Environmental Affairs and Tourism, at the 2006 World Congress of the
International Council for Local Environment Initiatives (ICLEI), in Cape
Town
27 February 2006
Introduction
Julius Nyerere, the first President of Tanzania, once said that "The purpose
of development is the creation of conditions which enable man the individual,
and man the species, to become his best."
This assertion so elegant in its simplicity lies at the heart of planning
and governance especially at the most local level. It reduces to its simplest
form the imperative of uplifting communities today, without sacrificing the
resources needed by the generations of tomorrow
The theme of this fifth ICLEI World Congress could not be more apt, because
Africa has an unbroken cultural and historical tradition of forging local
solutions. Out of Africa, and other developing regions, comes our experience of
necessity, our understanding of doing more with less, and our personal insight
into poverty and underdevelopment, especially the biting realities of the
direct consequences of environmental damage for livelihoods.
It is my great pleasure, therefore, to extend to you all the warmest welcome
of both our people and our Government. We are honoured that the first ICLEI
World Congress to be held in the Southern Hemisphere has come to Africa and
specifically to South Africa. There are few places on Earth with more tangible
or recent experience of how freedom and development converge. There are few
places indeed with so visible a link between environmental health and long-term
sustainability.
A Local Government Legacy of Sustainable Development
The world came together in 1992 at the Rio Earth Summit, and placed
sustainable development firmly on the global agenda. The outcomes of the Earth
Summit and Agenda 21 were challenged however by the need for real
implementation. The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), hosted here
in South Africa in 2002, placed people and their needs centre-stage in the
sustainable development equation identifying poverty and global inequality as
principle obstacles to the creation of a more sustainable world order.
This legacy, of a more people-centred approach, was also captured by the
leaders of local governments at the WSSD, with the decision to move from Local
Agenda 21 to Local Action 21 dedicating the second decade after the Earth
Summit to local implementation and local action.
The result has been a global movement in which city and municipal government
has taken an ever-growing role in and responsibility for the direct
implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the time-bound
targets of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI). Halving poverty by
2015, changing patterns of consumption and production, and protecting our
shared natural resources, is less and less about global commitments alone, and
more and more about local action.
Poverty: Main Cause of African Environmental Challenges
2006 is the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Africa is
faced with the loss of up to a third of our land area through the widespread
degradation of ecosystems, made even more severe by global climate change with
one third of the earth's surface, more than four billion hectares, and over a
billion people threatened worldwide.
Unsustainable exploitation of forests, soils, fresh water, and other natural
resources may well prove to be the greatest obstacles to economic and social
development.
Throughout Africa it is poverty that remains both the main cause and main
consequence of environmental damage. From climate change to biodiversity loss,
diminishing clean water sources, pollution, waste and food security the African
experience is one in which we acknowledge that environmental challenges must be
addressed from a broader perspective, that also addresses the root causes of
poverty and inequality. We must make the fight to save the environment, and the
fight to uplift our people, the same battle.
Clearly declining trends in environmental health will impact greatly on
local communities especially those rural communities who depend on natural
resources for their livelihoods. This is what makes it so important for city
and municipal government, in partnership with provincial (or state) and
national governments, to develop long-term plans for sustainability.
South Africa to publish NSSD by May
Our President, Thabo Mbeki, delivered his annual State of the Nation Address
less than four weeks ago. In it, he challenged South Africa to move faster in
addressing poverty and marginalisation; to accelerate more widely shared
growth; and to ensure that the machinery of Government especially in the local
sphere discharges its responsibility effectively.
I am very pleased, therefore, to announce that we will, within two months,
be releasing for public comment South Africa's National Strategy for
Sustainable Development (NSSD). One of the concrete commitments made by nations
at the WSSD, it represents our determination to apply a long-term vision of
sustainability to the planning and decision cycles of government.
The NSSD will be a powerful tool to be used in addressing priority issues
like water quality and quantity; climate change; waste management; soil loss
and pollution; food production; and strategic biodiversity management. It will
identify specific risks and opportunities over an extended planning period of
20-30 years, and will bring together the targets of the Millennium Development
Goals and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation identifying how South Africa
will address these challenges. The NSSD will also form the basis for the
development of Provincial Strategies for Sustainable Development, to help
provide local governments with new tools for direct local action.
Local SA Action on climate change
There are few challenges that better illustrate the need for local
sustainable development action than climate change. The Energy Research Centre
at the University of Cape Town has estimated that the yearly cost to South
Africa of not acting to adapt to the effects of climate change now, will be
about 1,5% of GDP by 2050. On the other hand, achieving our 2013 additional
renewable energy target of 10 000 giga watt hours, could have a positive impact
on GDP of more than R1 billion, lead to additional government revenue of almost
R300 million, additional income to low income households of R128 million, and
water savings of up to 16, 5 million kilolitres per year at the same time
creating just over 20 000 new jobs.
Last December, at the Fourth Municipal Leaders Summit in Montreal, more than
190 mayors agreed to reduce emissions of greenhouse gasses by 20% before 2020
and by 80% by 2050 in support of the Kyoto Protocol. This then is the future
global action by local governments. Model cities, like Portland, Oregon the
first in the USA to adopt a plan to combat global warming have shown what can
be achieved. Portland has reduced emissions by 13% since 1990; increased public
transport usage by 75%; shifted to sourcing 10% of all energy from renewable
which will increase to 100% by 2010; and at the same time it has grown its
economy and its population.
We don't have to go beyond the boundaries of South Africa however to find
cities and municipalities that have embraced this responsibility.
Through the ICLEI Cities for Climate Protection Campaign, there is so much
about which South Africans can be proud. Right here in Cape Town we have seen
the development of the first city level State of Energy Report. The city is
targeting 10% of energy from renewable by 2020, has implemented a pilot project
converting vehicles to LPG fuel, and is implementing our first Gold Standard
Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project in 2300 homes in the impoverished
area of Khayelitsha which will reduce CO2 emissions by a total of almost 145
000 tonnes over a period of 21 years.
Cities like eThekwini, Tshwane and Ekhuruleni have taken important strides
in 'greening' buildings and other energy efficiency projects. Potchefstroom has
piloted bicycle lanes, bicycle parks and a range of other transport efficiency
measures. Johannesburg, as one would expect under the leadership of a Mayor who
is also the President of ICLEI, has championed a Zero Carbon City campaign and
hosted South Africa's first National Climate Change Conference last year. From
Sol Plaatjie Municipality to Mangaung, from Buffalo City to Saldanha Bay, South
Africa's local governments are starting to realise their responsibilities in
combating climate change, and in so doing are contributing to sustainable
development on a regional and global scale.
Our shared challenge is to accelerate this work, and to expand the list of
participating cities.
Conclusion
Local action for sustainable development is about much more than just
environmental issues. In a developing country like South Africa it is an
expansive terrain inviting innovation, investment, and entrepreneurship.
There can be very few who doubt that energy, and global energy demand, has
fast become the driving force behind geopolitics, social mobilisation, and
international financial markets. With the recent power cuts that our Western
Cape province has endured, it is also clear that the challenges of sustainable
development are both immediate and absolutely local affecting every home, every
business and every person. The responsibility to ensure that sustainable and
responsible alternatives are developed, lies as much with local government as
it does with states and nations.
It was President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, speaking at the first African
Regional Conference on Environment and Sustainable Development, held in Kampala
in 1989, who said: "No nation, however powerful, can legislate against acid
rain or ban it over its airspace. We have a common future and we must defend it
if we are to survive on this planet."
This then is the importance of the ICLEI World Congress and your
deliberations. I trust that you will enjoy your time in our country, and hope
that you will find the opportunity to discover its many unmatched treasures and
experiences.
Enquiries:
Riaan Aucamp
Cell: 083 778 9923
Issued by: Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
27 February 2006
