say that our actions are
insignificant when held up against the life span of the mountains,
the oceans, the forests and the fields.
It is comfortable to believe that no matter how hard we try to
spoil our planet, pollute our rivers, and abuse our natural
heritage, there will somehow be a point at which time will heal our
world, and make up for our short-sighted approach. It is convenient
and it is comfortable, but it is also wrong.
Although there is disagreement amongst scientists about the exact
scope of the problem, the United Nations Environment Programme has
predicted that that almost one in every four-mammal species in the
world faces extinction within 30 years. One in eight bird species
and more than 5000 different plants are also in danger of
permanently disappearing from the face of our planet. Greenhouse
gasses and air pollution have made a serious impact on our global
climate - with average global temperatures half a degree warmer
than just 100 years ago. Every year our planet loses another 160
000 square kilometres of natural forests - an area greater than the
size of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng combined.
The message of National Environment Week and World Environment Day
this year is a wake-up call for our people. As we celebrate the
first Ten Years of Freedom in South Africa, we must realise that
children born in 1994 may find, by the time they turn 21 in 2015,
that they have inherited freedom without beauty, equality without a
sustainable environment, and reconciliation without
resources.
It is this future that our Department and our Government is working
to avert. There is no greater asset for humanity than the long-term
health and well being of our planet. There can be no goal more
crucial to our survival than the protection and nurturing of our
environment. Our land and our oceans are treasures that we must
guard for our children.
World Environment Day, which is celebrated annually on the 5th of
June, has this year been given a marine theme - "Wanted! Seas and
Oceans Dead or Alive". What better place to hold our national
celebration than right here at the new uShaka Marine World?
Apart from the obvious tourism attractions offered by the park,
this venue has a much more serious side. The SA Association for
Marine Biological Research (SAAMBR) and the Oceanographic Research
Institute (ORI) have also moved to uShaka and their new
laboratories and technological research tools will continue to help
inform our marine and coastal policies.
As we stand here today, on the shores of eThekwini, we are directly
connected to more than half of the population of the world - whose
countries also border the Indian Ocean. Far more than just a
distance to be crossed, or an attraction to be admired, this ocean,
like all our marine resources, is a living and precious asset for
our people.
More than 3,5 billion people depend on the oceans of the world as
their main source of food - and by 2024 this could double to 7
billion people. Yet our seas and oceans are the least protected
areas on the planet - with less than half of 1% under protection,
compared to more than 11% of global land area. Our fishing stocks
have dropped alarmingly around the world, with populations of large
fish like tuna and swordfish reduced in some areas by as much as
90% in the last 100 years. The grim reality is that more than 70%
of the world's fisheries are either fished at or past their
sustainable limit.
In South Africa, our Government has chosen to act. The four new
Marine Protected Areas that we declared this week, and that were
officially gazetted today, bring almost 19% of our coastline under
protection. This means that large sections of our coast will be
entirely free from fishing of any kind - creating 'breathing space'
for fish populations to shelter, to breed and to stabilise. One of
these new MPAs is here in KwaZulu-Natal - Aliwal Shoal, and its
will be cared for and managed by Ezemvelo KWAZULU-NATAL
Wildlife.
Although the focus of this week has been our oceans and shores,
there is clearly much more to our vision for the environment in
South Africa. Another key piece of the environment puzzle is the
burning need for better air quality in many of our communities. We
all know that this issue has been a long-term concern right here in
Durban South. It is not acceptable for children and families to
suffer serious health problems simply because they are not able to
afford homes in less polluted areas. Our new Air Quality Management
Bill will soon come to Parliament and will begin to address these
issues, tackling polluters, and applying the principle that 'the
polluter pays'.
Another important event earlier this week was the new Biodiversity
Act, which was signed into law by President Mbeki on Monday
evening. It sets up a system to protect and control the use of
South Africa's rare and endangered species, and requires private
landowners and government to take steps to control the spread of
alien plants. It also establishes our new Biodiversity Institute,
and adds real teeth to our natural resource management.
I also had the pleasure, this morning, of speaking at the annual
Mail and Guardian Greening the Future Awards in Johannesburg. These
are awards to companies, organisations and communities who make a
real and positive contribution to the health of their local
environment. The lesson from the awards, and from every event this
week, is that South Africans of every age, in every community can
make a difference. Nowhere is this more clearly shown than by the
25 Environmental Youth Ambassadors and our three winners here
today. I thank you all for your efforts to help us protect our
environment.
National Environment Week 2004 has been a great success, focusing
attention and awareness in South Africa on our most important
shared responsibilities. It has also been a call to action that has
been loudly and widely shared in all nine provinces. I would like
to thank you all for the part that you have played, and more
importantly the role that you will play in securing our
environment, our future.
Enquiries: Riaan Aucamp
Cell: 083 778 9923
Issued by: Ministry of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
4 June 2004
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