Media
Release - 24 October 2008 - FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE - South Africa is soon to be conducting
its sale of approximately 51 tons of ivory
as approved by the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) Standing
Committee. The stockpile consists of ivory
that was verified by the CITES Secretariat
as being of legal origin and emanates from
South African National Parks (SANParks),
Mpumalanga Parks and Tourism Agency, North
West Parks and Tourism Board and KZN Wildlife.
China and Japan have
been accredited by CITES for the purchase
of the approved ivory stockpile in South
Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe.
The sale to CITES accredited
buyers, China and Japan will take the form
of an auction
There is no prior indication
of what price this ivory will be sold for.
As specified by CITES,
the proceeds from this sale of the approved
ivory must be used for elephant conservation
programmes and community development, especially
those communities in and around the area
of elephant habitation.
South Africa will be
using the proceeds of the sale of this ivory
within the specific guidelines laid down
by CITES and will filter it as follows:
1. A major portion of
the money will be earmarked for elephant
related research, conservation, anti poaching
measures, monitoring of herds and land expansion.
2. Conservation functions which will include
employment of additional game rangers, obtaining
more vehicles, erecting elephant proof fences
where needed, purchasing of equipment etc.
3. Community development projects, specifically
within communities affected by the presence
of elephants
“As per the stipulations
of the 14th Conference of Parties to CITES
held in July last year, the conservation
agencies have done extensive planning to
ensure that the proceeds of the sale will
be used within the specifications. There
is no argument that this money will go a
long way towards enhancing conservation
research, boosting our enforcement capabilities
and helping communities who share land with
elephants,” said Dr. David Mabunda, Chief
Executive of SANParks.
The money allocated
to the specific programmes and projects
within the CITES stipulations will be monitored
in accordance with the Public Finance Management
Act (PFMA) and National Treasury Regulations.
Media enquiries:
wanda mkutshulwa, Head of Communications,
(SANParks)
Roopa Singh, (DEAT)
Speech by the Honourable
Deputy Minister of Environmental Affairs
and Tourism, Ms Rejoyce Mabudafhasi, MP
Occasion: Clean-Up campaign
in Mafikeng on 24 October 2008
Program Director
Honourable MEC
Your Worships, Mayors and Councillors
Distinguished participants
Ladies and gentlemen
1. Introduction and
background
At the beginning of
this year, our department launched a clean-up
campaign which we are busy rolling out throughout
the country. The main purpose of this campaign
is to sensitise our communities on sustainable
benefits of taking care of the environment.
We are well on track
in achieving this mission as we have already
held four successful clean-up campaigns
(three in Free State and one in Limpopo).
During these campaigns, we have been calling
on everyone to live responsibly and protect
our environment. We depend on the environment
and its natural resources for our very own
survival. We use water from rivers to drink,
we grow our food using the soil, we catch
fish in the sea, we use timber from forests
to build our homes.
This expression by Chief
Seattle explains it all “Humankind has not
woven the web of life. We are but one thread
within it. Whatever we do to the web, we
do to ourselves. All things are bound together.
All things connect”. All human economic
activities use natural resources. Everything
we do has some impact on our natural environment.
We therefore have to take care that we do
not cause too much stress on our environment
by our actions.
In order to conduct
our clean-up campaigns successfully we always
invite and encourage the participation of
municipalities, business community, civil
society and the media. Charity begins at
home; everyone has a role to play, from
our homes to the streets, to our schools,
churches, and even the parks. Let's keep
our surrounding clean and manage waste correctly.
This is particularly important because South
Africa is one of the preferred hosts for
international events.
When thousands of visitors
descend to our country during the FIFA World
Cup in 2010 and beyond, we need to create
a lasting impression of clean cities, towns,
townships and other communal areas. We are
already a host to the World Angling Championship
which is currently taking place in this
Province. We will later this month host
the Miss Universe beauty pageant. When staging
these events, we must strive to be exemplary
and be above board in terms of caring for
our environment.
2. The importance of
cleaning-up the environment
Allow me to refresh
your memory on the significance of cleaning
and caring for the environment. Cleaning-up
the environment not only creates a more
pleasant place to live, but also creates
a good impression on prospective employers,
investors, professionals, and tourists who
may visit our areas.
Additionally, clean-up
efforts may provide community health benefits
such as the elimination of breeding sites
for mosquitoes and other dangerous pests.
Research indicates that keeping a neighborhood
clean can reduce crime, fear, and feelings
of helplessness in communities. Research
also indicates there are many positive links
between a clean environment and how we feel
about ourselves.
In comparing neighborhoods
with varying levels of environmental cleanliness,
researchers found the following positive
trends amongst people living in clean environments:
• Reduced symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity
disorder in children,
• Greater effectiveness and less procrastination
in dealing with major life issues,
• Reduced acts of domestic violence,
• Reduced occurrences of crime against people
and property and
• Increased feelings of safety, self-confidence
and pride amongst members of the community.
3. Creating treasure
from trash and turning waste into wealth
It is very important
that we all uphold the principles of reducing,
recycling and re-using waste. When we follow
this principles we are not only helping
to combat serious environmental problems
such as global warming, but we could also
create treasure from trash and turn waste
into wealth.
Research findings show
that about 50% of a typical household bin's
contents can be recycled and another 30%
can be composted. Yet currently around 85%
of our annual household waste still ends
up in landfill sites.
The mixture of different
materials accumulating in landfill sites
often leads to surrounding land and water
supplies being polluted. This is also associated
with chemical reactions that produce toxic
gases, predominantly methane, one of the
most potent of all greenhouse gases.
By recycling waste instead
of just dumping it in the bins, we not only
reduce the volume of material sent to landfill
but also reduce the amount of energy used
to manufacture new products from raw materials
and save the environment from degradation.
I wish to appeal to
every household to ensure that purchased
materials are reused and recycled wherever
possible. When we recycle more, we reduce
the need for new resources to create products
and this helps to reduce our impact on the
environment.
These ideas should be
applied to the entire lifecycles of products
and services from design and extraction
of raw materials to transport, manufacture,
use, dismantling/reuse and disposal. Recycling
offers alternative job creation opportunities
with huge potential to substantially reduce
unemployment and eradicate poverty.
As a result, we have
developed incentives to make recycling pay
for itself by heavily investing in upgrading
waste management infrastructure. One of
these is to establish a buy-back centre.
A Buy-back centre is a place where people
sell waste for recycling purpose. We are
implementing this initiative in partnership
with Buyisa-e-bag which is our section 21
company.
There are various ways
in which communities can create work through
projects that collect waste from where it
is generated. One of the popular models
used is the One Person Contract [OPC] in
which individuals are responsible for collecting
waste from households.
They take it to central
points where another contractor with a vehicle
will collect and transport it to a transfer
station or for disposal. Individuals can
then sort the waste into recyclables and
non-recyclables. Recyclables can either
be organic or inorganic waste.
At a buy back centre,
people sell recyclable material they have
collected. It is important to know that
recycling companies pay only for materials
they can use. It is therefore important
to conduct research and obtain sufficient
information about the type and quality of
material to be recycled.
Organic waste can be
used as compost, which can make an important
contribution to soil fertility. Making compost
is an opportunity for creating employment.
Compost can be useful as fertilizers for
community parks, agricultural fields, gardens
and nurseries, which all create jobs within
communities.
4. Education and Awareness
programs
Education and awareness
is an important priority and vehicle to
facilitate long-term changes in attitudes
about waste management necessary to achieve
our goal of sustainable patterns of production
and consumption.
I would like to urge
all of us, especially the municipalities
to regard today’s cleaning campaign as an
eye opener and further encourage them to
commence capacity building initiatives for
their staff members and the community at
large.
Other than the socio-economic
values and benefits for taking care of environment,
provincial and local authorities have a
constitutional obligation to create an environment
that is safe and healthy for all.
The level of awareness
on waste management issues varies significantly
among members of the general public. There
are only a few formal waste education, awareness
and communication programs that are currently
undertaken at local levels.
Therefore, there is
a need for extensive education, awareness
and communication programmes implemented
by local authorities in consultation with
representatives of civil society regarding
the implications and implementation of waste
management. Such programs should be targeted
at members of communities who most vulnerable
to environmental prolems, especially women,
elders, youth and people with disabilities.
At a national level,
we have established Indalo Yethu which is
a non-profit making organization responsible
for the development and implementation of
environmental education and awareness campaigns.
I wish to encourage all of you to contact
Indalo Yethu for assistance regarding the
implementation of your education and awareness
programs.
Our department also
hosts the Cleanest Town Competition on an
annual basis as one of the interventions
for the achievement of the objectives of
the National Waste Management Strategy.
I encourage all towns and residential areas
to take part in this initiative aimed at
changing attitudes through awareness raising
and education on waste management and related
issues.
5. Conclusion
I wish to conclude by
calling upon all of you to be environmental
ambassadors within your communities. Environmental
ambassadors are volunteers who protect Mother
Nature by doing anything they can to prevent
further environmental degradation.
This can be through
planting trees, educating the public and
just holding cleaning exercises from time
to time. Environmental ambassadors can be
everyone including industries as they also
have a moral responsibility to protect the
natural surroundings in which they do business.
Thank you
