Speech by Deputy Minister
Rejoice Mabudafhasi
Cancun – Mexico December 2010
Oceans Day 4 December 2010 Organized by
Global Forum on Oceans, Coasts and Islands
Thank you for inviting me to make a contribution
to this very significant event at this COP.
It is my hope today
that my contribution will impact on the
broader deliberations of this meeting. I
attempt to remind us of how we cannot delink
Oceans and Climate Change, and why this
is of particular importance to us in the
southern part of Africa.
THE OCEANS SERVE US.
Yes, this is true for
the planet in the broadest of meanings.
With the ocean making up about 70% of the
earth surface, the oceans must drive the
natural environment and biosphere functioning.
But that THE OCEANS
SERVE US, is also very specifically true
for South Africa and the region.
South Africa and the
southern African region is bounded by the
Indian Ocean on the East, the Atlantic Ocean
on the West and these systems are impacted
on by the South Oceans that lie between
the southern tip of the continent and Antarctica.
Our climate and weather
regimes are dictated by the very large areas
of ocean that borders us. Our livelihoods,
well being, food and economic security are
in significant ways provided for by the
ocean ecosystem functioning. When global
statistics inform us that 50% of the world
population live on the coast, this includes
South and southern Africa. The climate and
weather regimes are directly and immediately
linked to our societies.
Very often heavy and
expensive investment in technology, imports
of raw materials and large amounts of processing
of raw materials delinks communities’ vulnerabilities
from environmental vulnerabilities.
This is not often the
case in the region that I live. For us the
environment and people livelihoods are very
immediately linked. And when these environments
are dominated by oceans, then peoples livelihoods
and oceans well being are integrally linked.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
my point is that coastal countries access
to adaptation resources is limited and we
are vulnerable. Our people and their ability
to sustain their way of providing for themselves
and their security over the natural elements
are at risk.
But there exist logical
and achievable areas of potential success.
During my participation in the Convention
on Biological Diversity, in October this
year, hosted so successfully by Japan, I
again appreciated the advancing understanding
of how oceans and climate and climate change
are linked. The oceans are regarded as the
largest active carbon sink, but I also understood
that coastal wetlands are very efficient
carbon sinks as well.
Ocean and Coastal pristine
habitats and ecosystems, including coral
reefs, estuaries, tidal salt marshes, mangroves,
kelp forests and sea grasses, are global
assets that my country and region can effectively
manage to sustain this important ecosystem
service.
The wise management
of ocean and coastal ecosystems not only
has benefits to the climate change initiatives
but also importantly shares benefits that
include food security and other positive
contributions to livelihoods.
Here at this meeting
and in the operations of individual countries
environmental management agencies, we must
seek to find and achieve these co-benefits.
These are however massive
threats that climate change presents to
ocean and coastal ecosystems. The unlimited
increase of carbon di-oxide in the atmosphere
will lead to ever increasing carbon in the
ocean, leading to the acidification of the
oceans. The oceans becoming more acidic,
critically threatens the functioning of
these marine habitats that are so effective
at taking up atmospheric carbon. In addition
it exposes already fragile livelihoods to
a future that presents very little hope
of a relationship with the sea.
Before I end, I must
address one caution. Over the last decade
I have witnessed, with satisfaction, the
growth in the appreciation of the oceans
as the life-support system of our planet.
This is due in part through efforts of people
who have remained committed to raising the
profile of oceans, coasts and islands, like
Biliana Cincin-Sain and the Global Forum
on Oceans & Islands.
In our realization of
the environmental support that the oceans
afford the planet we must not seek “quick
fix” solutions. There must be extreme caution
exercised in discussions on ocean fertilization
and ocean geo-engineering.
I have emphasised earlier,
that as part of the developing world, so
much of our people are immediately linked
to the functions of the environment and
oceans. We will directly receive the undiluted
impact of any unforeseen and unintended
negative consequences of large scale ocean
fertilization or geo-engineering.
My plea again, is that
while we must equitably realise all the
potential of the oceans, we must not irresponsibly
alter the functioning of natural systems,
without appreciating the full range of impacts.
Thank You