STATEMENT BY MINISTER Z. PALLO JORDAN AT THE LAUNCH OF THE COASTAL POLICY GREEN PAPER
AT THE RAIN FOREST ROOM, PLEIN STREET
MONDAY 14 SEPTEMBER 1998
Issued by: Government Communications (GCIS)
Ladies and gentlemen,
Colleagues,
Mr Barrett,
Professor McCarthy,
Representatives of the media,
Welcome to today's launch of the Coastal Policy Green Paper.
The Green Paper is the result of an enormous amount of hard work by a large number of people. These include the members of the Policy Committee and the Project Management Team, as well as the Regional Managers and those specialists involved in the various Specialist Studies. And of course all the stakeholders across the country. To date over 1000 people from more than 200 organisations have been consulted and engaged with. I want to thank them all for their contributions.
This Green Paper comes in the context of the government's attempts to legislative a comprehensive Environmental Management policy and should be seen as a dimension of that policy. South Africa's coast is a rich and diverse national asset, that is a source of opportunity for many people. It is of the utmost importance to our broader economy that we harness and manage these opportunities and benefits in a wise and sustainable manner. It is both our privilege and responsibility to preserve the integrity of the coast for present and future generations.
It would be well-nigh impossible to preserve the pristine beauty of our coast. What we can and must do is to preserve the integrity of the coastal ecosystems on which so much of our country's economy depends. If these robust yet fragile ecosystems are destroyed, we will never realise the true benefits that are offered by our coast. These benefits include exploitation of the resources the seas have to offer; travel to and communication with other lands; trade and exchange with other peoples; as well as our pleasure and recreation.
This Green Paper poses key questions about the way forward. It provides alternatives and solutions to the question of managing our coast in a manner that is both equitable and sustainable. It is a vital step towards integrated coastal management and towards sustainable coastal development. We would like to see as many South Africans as possible joining us in developing our coastal policy.
The media could play an important part in ensuring broad and meaningful participation both by reporting on the issues before us and by engaging with us around the issues that arise in the course of policy development. It is only by examining a host of alternatives that we can establish a healthy debate. Broad ownership of the final policy will go a long way towards addressing the enormous task of successful implementation.
Lastly, permit me to express our sincere thanks to the British Government's Department for International Development, represented today by Mr John Barrett, for their generous funding of the Coastal Management Policy Programme. Besides providing the necessary finances, their on-going guidance and advice has been invaluable.
Our coast is our asset and our heritage - we should afford it the respect it deserves. Once again, thank you for joining us today and I look forward to an equally exciting launch in the near future - that of the Coastal Policy White Paper.
Thank you