Government’s four natural resource management programmes could create between 192 000 and 494 000 full-time jobs in the next 15 years, a study by the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) has found.

The study focused on the various ‘working for’ programmes that government had initiated since the 1990s.

The Working for Water, Working for Wetlands, Working for Land and Working for Fire public programmes could lead to income flows into poor rural households of between R16.4-billion and R123-billion a year, thereby making a significant contribution to poverty alleviation.

Study coauthor and DBSA researcher Thierry Giordano said that South Africa, which had lost one-million jobs since the economic downturn of 2008, needed a rethink on how underdeveloped sectors could create new jobs.

“Natural resource management is definitely one of these sectors that hold good promise for employment possibilities,” Giordano said.

According to the study, the 192 000 estimated jobs that could be created by 2025 provided that minimum environmental objectives were set. 

“The figure escalates to around 500 000 job opportunities if prevailing environmental challenges are to be addressed much more effectively. Natural resource management stands to make a significant contribution to the government’s five-million jobs by 2020 [aim] if sufficiently unlocked,” he said.

But achieving environmental and employment spin-offs through the natural resource management programmes could be hampered by financing of the activities, as the programmes largely relied on fiscal allocations. This year, they received funding of about R16.4-billion.

The DBSA study estimated that amounts of between R49-billion and R123-billion a year, depending on protection or restoration activities undertaken, would be needed.

The Working for Water programme focuses on clearing invasive alien plants that affect water availability whilst the Working for Wetlands programme, initiated in 2000, focuses on the preservation of wetlands.

Combating wild fires is the focus of the Working for Fire programme whilst the Working for Land programme seeks to revive indigenous vegetation in certain areas.

The University of Pretoria’s economics department’s Professor James Blignaut and the Department of Environmental Affairs’ Christo Marais also participated in the study.