ISSUED ON 06
NOVEMBER 2008 - South Africa today (06 November) auctioned
approximately 47 metric tons of stockpiled ivory. The
sale, approved by the Convention on International Trade
in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES),
took place in Pretoria.
12 Chinese and 22 Japanese buyers bid
for the South African stockpile.
The sale saw buyers bidding off brochures depicting the
63 lots of ivory that the stockpile had been divided into.
Buyers visited the stockpile in Kruger National Park on
Wednesday, 05 November during a private viewing session.
During his opening statement Dr David
Mabunda, Chief Executive of South African National Parks
(SANParks), said: "We fully appreciate and embrace
our responsibility to ensure that we stamp down on poaching
of any kind and so we intend to use considerable amounts
of the funds we raise today towards increasing our anti-poaching
capacity"
The sale of the South African stockpile
fetched approximately 6, 7 million USD. The average price
for the 63 lots on auction was 142 USD per kilogram.
CITES Secretary General, Willem W Wijnstekers
attended the auction as the CITES observer.
Wijnstekers said that a total of 101
tons of ivory was auctioned in the four countries and
generated total revenue of approximately 15 million USD.
For previous press releases access the links below
http://www.environment.gov.za/HotIssues/2008/Ivorysale/ivory.html
http://www.sanparks.org <http://www.sanparks.org/>
wanda mkutshulwa (SANParks)
Roopa Singh (DEAT)
+ More
AUTHORITIES JOIN FORCES TO TACKLE ENVIRONMENTAL
OFFENDERS
ISSUED ON 05 NOVEMBER 2008 - In order
to curb the ongoing illegal activities taking place at
an animal fat processing facility in Greylingstad, officials
from the Mpumalanga Department of Agriculture and Land
Administration (“MDALA”), the Gert Sibande District Municipality,
the South African Police Service and the Department of
Environmental Affairs and Tourism (“DEAT”) have joined
forces to deal with these environmental offenders.
In addition to instituting a criminal
investigation, the Green Scorpions issued a directive
on 04 November 2008 requiring Boiler and Energy Maintenance
cc to shut down all operations in Greylingstad until they
have obtained the necessary environmental authorisations.
The directive comes after several inspections
undertaken since April 2008, during which Environmental
Management Inspectors found the following:
• Operations had commenced in the absence
of any environmental authorisations;
• An unbearably offensive odour emanated from the site;
• Closed trenches filled with animal waste fat were present
on the site; and
• Untreated animal waste fat dumped on the ground in and
around the plant.
In undertaking the activities at the
site, Boiler and Energy Maintenance cc has contravened
numerous pieces of environmental legislation, including
the Environment Conservation Act, 1989; the Atmospheric
Pollution Prevention Act, 1965 (“APPA”); the National
Environmental Management Act, 1998 (“NEMA”) and the National
Environmental Management: Air Quality Act, 2004. This
is in addition to contravening the local town planning
legislation.
A pre-directive was issued to Boiler
and Energy Maintenance cc on 02 October 2008 requesting
reasons why a directive should not be issued. After considering
the response from the close corporation, a decision was
taken to issue the directive and this was delivered to
the site yesterday. The directive instructed the close
corporation to:
• Cease with all operations at the site
in Greylingstad until it is in possession of the required
permits and authorisations;
• Dispose the animal waste fat that is currently dumped
on the site to an appropriately authorised site for proper
treatment; and
• Provide this Department with safe disposal certificates
for the disposal of all animal fat waste on site.
Boiler and Energy Maintenance cc is
required to comply with the instructions in the directive
once issued, although processes are available in the legislation
that would allow them to appeal to the Minister. “Failure
to comply with the directive is a criminal offence and
inspectors will be closely monitoring compliance with
the instructions in the directive, particularly the instruction
to cease with all operations at the site,” said Deputy
Director - General, Ms Joanne Yawitch of Environmental
Quality and Protection at the Department of Environmental
Affairs and Tourism.
To schedule media interviews contact Judith van der Merwe
BLUE FLAG BEACHES ANNOUNCED
Immediate: 5 November 2008 - South Africa
launched the eighth season of Blue Flag today, Wednesday
5 November 2008 on Marine beach, San Lameer on the south
coast of Kwazulu-Natal. At the start of the new season,
South Africa has 35 beaches participating in the programme.
Of these thirty-five, nineteen received official Blue
Flag accreditation for the next year.
Since the inception of the Blue Flag
programme in November 2001, when the South African government
(through the Department of Environmental Affairs &
Tourism) and WESSA (the Wildlife & Environment Society
of South Africa) launched the programme, Blue Flag South
Africa has grown significantly.
The success of the Blue Flag programme
in South Africa can be attributed to the commitment of
participating municipalities to provide beach-goers and
holiday-makers with world class beaches offering safe,
clean and well-managed facilities. Research has shown
that the commitment of municipalities to Blue Flag makes
sound economic sense with tourism. Research on Margate
beach for example, indicates that the value of Blue Flag
status at the beach could generate income amounting to
tens of millions of rands per annum. Blue Flag, as an
environmental programme also brings significant benefits
in terms of improved environmental management of our coastline.
South Africa was the first country outside
of Europe to implement the Blue Flag programme and since
2001, the programme has become a truly global initiative
with 38 countries participating and a further seven countries
undertaking the feasibility stage.
The South African beaches that have
received Blue Flag accreditation are:-
- Margate beach
- Ramsgate main beach
- Marina beach, Southbroom
- Hibberdene beach
- Kelly’s beach, Port Alfred
- Wells Estate, Port Elizabeth
- Humewood beach, Port Elizabeth
- King’s beach, Port Elizabeth
- Hobie beach, Port Elizabeth
- Dolphin beach, Jeffrey’s Bay
- Lappiesbaai beach, Stilbaai
- Grotto beach, Hermanus
- Hawston beach, near Hermanus
- Bikini beach, Gordon’s Bay
- Mnandi Beach, Strandfontein Cape Town
- Clifton 4th beach, Cape Town
- Camps Bay beach, Cape Town
- Muizenberg beach, Cape Town
- Strandfontein beach, Cape Town
These beaches have achieved world-class
standards during the past season and have been adjudicated
by both a South African and an International Blue Flag
Jury to meet the standards of excellence Blue Flag beaches
must achieve.
A number of beaches narrowly missed
receiving Blue Flag accreditation mostly as a result of
the failure to meet management issues required by the
programme, for example the sampling of water quality.
As Blue Flag beaches are monitored every two weeks to
ensure safe, healthy swimming conditions, some municipalities
encounter problems with ensuring that regular sampling
is taken. All municipalities that missed accreditation
have decided to remain in the programme for a further
year of pilot status, and in so doing, work towards achieving
full status accreditation for the next season.
These pilot beaches are all committed
to having full status Blue Flag accreditation in time
for the 2010 Soccer World Cup. The pilot Blue Flag beaches
for the 2008-9 season are:-
- MacDougall’s Bay, Port Nolloth (Richtersveld Municipality)
- Yzerfontein Main beach (Yzerfontein Municipality)
- Fish Hoek (City of Cape Town)
- Big Bay beach, Bloubergstrand (City of Cape Town)
- Kleinmond beach, near Hermanus (Overstrand Municipality)
- Robberg 5, Plettenberg Bay (Bitou Municipality)
- Pollock beach, Port Elizabeth (Mandela Metro)
- Boknes beach, Eastern Cape (Ndlambe Municipality)
- Cannon Rocks beach, Eastern Cape (Ndlambe Municipality)
- Kariega Main beach, Eastern Cape (Ndlambe Municipality)
- Gonubie beach, East London (Buffalo City Municipality)
- Trafalgar beach (Hibiscus Coast Municipality)
- Umzumbe beach (Hibiscus Coast Municipality)
- St Michaels beach (Hibiscus Coast Municipality)
- Lucien beach, Margate (Hibiscus Coast)
- Alkantstrand, Richards Bay (Umhlatuze Municipality)
An ongoing challenge for many South
African beaches will be the need to manage the damages
caused to infrastructure and the coastline as a result
of changing climatic conditions. Over the past 18 months,
high seas with waves in some cases in excess of 10m, have
wreaked havoc on some Blue Flag beaches. Notwithstanding
these challenges, participating municipalities have devoted
resources to the rehabilitation of these beaches and the
standards necessary to fly the Blue Flag have been quickly
re-established.
The Blue Flag programme is implemented
elsewhere in the world on both beaches and marinas (or
small craft harbours). An exciting new development in
South Africa is the start of a Blue Flag programme for
marinas with interest being shown by a number of marinas
around the coastline. This will introduce another dimension
to the growing Blue Flag programme in South Africa.
Blue Flag South Africa, is in the process
of expanding the Blue Flag programme into the SADC and
Indian Ocean region. It is envisaged to launch Blue Flag
on islands in the Indian Ocean within the next year.
Blue Flag is an international annual
award given to beaches that meet excellence in the areas
of safety, amenities, cleanliness, environmental information
and environmental management. The Blue Flag programme
is currently run in almost 40 countries globally and interest
in the programme continues to grow. There are now almost
3,500 Blue Flag beaches and marinas around the world.
Enquiries: Carol Moses
+ More
For immediate release - RECREATIONAL
ANGLERS AND MARINE SCIENTISTS COOPERATE IN RESEARCH EFFORT
ON SMOOTHHOUND SHARKS
6 November 2008 - The Department of
Environmental Affairs and Tourism ‘s marine and coastal
management branch and the West Coast Shore Angling Association
are cooperating in a joint venture on Saturday 8 November
2008 to try to tag as many smoothhound sharks as possible
as part of research into the population of smooth hound
sharks in the Langebaan Lagoon system.
The joint venture which is dubbed the
Langebaan Lagoon Smoothound Shark Derby 2008 is a tag
and release tournament aimed at promoting collaborative
opportunities between marine scientists and fishers to
strengthen the sustainable management of marine resources.
It will further assist with the existing research on the
smoothhound shark population in Langebaan Lagoon.
Recent studies have shown that the main
angling target species smoothhound shark, white stumpnose
and elf are resident in the lagoon. The tag and recapture
experiment will help to identify the stock size of the
population of these species within the Langebaan –Saldanha
bay area and the results will inform the sustainable management
of these species.
Smoothhound sharks (Mustelus mustelus)
are commonly caught off Southern African waters by commercial
trawlers, long-lining operations, line-fishing boats,
shore based recreational fishermen. Smoothhound sharks
are one of the most frequently caught species. They are
abundant in bays with soft substrate such as Langebaan
Lagoon, where they feed on benthic invertebrates.
Sharks are slow growing animals, mature
late and produce small numbers of offspring. These life-history
traits make them extremely vulnerable to over-exploitation.
The tournament will be also be used
to introduce the Green Marine Angling program, an initiative
of the South African Shark Conservancy (SASC), in collaboration
with the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
. This program is geared towards responsible angling where
a code of handling is introduced to minimize the effects
of poor handling practices when releasing fish.
This tournament does not only represent
an exciting angling experience but also an opportunity
a member of the South African Shore Angling Association,for
anglers to actively participate in research on a locally
important species aimed to assure the sustainable management
of the smoothhound shark, based on sound scientific knowledge.
Only anglers who are registered members
of the South African Shore Angling Association (SASAA)
will be accepted to fish in this tournament. A maximum
of 100 anglers will be allowed to participate. The West
Coast Shore Angling Association is a member of the SAAA.
The Derby is taking place from 5:00 when registration
starts at the Langebaan Yacht Club. Angling will be from
06:00 until 13:00.
Marine scientists from the department will participate
and provide assistance with the tagging.
Carol Moses
+ More
MINISTER CONFIDENT ABOUT 2010 ACCOMMODATION
REQUIREMENTS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: TUESDAY 4 NOVEMBER
2008 - MEDIA STATEMENT BY THE OFFICE OF MARTHINUS VAN
SCHALKWYK, MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS AND TOURISM
- Marthinus van Schalkwyk, Minister of Environmental Affairs
and Tourism, said today he would facilitate talks between
South African Tourism (SAT) and Match, the Fifa-appointed
booking agency for 2010, in order to resolve issues relating
to the uptake of accommodation by Match for the tournament.
Van Schalkwyk said he wanted to reiterate
that South Africa has 100 000 graded rooms available on
its database for 2010, which is more than enough to fulfil
the Match-requirement of 55 000 graded rooms. “Our tourism
industry is ready for 2010 and all role-players are committed
to ensuring that visitors enjoy an unrivalled experience
in South Africa,” Van Schalkwyk said.
Match was appointed by Fifa to arrange
ticketing, transport and accommodation for the 2010 World
Cup.
Mr Moeketsi Mosola, the CEO of SAT,
said yesterday at the 7th Annual Tourism Conference there
had been numerous complaints from the hospitality industry
about Match placing pressure on the industry to commit
rooms under unfavourable conditions.
“I understand that all parties involved
have strong feelings about the matter. I believe we all
have a responsibility to make sure South Africa’s hosting
of 2010 is a success,” the Minister said.
Van Schalkwyk said he had telephonic
discussions about the issue with all the parties on Tuesday
morning. “As soon as all role-players are available, I
will convene a meeting to clear the air. I am confident
that with good communication between the parties we will
be able to resolve the matter,” the Minister said.
Enquiries: Ronel Bester
