Chairperson, hon members and our distinguished guests, the main objective of our government is to take care of its citizens. On the other hand, citizens must behave in a manner that augments government's effort. We must exercise and enjoy our rights responsibly. We have the right to reproduce ourselves, but we must do so responsibly. Research has shown that population is an important source of development, yet it is also a major source of environmental degradation where it exceeds the threshold limit of the support system.
The uncontrollable increase in the population contributes to high levels of poverty. As far as jobs are concerned, the demand will always exceed the supply. However, government has made a remarkable move in creating and saving jobs. Many poor people depend on natural resources. This alone calls for unity in action as we are all potential victims of the situation.
This quote is taken from one of the reports on the environmental outlook of South Africa:
The environment is constantly in flux, with change driven by a variety of factors that influence and direct it in many ways - affecting the quality of our water our natural resources and the productivity of land. These factors ... arise mainly from a country's socio-economic activities. When combined with changes in the condition of the natural environment, these drivers can and do have a significant impact on the health and functioning of that environment, which, in turn, affects people's quality of life and their ability to survive.
Industrial development contributes to the creation of jobs and improves the standard of living, but their noncompliance with legislation - that is the National Environmental Management Act, Act No 107 of 1998, commonly known as NEMA - spoils the benefits of their existence. Those who comply are just a drop in the ocean. We can say it is better than nothing, but half a bottle of poison is still poison and it will kill you.
Migration and influx to South Africa result in the mushrooming of informal human settlements that have no infrastructure. People resort to unhealthy ways and means to survive. They must make fires to cook and warm themselves. They use anything: wood, cow dung and many other things. Unlike commercial industries, they have no choice and the situation has a negative impact on their health. Their lifespan is shortened. They are vulnerable to all sorts of diseases due to air pollution and contaminated water. Infant mortality is rife.
Education and awareness campaigns must be prioritised in all communities, in particular in informal settlements, the rural areas and schools.
Ambassadors of health and the environment must also advise our people on the benefits of taking care of the environment through recycling and waste management. For example, Logistic News tells you about the benefits of the increase in the paper recovery rate. During the 2007-2008 calendar year, 2 060 000 tons of recyclable paper was collected, resulting in income generation for poor members of our communities, an increased number of job opportunities and saved landfill space. Also, 40% less energy is required to manufacture paper from recovered paper. Recycling fibre reduces air emissions in papermaking by 70%.
Recycling has been hailed as one of the best environmental success stories of the past few decades. The processes that are involved turn materials that would otherwise become waste into valuable resources. The number of companies engaging in waste reduction and the amount of material reused or recycled are now growing rapidly. Hardworking people who take their recycling materials to these industries get next to nothing when we talk about rands and cents. Such groups must be assisted to establish recycling co-operatives and register their own businesses. The economic transformation policies will eventually expose them to global competitors. That is the caring ANC-led government.
In October 1998 the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism launched a national waste management campaign. Its aim is to inculcate a culture of responsibility with regard to waste and pollution management and to enable South Africa to initiate projects designed to abate waste and pollution problems. The aim of the campaign is also to create sustainable livelihoods for the poor through improved access to environmental resources; to improve the level of public awareness with regard to waste and pollution management, as well as the need for community action in the development and maintenance of green spaces and other public facilities and amenities; and to return and guarantee the dignity and humanity of the African people, in particular those living in informal settlements, by providing sustainable, appropriate and affordable sanitation.
Programme 6, which is Environmental Sector Programmes and Projects, collaborates with the EPWP by using labour-intensive methods targeting the unemployed, youth, women and people with disabilities. A key objective is to empower small, medium and micro enterprises during the implementation of four focus-area projects. Working on Waste creates sustainable livelihoods through the recycling of waste and waste disposal technologies. "Sustainable livelihoods" also concentrates on the clearing of alien vegetation, the rehabilitation of wetlands and the creation of livelihood opportunities through the sustainable use of protected areas to conserve natural resources and heritage.
Inasmuch as government wants to attract foreign investment, there is no compromise on compliance. Property developers must adhere to the environmental impact assessment policy. Government aims to ensure that development does not take place at the expense of our health and wellbeing in general. The mining industries are included in compliance. This is an attempt to strengthen environmental governance and the sustainability of our developmental growth path. Section 23 in Chapter 5 of the National Environmental Management Act, NEMA, states that all stakeholders have the right to be consulted on impact assessment. It means the social, economic and environmental impact of activities must be considered and the affected communities must be consulted before development takes place.
My speech would not be complete if I didn't - to follow previous speakers - mention the pivotal role played by South Africa under the leadership of the ANC-led government at the Durban conference on climate change recently in 2011. The country was united in persuading countries that were resistant to participation in efforts to deal with this global environmental hazard.
Even though the process is still continuing, I just want to mention one of the outcomes. The Durban conference adopted 19 COP and 17 CMP decisions and approved a number of subsidiary body conclusions. Although these outcomes cover a wide range of topics, the final high-level Durban Package unlocked a historically successful outcome that strengthened the multilateral system through an agreement that significantly advances the global effort needed now. However, it also sets a new long-term pathway for the development of a fair, inclusive, ambitious and legal future multilateral and rule-based global climate change system that can balance climate and development imperatives.
Looking back to the history that led to the Durban conference on climate change, I feel there is only one conclusion: South Africa is in good hands. Give the ANC another chance to lead South Africa. We need one another as political parties. We need one another as a country. Together we can do more.