Speech by the Deputy Minister
of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Ms
Rejoice Mabudafhasi at the official Launch
of the International Year of Deserts and
Desertification. Programme Director
The Executive Mayor for Sekhukhune District
Municipality
The Local Mayor
Representatives from the different media
houses
Members of the community
Distinguished guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
It is in deed very exciting for me to join
you on this very special day, the National
launch of the International Year of Deserts
and Desertification, which is celebrated
under the theme “Desertification a threat
to humanity”.
Programme Director, The General Assembly
of the United Nations, at its fifty-eight
ordinary session, adopted a resolution which
declared 2006 the International Year of
Deserts and Desertification (IYDD). In so
doing, it underlined its deep concern for
the exacerbation of desertification, particularly
in Africa, and duly noted its far-reaching
implications for the implementation of the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), in
particular on poverty eradication.
Based on the resolution, the General Assembly
invited all countries, international and
civil societies to celebrate the Year 2006
and to support public awareness activities
related to desertification and land degradation.
The main objective of the IYDD is to get
the message across that desertification
is a major threat to humanity and launch
the fight against it as a global sustainable
development challenge.
While fully addressing the growing threat
that desertification presents for mankind,
the year also seeks to celebrate the unique
ecosystem and cultural diversity of deserts
worldwide, therefore establishing a clear
difference between the need to protect deserts
as unique natural habitats and fight against
desertification as a global sustainable
development challenge.
Programme Director, South Africa has ratified
the United Nations Convention to Combat
Desertification and Effects of Drought in
September 1997 and has since committed itself
to the development and implementation of
a long term strategy to address issues relating
to desertification.
Both the United Nation’s MDGs and the Declaration
of the World Summit on Sustainable Development
of 2002 focuses on development and poverty
eradication together with protecting the
environment. They reaffirm support for the
principles of sustainable development including
those set out in Agenda 21.
The summit also reaffirmed sustainable
development as a central element of the
international agenda and gave impetus to
global action to fight poverty and protect
the environment.
The WSSD identified the UNCCD as one of
the important instruments at the disposal
of the international community to fight
poverty. The UNCCD provides a framework
for countries affected by desertification
to address the problem of land degradation
effectively on a national level.
Programme Director, land degradation is
obviously not only about land, it is about
the people. Millions of people are directly
affected by natural resource degradation
and many of them live below the poverty
line. They depend on natural resources for
survival. Yet the capacity of our country’s
land, water and biological resources to
sustain its people is eroding. Tons of productive
land are now lost and many once pristine
conservation areas are denuded.
Desertification is more of a challenge
to us than ever before. It pose huge threat
to rural communities who depend on natural
resources for their livelihoods. Unfortunately
the poorest of the poor of which mostly
are women bare the brunt as they are the
ones who depend on these natural resources
for survival, in a form of wood, water and
agricultural produce for subsistence and
commercial.
The Department of Environmental Affairs
and Tourism as the focal point together
with other national and provincial departments,
have committed themselves to providing support
to provincial and national activities aimed
at promoting awareness on desertification,
land degradation and the effects of drought.
The National Action Programme (NAP) on
combating of land degradation to alleviate
poverty is one of the key interventions
the department has adopted. Its first principle
is to be the prime contributor to sustainable
rural development.
The Community Based Natural Resource Management
(CBNRM) is another strategy in which government
in partnership with communities, the private
sector as well as donor agencies, seeks
to address land degradation at the same
time alleviating poverty.
CBNRM is about local people coming together
to protect their land, water animals and
plants, so that they can use these natural
resources to improve their lives sustainably
for the benefit of their children and grand
children. It is a tool to enable every member
of the community to play a part in improving
the quality of people’s lives, economically,
culturally and spiritually.
We are gathered here today to not only
launch the International Year of Deserts
and Desertification, but also to unveil
the Madibaneng Soil Conservation Project
aimed at soil conservation and local economic
stimulation. This project will be funded
by the Department to the tune of R5 million
and will run for an approximate period of
63 weeks. It is estimated to create temporary
jobs for over 200 people.
This money is made available by the department
through our Social Responsibility Unit.
Programme Director the challenges of land
degradation require our urgent attention
now.
As a Party to the UNCCD, South Africa is
committed to integrate sustainable use of
natural resources through combating land
degradation as a core element of the Accelerated
Shared Growth Initiative of South Africa
and indeed the overall reconstruction and
development programme.
In Africa, we are experiencing the dire
consequences of desertification on a daily
basis. Land degradation has destroyed ecosystems,
triggered large-scale population movements,
disturbed economic development prospects,
exacerbated regional conflicts and jeopardized
the lives of people living under its shadow.
There is therefore a very strong need for
a special long-term collective effort in
South Africa and the entire Sub-Saharan
Africa to address land degradation at all
levels. Achieving this objective requires
long-term integrated strategies that focus
on improved productivity of the land, leading
to improved living conditions, in particular
at community level.
As we celebrate the IYDD, we need to collectively
raise awareness of the links between land
degradation and poverty and give priority
or support to conservation and wise use
of natural resources including water and
wetlands in national poverty eradication
strategies. It is imperative that we ensure
gender equity in sustainable natural resource
management strategies.
We must encourage the role of local communities
and indigenous knowledge in addressing economic
and ecological challenges of dry-land management
ecosystems.
I thank you
