Chairperson and hon Minister, the ACDP commends the department for its efficiency - it is most definitely a well-run department. Well done also for the success of COP 17! The department has a responsibility to maintain South Africa's image as the third most biologically diverse country in the world by strengthening the regulatory framework for biodiversity and ecosystem services through targeted amendments. This the ACDP also supports. The transfer from the Department of Water Affairs of the Working for Water and Working on Fire programmes has significantly increased this department's capacity and responsibility to create employment. The ACDP looks forward to the greater success of this programme in creating jobs, given the R1,1 billion additional funding given to these programmes. What is of equal importance is the huge value of the work that is being done. As the Minister pointed out, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research estimates that water to the value of R400 billion has been saved. That is no mean feat and, as we know, water is very precious.
The massive reduction in the budget allocation to the Subprogramme: Ocean Conservation is explained by the payment of the final instalment for the new polar research vessel, the SA Agulhas II. We all look forward to seeing it and welcoming it tomorrow. As South Africans, we can be proud of this new vessel as we are leaders in polar research.
Previous speakers referred to the rhino and elephant poaching crisis. Concerns have been expressed that if poaching of rhinos continues at its present pace, they could be extinct within our lifetime. Clearly, while effecting a number of arrests, the joint task team is not reducing the number of rhinos being poached. More must be done in this regard.
It is very clear that organised crime syndicates are involved. The Sunday Independent newspaper quotes a report from Reuters relating to rhino and elephant poaching - in this case, elephant poaching in particular - in the Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which a previous speaker also referred to. Here, it was a family of elephants that were killed when poachers swept over them with a helicopter gunship. The report said:
The scene beneath the rotor blades would have been chilling: panicked mothers shielding their young, hair-raising screeches and a mad scramble through the blood-stained bush as bullets rained down from the sky. When the shooting was over, 22 elephants lay dead ... their tusks and genitals removed for sale in Asia.
This is disgraceful. Rhinos are extinct in that park and elephants are to follow. We must take greater steps to prevent that from occurring here in South Africa.
For that reason, the ACDP is concerned that there is a massive reduction in the budget for the SA National Parks subprogramme in the biodiversity and conservation programme. This could escalate incidents of rhino poaching by limiting the ability of law enforcement agents to ensure relevant conservation laws are effectively implemented and enforced. We, as parliamentarians, must ensure that conservation laws are properly enforced by providing sufficient funding to these law enforcement agencies.