South Africa wishes to join the other delegates in thanking the Japanese government and its people for the warm welcome and hospitality we are receiving in this beautiful City of Nagoya. It is indeed a great honor and privilege for me to address this panel, which forms part of the High Level Segment of the tenth Conference of Parties (COP 10).
South Africa’s vision is to contribute to the conservation of biodiversity across the region and to sustain the country’s economic and social development in harmony with the developmental, spiritual and cultural values of its people. The biological heritage that South Africa as a mega-biodiverse country possesses, coupled by its associated traditional/indigenous knowledge developed by South Africans on the use and application of these resources, constitutes a critical element that underpins a large proportion of our economy and human well being.
Many of the urban and rural peoples directly depend on our mutually supporting natural and cultural heritage assets for jobs, food, shelter, medicines and spiritual well being.
The World Summit on Sustainable Development and subsequent COP decisions called on us to develop an international regime on ABS. The time has now come for us to take decisive action that will give effect to the third objective of the CBD. It is in the interest of the global community and future generations that South Africa calls for the finalisation here in Nagoya, of a legally binding Protocol on ABS.
The Protocol on ABS must remain balanced and comprehensive enough to embrace the issues and core principles of Access, Benefit Sharing and Compliance. It must provide for the recognition of the traditional knowledge and most importantly the need for a strong compliance mechanism with possible sanctions and remedies in the case of non-compliance to the Protocol.
Chair, the somewhat gloomy scenario of biodiversity conservation globally as presented by the third Global Biodiversity Outlook, indicates that our failure to reach the 2010 targets were as a result ofamong others,limited financial, human and technical capacity and the lack of economic valuation of biodiversity. It is therefore incumbent upon us as a global community that shares biodiversity as a common heritage to take this review as a wake up call for urgent action. Such action, Chairperson, should involve targeted interventions that will remove these and other identified obstacles.
Chair, we note that the draft post 2010 CBD strategic plan is comprehensive and ambitious enough to address those obstacles that were largely responsible for our failure to meet the 2010 targets. However, successful implementation of the post 2010 strategy will depend largely on the commitment to predictable, adequate, timely and increased funding and resources.
Chair, while it may be important to explore the policy options on innovative financial mechanism, we must admit that most of these proposed mechanisms remain unclear especially in the absence of clear principles and guidelines. We note that some of these mechanisms have bad precedence and that most of these proposals appear market-based with potential to replace the already inadequate existing mechanisms.
We therefore wish to emphasise that these proposed mechanisms should not increase the burdens of developing countries and further plunge them into spirals of debt.
Chair, South Africa recognizes the role of biodiversity and ecosystem services in the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals. To attain this, we cannot over-emphasize the role of indigenous knowledge, the role of women, youth, and that of the indigenous and local communities. Furthermore, South Africa is convinced that these stakeholders are crucial in contributing to the achievement of the CBD’s objectives, strategic plan and a range of its programs of work.
The destruction of our natural environment and the associated impacts that it brings such as biodiversity loss, climate change and desertification has an ever greater impact on vulnerable groups and on women and children in particular. Access to relevant biodiversity information, such as made accessible through the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) of which South Africa is an active participant, can assist women and men from communities in becoming more resilient, improve their livelihoods, protect the natural environment and secure a better future.
Chair, the synergies between climate change and biodiversity are obvious. South Africa recognizes the need for CBD to provide biodiversity relevant information to the processes under the UNFCCC, while respecting the differences in their legal mandates and composition.
Chair, South Africa has a Biofuels Industrial Strategy which takes into account the possible impacts of biofuel production and use on biodiversity. In this regard, South Africa would favour a precautionary approach which is characterized by continued research to address the scientific uncertainties, recognition of socio-economic conditions such as food, water, and land tenure and energy security.
We welcome the ongoing process that is underway pertaining to the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). South Africa notes that the envisioned platform shall seek to strengthen the science-policy interface for biodiversity and ecosystem services, long term human well being and sustainable development. South Africa would like that we rely on science in decision making.
Conclusion
Finally, Chairperson, our expectation is that that Nagoya should provide a firm commitment and support mechanisms that should promote capacity building, technology development and transfer, South-South cooperation, resource mobilization and effectively address biodiversity loss.
Distinguished delegates, the satisfactory outcome of these negotiations in the context of a shared new vision for the next decade will send a positive message to our commitment to humanity, particularly the poor and the vulnerable. The journey from Johannesburg which started at the dawn of the millennium culminating in the International Year of Biodiversity has provided important lessons for us all. Let us take the hard lessons learnt on this road and recommit ourselves to the global sustainable agenda.
Thank you
For media queries contact:
Peter Mbelengwa
Cell: 082 611 8197
E-mail: Mbelengwap@dwa.gov.za or
Albi Modise
Cell: 083 490 2871
E-mail: AModise@environment.gov.za
