Affairs and Tourism, at the launch of South Africaâs Biodiversity Strategy and
Action Plan on International Biodiversity Day, Eastern Cape
22 May 2006
Introduction
The vast web connecting all life on earth is starting to show signs of
unravelling. From melting polar ice caps to the aggressive advance of deserts
from oceans with ever decreasing fish stocks, to skies travelled by fewer and
fewer species of birds. On all continents, in all oceans and across all
habitats, natural warning flares are starting to flicker. Humanity cannot
afford to ignore the growing proof of the frequently irreversible erosion of
our living environment.
The destruction of forests that have stood for millennia home to more than
half of all land species; the shrinking of natural ranges as populations grow
and city sprawl expands; the sharp drop in the numbers of our great wild
mammals and countless other warning signs all indicate the urgency of acting
now to meet our biodiversity responsibilities. We share a duty that affects the
fate of all life. Our generation is undoubtedly the last with the ability to
stop this destruction of our own design and to do so before we cross the
threshold of no return.
It gives me great pleasure to address you this morning as we celebrate the
International Day of Biological Diversity. South Africa, as you know, is a
country unmatched not only in terms of its scenic beauty, cultural heritage and
unique tradition but also in terms of our remarkable biological resources and
ecology. Indeed, South Africa has one of the worldâs richest troves of plants
and animals. Our country occupies only about two percent of the worldâs land
area but is home to nearly 10 percent of the worldâs plants and seven percent
of the reptiles, birds and mammals on earth.
Three globally recognised biodiversity hotspots occur in our country; in the
south we have the Cape Floristic Region which falls entirely within our
boundaries; the Succulent Karoo which we share with our neighbour Namibia
occurs in the dry interior and along the western coast and in the east we have
the Maputoland-Pondoland hotspot which also extends into Mozambique and
Swaziland. Our seas straddle three oceans, the Atlantic, the Indian and the
Southern Oceans. These include an exceptional range of habitats from cool water
kelp forests to tropical coral reefs. Our southern African coast is home to
almost 15 percent of all known coastal marine species.
SA biodiversity in danger â protected areas not enough
One of the most important recent achievements in addressing South African
biodiversity concerns was the publication last year of the National Spatial
Biodiversity Assessment (NSBA), a partnership between our Department and the SA
National Biodiversity Institute. The assessment revealed that 34 percent of our
terrestrial ecosystems are threatened with five percent critically endangered;
82 percent of our 120 main rivers are threatened; and 44 percent are critically
endangered. Three of our thirteen groups of estuarine biodiversity are in
critical danger; with 12 percent of marine bio-zones under serious threat.
Given the geographic spread and extraordinary diversity of our plant and
animal species, it is impossible to conserve the majority of species and
ecosystems through a traditional protected areas approach alone. Up to 80
percent of our significant biodiversity lies outside of the current protected
area framework. So to conserve this rich diversity, it is necessary to
integrate biodiversity priorities into the policies, plans and programmes of
all South Africans.
We have the dual responsibility to respond to the challenges of safeguarding
biological resources, whilst at the same time meeting our countryâs many
developmental needs. We recognise that sustained economic and social
development depends on wise management and protection of the environment. But
we also know that we will not be able to safeguard the environment if people
remain hungry and without jobs. Biodiversity has an economic value that is
often underestimated. Intelligently mobilised it can serve the cause of
development and poverty alleviation.
Mainstreaming provides us with an approach through which conservation and
biodiversity can be used as a driver for development and to leverage economic
and social gains. We recognise that biodiversity is not the primary concern of
many communities, but all day to day activities impact significantly on it. It
is therefore essential for biodiversity and biodiversity protection to be
popularised throughout society.
Launch of the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP)
To reinforce the protection of our natural heritage, and in keeping with our
commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity, I am very pleased
today to officially launch the NBSAP which will guide our conservation and
management of biodiversity and help us to ensure sustainable and equitable
benefits for all communities.
The NBSAP highlights five primary strategic objectives like the need for a
network of protected areas that conserves a representative sample of all South
Africa biodiversity and the need for human development to be enhanced through
sustainable use of biodiversity. It then specifies a range of activities to
realise each these objectives and sets five and 15 year targets for each.
It also provides for the entrenching of biodiversity considerations in our
production sectors, for example the agricultural, forestry and mining
industries. These objectives focus on two aspects; firstly, the inclusion of
biodiversity priorities into guidelines and best practice codes to reduce
negative impacts on biodiversity and secondly, measures to encourage
sustainable production practises.
Conclusion
The NBSAP will now inform the creation, in law, of a National Biodiversity
Framework (NBF) to ensure an integrated, co-ordinated and consistent approach
to biodiversity management by organs of state in all spheres of government,
non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the private sector, local communities,
other stakeholders and the public. The publishing of this framework will mark
the first time that an ecosystem approach to biodiversity management will be
introduced and secured in South African law.
Turning paper strategies into action on the ground requires a supportive
legal environment and associated institutional capacity, but ultimately it is
the commitment and partnership of all South Africans that will determine our
success in these endeavours.
We have the responsibility to ensure that our country becomes and remains a
living ark. Our communities must stand as the custodians of conservation and
the guarantors of biological diversity.
Issued by: Ministry of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
22 May 2006
