R Mabudafhasi: Women and Environment Conference

7 August 2006

Programme Director
Our Guest of Honour, Minister of Tourism and Environment in Swaziland, Ms
Thandi Shongwe
Honourable Minister of Tourism, Trade and Investment from the Revolutionary
Government of Zanzibar, Samia Suuhu Hassan
Honourable Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Ms Elizabeth Thabethe
Honourable Deputy Minister of Public Works, Mr Ntopile Kganyago
Honourable MEC for Agriculture, Conservation, Environment and Land
Administration, Mr Madala Masuku
Honourable Mayors and councillors present today
Our Director-General, Ms Pam Yako and senior officials
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen

Introduction and global perspective

This conference is one of a series of events organised countrywide to
commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the women’s march against apartheid laws.
In line with the national theme of Age of hope: through struggle to freedom,
our theme is “empowering women for environmental action”. The first step
towards empowering women is to recognise that women bring a unique voice to the
challenges and opportunities in life.

Programme Director, our experience as women is that environmental values
should be taught as an integral part of one’s culture, for example, in Jamaica,
the umbilical cord is planted together with a seedling as soon as it falls off
the newborn child. As the child grows, her tree is made known to her. For this
reason, children in Jamaica always aspire to grow as tall and impressive as the
trees around them. This practice instils a sense of love for natural beauty in
children as they grow up.

As women, our indigenous and cultural practices continue to influence our
life experiences. Gender perspectives must be both explicit and more concrete
in our quest for real emancipation of women as outlined in the Beijing Platform
of Action and other agreed development targets including those in the
Millennium Development Goals.

Taking a lead in gender issues, the international community has established
a Global Network for Women Ministers of Environment which is co-chaired by
South Africa and Sweden. We established the network, in the strong belief that
women must be afforded equitable participation and decision making in order to
meet the complex environmental challenges of our time.

I am proud to report that the network is making significant progress in its
efforts to create a critical mass of leadership to influence international
policy direction in the areas of water, land degradation and desertification,
climate change, biodiversity management, waste management and pollution. I wish
to take this opportunity to highlight some of the greatest sustainable
development challenges of our time, and how women are at both the receiving
end, and equally at the helm of finding local solutions to such problems.

Land degradation, desertification and climate change

As women, we stand on the front line in the battle against environmental
degradation because our health depends on the health of our mother earth and
its resources. As women are the ones in closest contact with land, they are
usually the first to suffer from its degradation. Women often bear the brunt of
natural disasters such as famine or drought.

As we observe 2006 as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification,
we have to salute women for their traditional knowledge and expertise on land
management which has contributed to finding sustainable solutions for
overcoming poverty and fighting diseases.

Through social responsibility projects, our department is implementing land
rehabilitation projects that employ women to reverse the impact of
desertification whilst generating income for their families, thus making
economic and environmental sense – with them as immediate beneficiaries. Our
African women are unstoppable.

The reality of the impacts of climate change on our fragile natural
resources is undisputable. Our measure of success or failure in the battle
against these impacts will be determined by the extent to which we empower
women to adapt to the devastating effects of climate change such as
unpredictable patterns of droughts, floods and temperature changes often
associated with outbreaks of diseases.

Biodiversity and natural resources management

As we concluded the Johannesburg summit, we called for the recognition of
the specific role of marginalised groups such as women, youth and people with
disabilities in the sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity.

Programme Director, the tide must turn for the real integration of gender
dimensions in our policies and programmes. We must consolidate our gains made
through programmes like the Expanded Public Works Programme which has made huge
strides in empowering women in rural communities to take charge of their
lives.

Not very far from here, in Barberton, we have funded a project on the
conservation and preservation of medicinal plants. From humble beginnings, this
project has grown from preservation and conservation to sustainable use of
medicinal plants. Women involved in this project have been trained to extract
products from medicinal plants which are used to treat different ailments such
arthritis, muscle aches and pains. The scope of this project has now been
extended to include a garden which supplies factories with tomatoes for making
jam.

It is through projects such as these that we can demonstrate that the noble
goals of our government’s Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South
Africa (AsgiSA) and the Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition
(JIPSA) are achievable if the political will is followed by appropriate actions
in partnership.

Waste management and pollution

Programme Director, we know that waste and pollution, especially air
pollution, are major environmental health concerns facing our communities.
Unfortunately it is women again, who are the majority of victims of pollution
and bad waste management practices.

Programme Director, studies conducted in many countries have revealed that
increased deaths have been found among the children of women who have been
exposed to pesticides while working on the farms. There is also scientific
proof that women exposed to hazardous chemicals and polluted air were found to
give birth to children with delayed post-natal development and dramatically
lower intelligence quotients. It is also reported that polluted water kills
more than 3 million people in the world, most of whom are women and
children.

Programme Director, as a nation, we need to show improved commitment in
dealing with waste management and pollution to ensure that our people enjoy
their right to a safe and healthy environment as enshrined in the
constitution.

Youth and environment

Our natural environment constitutes the “bank of the last resort” for the
poor, it is where we run to when all else has failed. As the future custodians
of the environment, the youth will manage scarce natural resources and face
increased levels of poverty and unemployment if we do not empower them to take
care of their environment. It is therefore only logical that we should create a
window of opportunity for the youth to participate in environmental
management.

The National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) makes specific provision
for the involvement of the youth in environmental management and sustainable
development programmes. It is therefore encouraging to note and welcome the
role played by the National Youth Commission and other youth formations in
developing the first Youth Version of the State of the Environment Report. This
is a critical step towards inculcating the culture of environmental activism
amongst our youth. I am reliably informed that this report is currently with
the publishers and I have gladly accepted to launch it in September this
year.

This report will highlight some of the work done by the youth, especially
young women who are doing an excellent job within the environmental sector.
Some of these young women manage environmental NGOs (non-governmental
organisations) which are making a difference in their communities.

Conclusion

While there is remarkable progress in empowering the marginalised groups
such as women and the youth, we still remain with a great challenge of
empowering people with disabilities so that they are able to take part and
benefit from environmental management programmes. It is for this reason that I
would like to announce that our third Annual Women and Environment Conference
will include a side event on capacity building for people with
disabilities.

I also wish to take this opportunity to make a plea that all provinces
should create necessary platforms to facilitate the participation of women,
youth and people with disabilities in environmental management. On this note I
wish to congratulate the Limpopo and Free State provinces as the only two
provinces which have held their women and environment conferences so far.

In wishing you well during your deliberations, I wish to end with a plea
that let us put our money where our mouth is to ensure that we fully entrench
our government’s vision of the age of hope through empowering women. After all,
nature itself is female.

Issued by: Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
7 August 2006