Chair, Minister MmaMolewa, hon chair of the portfolio committee, hon members, Ministers and Deputy Ministers who are here with us today, chairpersons of executives, public entities, and distinguished guests, environmental degradation, accelerated by human activities in the quest for a livelihood and developmental needs, is a global concern. Thus we have had the 40-year journey from Stockholm, Nairobi and Rio de Janeiro to Johannesburg, striving to address such challenges all the time. The outcome of this journey has been a shift from just a developmental agenda to a programme of action for sustainable development that binds all countries to prioritising the environment. That is why we developed our national framework and strategy - and had their implementation - for sustainable development, to ensure the balance between socioeconomic developmental needs and conservation of the environment for sustainability.
Our strategic plan and budget strive for a sustainable environment characterised by community-based environmental management while creating jobs, saving energy and water, creating food security and managing waste, to mention but a few. Allow me to give you a snapshot of the programmes we have implemented to address the above-mentioned key focus areas.
Our biological resources were being exploited without the involvement of and benefit to communities. Their indigenous knowledge of those resources was not being used. At the Convention on Biological Diversity at COP 10 in Nagoya, the Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing was adopted as an international instrument. From this followed the development of our regulations on bioprospecting access and benefit sharing, which ensure partnerships with communities.
Seven bioprospecting permits have already been issued to the San community, who have now received two payments arising from their partnership with a pharmaceutical company. These permits have contributed to the sustainable utilisation of indigenous biological resources, created job opportunities, eradicated poverty and improved the health of the communities.
Two other permits have been issued to allow the utilisation of wild- harvested pelargonium sidoides, which is commonly known as uvendle, for commercial exploitation in the Eastern Cape. The beneficiary of this project is the Amathole community.
We need to transform our parks and we are busy doing that. People and Parks is one of our flagship programmes aimed at transforming the sector. We launched the National Co-management Framework, which enables community participation in protected areas. We finalised four co-management agreements by management authorities, such as Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife with the communities of Ndumo, Ithala and Tembe Nature Reserves, as well as iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority with the Mdletsheni community.
We have provided skills training to 400 beneficiaries from communities in eight protected areas. The challenges faced in this programme will be addressed jointly with the Ministry of Rural Development and Land Reform, while others will be addressed at the upcoming 5th People and Parks Conference, scheduled for September. I invite you all to attend, hon members.
Concerning our wetlands, we are very concerned about their degradation - MmaZikalala has already referred to that. For that reason we developed the State of Biodiversity Report, which gave us an indication of the status of our wetlands and the number of wetlands in the country. Wetlands have created job opportunities in Makuleke Village in Limpopo and a joint management board with SANParks has been established.
Game farming is also one of our good programmes. The wildlife economy has been identified as a key component of the biodiversity sector, contributing to job creation and economic development. Game farming, or wildlife ranching, has provided employment in the provinces. In recognition of this growth, the department is undertaking an extensive policy development process to harness the benefits from the hunting sector. As part of this process the department is planning to host the hunting indaba as a way of engaging with key stakeholders in formulating a clear policy for the sector.
Our social responsibility programmes aim to address environmental challenges while creating jobs, eradicating poverty and developing skills and small, medium and micro enterprises. This programme is composed of projects such as Working on Waste, which the Minister alluded to, Working for Water, Working for the Coast, eco-towns and Working on Fire. I really commend Working on Fire. Religiously, every year, they come to listen to us and hear what is happening. Congratulations and keep up the good work! [Applause.]
We have already implemented the eco-town concept in 10 municipalities. Some of these municipalities won the national prizes in the Greenest Municipalities Competition, which is aimed at sharing environmental best practice. Through this programme a total of 3 000 work opportunities were created for 24 months, providing the beneficiaries with much needed experience to enter into the formal job market and start their own SMMEs. A total of 19 433 job opportunities were created through other projects.
The SA Weather Service is playing a significant role through community radio stations in educating communities and the commercial sector, including agriculture, about severe weather warnings, aviation warnings and marine-related forecasts for coastal and deep sea forecasts. We are collaborating with municipalities. Actually, we are taking this to municipalities because they are out there with the communities.
Regarding waste, the Minister has already spoken about it. Our efforts to collaborate with the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs and the SA Local Government Association have really yielded good results. Waste is slowly being integrated into the business of municipalities, which was not the norm before. The department is providing hands-on support to municipalities and I think we are winning the war.
Regarding the health and quality of our air in South Africa, the Air Quality Governance Lekgotla was held last year. It aimed to present an overview of the state of air quality, report progress on the roll-out of the National Environment Management: Air Quality Act, Act No 39 of 2004, and strengthen collaboration between the three spheres of government. We will be conducting a mid-term review of the status of the ambient air in the Vaal Triangle priority area to check if we are achieving our goals. Through the Basa njengo Magogo campaign we have managed to educate communities about reducing air pollution. We have employed and trained young people to educate communities.
Regarding compliance and monitoring, we have the Green Scorpions, who are doing good work. They have the responsibility of monitoring the implementation of and compliance with our environmental laws. The 4th National Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Lekgotla, which was held in Limpopo recently, reflected on legislative amendments and also strengthened the powers of the Green Scorpions. It also increased penalties - there are now maximum fines of R5 million to R10 million, depending on the offence. For example, a fine of R3 million was issued to Silicon Smelters in Witbank in August 2011 and the facility spent R13 million on improvements. They got our message! The lekgotla also reflected on the Environmental Management Inspectorate's operating manual and the Magistrate's Court Bench Book to provide guidance to judicial officers in dealing with environmental cases and to update the guidelines for prosecutors. Also, 559 learners were given basic training.
In 2012 we aim to prioritise the roll-out of the Green Scorpions to local authorities and the first implementation protocol has already been signed. This was during the conference with the Limpopo provincial government.
The Green Sorpions are doing very well in regard to health care risk waste because we can see that industries are now starting to comply.
Our coastline continues to be extremely vulnerable to the impacts of major oil spills, among other things. Last year we focused on developing an ocean management strategy, which will be circulated this year. We rolled out a pilot project at Amathole District Municipality, which is the 21st SA Marine Protected Area. We are also going offshore regarding this protection - we have embarked on the process of proclaiming Prince Edward Island an MPA. This will set a good standard for our international partners. In addition to what the Minister said about youth development, we trained and employed a further 12 young people in integrated environmental management. This will go towards the roll-out of education and awareness programmes. They in turn trained 170 people to do education and awareness campaigns.
Regarding public awareness, we are partnering with the Department of Basic Education. We are working together and environmental education has been incorporated in the curriculum. We are building workshops for educators to be able to teach about environmental matters.
The Kids in the Parks programme seeks to enhance access for learners, especially the historically disadvantaged. Already 4 882 learners have access, and we are now targeting 5 000. We also have a careers outreach programme.
Working with Indalo Yethu, we have the Climate Change Train, which enables us to get feedback from the communities about the impact of climate change on them. They said that we were talking about it but we didn't know. They understand the impact it has on them and they gave examples. We are compiling that report in a booklet and you'll be getting it soon.
In conclusion, I wish to thank our Minister for providing exceptional leadership and the chairperson and members of the portfolio committee for their guidance in ensuring that we deliver on our mandate. A big thank you to the director-general and her team for their sterling work and congratulations on the awards that you received. We are proud of you. Malibongwe! [Let it be praised.] I also want to thank our public entities who are with us today. I thank our sister departments and all stakeholders for their active participation in environmental issues and for their unconditional support.