Hon Chairperson, hon members, our guests who are here, officials, ladies and gentlemen, we, as a department that is at the forefront of ensuring that environmental policy-making is responsive to the challenges faced by our people, feel that we must do more.
It is with this in mind that we will support rural development objectives by ensuring that the integrity of the ecosystems, on which rural economies are based, is protected. Needless to say, we are mindful of the enormity of the work to be done; hence, we call for partnerships with other spheres of government.
As the President reminded us in his state of the nation address, working together we can do more; we need to do exactly that. We call upon all provinces to work with us in designing programmes that are relevant to their social settings in this regard. This partnership will not only be confined to government, as we are convinced that participatory democracy is central to rolling out successful community-based natural resource management programmes that will focus on enterprise development and benefit- sharing from indigenous biological resources with local communities.
The policy and legislative tools provided by the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act will therefore be used to this effect. We'll make sure that the process makes sense to the affected communities, and their effective involvement will be encouraged.
With regard to the management, protection and monitoring of South Africa's marine protected areas and estuaries, our department continues to protect the country's biodiversity, build up fish stocks and regulate the activities of users.
With the establishment of the Still Bay Marine Protected Area, the total number of marine protected areas in the country is now 20. By extending the marine areas that are brought under protection, the department can ensure the effective management, monitoring and surveillance of promulgated marine protected areas, through partnerships with other conservation agencies, and the development of management plans.
Most of South Africa's estuaries are heavily impacted upon by the variety of human activities. Six estuary management plans were completed in the Cape region. The development of two estuary management plans in the Eastern Cape is under way, and a further nine management plans are being developed through co-operation with the Cape Action for People and the Environment and local municipalities.
Regarding protected areas, we feel the current system of protected areas in South Africa is under management and oversight of no fewer than 20 institutions at provincial and national level, in addition to local government institutions which manage about 229 local protected areas. This has led to significant fragmentation, overlapping in function, and duplication, and the efforts that are being made, we feel, are somewhat of a waste of resources.
It therefore makes sense in terms of good governance that rationalisation of protected areas within bioregions, where possible, should take place in order to ensure that government resources are effectively deployed and utilised economically, and that management approaches are harmonised across the board. The packaging and commercialisation of these larger iconic areas are more logical and easier. By attracting tourists, these areas will contribute both to local as well as to wider economic development.
It is in this context that a feasibility study towards the rationalisation of protected area management and world heritage sites will be undertaken by our department, in order to ensure effective and efficient institutional management of these nationally and globally significant biodiverse assets.
This evaluation will assist us in carefully managing protected areas to cope with escalating pressures and threats such as climate change and alien and invasive species. This will directly contribute towards improving protected area management by identifying critical management weaknesses, key threats, inappropriate policies, issues of capacity-building and management gaps in the protected areas network, as well as existing financial constraints.
The department will continue to work closely with the sector departments and other players also supporting land and agrarian reform and food security. This will entail integration of processes such as the management of alien and invasive species as well as strengthening the management of genetically modified organisms in light of the role of agricultural biotechnology in food security.
The department has worked very closely with key role-players in developing a national core management framework to support uniform participation and beneficiation of communities in protected areas. In order to guarantee effective implementation of this core management framework, a post- settlement support programme for protected areas will be developed in collaboration with relevant institutions, in line with the settlement implementation strategy which was developed by the Land Claims Commission in 2007.
Working together to improve the quality of the air we breathe has been one of the priorities of this government. The creation of a healthy nation includes paying careful attention to the quality of the air that we breathe. Last week, we launched the 2009 Cleaner Fires Campaign, called "Basa njengo Magogo", in Secunda. This forms part of our campaign aimed at reducing the unacceptable consequences of outdoor air pollution, which results from the burning of coal in many areas, especially in low-income settlements. This campaign must be seen as a catalyst that promotes good working relationships between government, communities and industries in collectively addressing air quality issues.
I would like to encourage all members here to learn to do it, and to go and demonstrate it and assist the communities out there. In this way we'll reduce pollution. It has been scientifically proven that it reduces pollution by 80%. Let each and every one of us go and learn. I've attended the training. So let us all go and assist our people.
We as a department aim to make 2009 a watershed year in air quality governance in South Africa, which will see 9/11 assume a new meaning for air quality management stakeholders in South Africa. The 11th of September 2009 will see the complete repeal of the Atmospheric Pollution Prevention Act of 1965 and the coming into full force of the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act of 2004. This final change of the guard, from the Atmospheric Pollution Prevention Act to the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act, is the product of a long transition which has been carefully steered by the department with a number of transition projects to ensure the smooth passing of the baton.
This will see powers transferred to municipalities to take full responsibility for air quality management, in particular licensing, which used to be the responsibility of the national government.
The department continues to undertake strategic environmental compliance inspections into prioritised areas, industrial sectors such as the ferroalloy sector, the production component of the cement sector, the petrochemical sector, as well as the paper and pulp sector. All major facilities in the petrochemical refinery and cement sectors have now been subjected to environmental compliance inspection.
We shall continue to ensure that our people live a healthy life. To achieve this, we shall work closely with municipalities in respect of providing training to inspectors, in order to develop a cadre of inspectors at local government level. Approximately 110 cases are being investigated by the national department for criminal and administrative enforcement, including investigations into the Airports Company SA, the fuel spill that we all know happened in 2006, and the illegal storage and dumping of medical waste by several companies.
A total of 21 finalised criminal dockets are currently with the National Prosecuting Authority for prosecution.
Enforcement resulted in the shutdown of three facilities that were operating without the requisite authorisation or contravening the conditions of their permits. This included a metal foundry in Roodepoort in Johannesburg.
Tomorrow, July 1, ushers in the new waste management Act that will strengthen us to deal with waste while we create a thousand jobs. We shall work with the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs and other departments. We shall continue to work with our partners, Buyisa- e-Bag and Indalo Yethu, and other NGOs who come to the party. We do not want to be branded as a "throw away" country, but as a recycling country, sorting waste at source. That will also support our greening programme.
We hope that the enforcement of the law will assist us, and if we do all these clean-ups we are going to have a clean South Africa and we won't be contributing to climate change.
In conclusion, it is our conviction that, working together with all spheres of government, we can do more to ensure that the quality of our people's lives is improved. This is not only to be done by us as the department or our partners, but by all members here. At work, at home and every day, ask yourself what you are doing. Are you contributing to climate change? When you throw away something, are you not contributing to making our country dirty? You should know that by recycling, you are helping to create employment and wealth wherever you stay. Members, I would like to encourage you to live by example - at home, in your constituencies and in your offices. Basa njengo Magogo! Please, recycle. I thank you. [Applause.]