D Hanekom: Opening of Regional Consultative Forum of the International
Council for Science

25 September 2006

Excellencies, members of the diplomatic corps
Vice-President of ICSU
Chairperson of ICSU Regional Committee for Africa
Executive Director of ICSU
Director of ICSU regional office for Africa
Distinguished guests

I am honoured to be officiating at this important event which engages the
scientific community in a major development agenda for the common good. We
value the presence and support of all African and international delegates who
have travelled long distances to deliberate on the perspectives and challenges
of harnessing science for Africa's development. This forum presents another
unique African opportunity for participants to discuss and consider the
challenges they face as scientists, policy makers and key stakeholders.

South Africa, through the National Research Foundation (NRF), is proud to
host the Secretariat of ICSU Regional Office for Africa. This is another
opportunity to mobilise African Scientists and to facilitate the implementation
of Africa's consolidated Plan of Action as adopted by African Ministers of
Science and Technology in September 2005 in Dakar, Senegal. We look forward to
this forum being a platform to address African problems through scientific
solutions developed in Africa.

At the historical inauguration ceremony Minister Mangena invited and
challenged ICSU to consider, assess and evaluate within a year's time the
regional office's impact on the African development agenda. Well, distinguished
guests, we are just a little past a year on and it is clear that the regional
office together with the regional committee has taken up the gauntlet and is
actively striving towards its core mission of building stronger links between
science and society, as will be demonstrated in the course of these
proceedings.

One of the challenges Minister Mangena gave the regional office last year is
to reach out to a broader national membership base for ICSU and to encourage
non-member countries to join the ICSU family. I am informed that currently,
national membership in Africa stands at 19, the last three additions
(Mauritius, Senegal and Ethiopia) coming in the past year that is since the
inception of the regional office. Furthermore, three more countries (Rwanda,
Malawi and Zambia) have submitted membership applications for consideration by
ICSU and Botswana is currently preparing its application. This is a positive
step towards increasing membership and strengthening ICSU Africa and will go
along way in doubling ICSUs African membership by next year.

For African countries to have a stronger voice in formulating the
international science agenda and to ensure that their priorities and needs are
attended to more scientists from developing countries should play and are
playing an active role in ICSU activities and programmes, as we see here today.
In this regard we believe that ICSU Africa will play a pivotal role in the
implementation of Africa's consolidated plan of action. We note that the
African Union (AU) and New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) offices
have been invited to participate in this forum. This is an encouraging sign
that African scientists are not working in a vacuum and that Africa is serious
about harnessing its full potential to find solutions to the challenges we
face.

In July this year, ICSU marked its 75th birthday and I would like to take
this opportunity to congratulate the broader ICSU family both globally and
regionally, on reaching this celebrated milestone. Last year ICSU launched its
first strategic plan in its 75-year history, signalling a new vision and a new
mode of operation for ICSU. Building on ICSU's rich heritage, the 2006 to 2011
strategic plan identifies priority areas where ICSU is uniquely equipped to
make a significant contribution over the next six years. Within this overall
framework the ICSU regional committee for Africa, in response to the particular
and unique needs of Sub-Saharan Africa has identified four priority areas.
These are sustainable energy, health and human well-being, natural and human
induced hazards and disasters and global change.

Ladies and gentlemen, I have been told that four scoping groups made up of
leading and distinguished African scientists and engineers were selected to
prepare a science plan covering these priority areas. I have also been told
that the main purpose of this Forum is to evaluate the suitability and
workability of these science plans within the realistic African environment.
Let me briefly touch on the challenges facing Africa around each of your four
selected priority areas.

Sustainable energy

Energy is essential to improving the quality of life and opportunities in
developing nations. Ensuring sufficient, reliable, affordable as well as
environmentally sustainable supplies of energy is a huge challenge for Africa
and indeed the world at large. Electrification of rural and peri-urban areas
and at least a basic supply of free electricity for the poor represent some of
the most pressing challenges. In addition a combination of droughts, floods,
wars and ageing equipment has contributed to an irregular and inadequate
electricity supply in many African countries. The Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs) can only be fully achieved with sustainable access to energy in
developing countries.

Health and human well-being

The priority area of health and human well-being is not only concerned with
the burden of diseases but also with the status of health systems, food
security, availability of clean and safe water for all, shelter as well as the
socio-political and environmental issues affecting health and human well-being.
By far the most prevalent of infectious diseases in Africa is HIV and AIDS.
This disease is decimating the economically active portion of the population,
thus threatening the economies of African countries. The impact of malaria and
other communicable diseases is also disproportionately high in Africa. Poverty
is the defining aggravating factor. Africa is waging a war against these
so-called diseases of poverty, yet at the same time a new front is opening
against diseases previously confined to developed nations. I hope that the
document on this priority area has come up with suggestions on the improvement
in education and income generating strategies which are necessary for the
well-being of the people on the continent.

Natural and human-induced hazards and disasters

While Africa is prone to a variety of bold natural and human induced
environmental disasters, it is also the least equipped continent to cope with
the impacts of these events. Human settlement patterns can exacerbate the
effects or impact of these phenomena, for example, a high population density
along a riverbank in times of flooding. Furthermore, human activity induces or
triggers the occurrence of hazards and disasters such as wildfires, erosion and
desertification, landslides, water and air pollution. Regional and global
science partnerships are required to understand policy options and predict and
assess hazards and disasters. Integrated disaster and risk management
strategies should not only mitigate the impact of disasters but foster a
culture of prediction and prevention.

Global change

Africa is particularly vulnerable to climate variability. Global warming
could cause temperatures to rise by 7ºC in southern Africa and 8ºC in sorthern
Africa, by 2080. This would be far higher than the global average and would
have a dramatic effect on the frequency and severity of droughts and floods and
accelerating desertification. It hardly needs to be said that this would have a
catastrophic impact on food security, water supply and health issues to name a
few. Global environmental change thus has the potential of devastating African
countries which are amongst the poorest of the developing countries and
inadequately resourced to adapt to the effects of global environmental change.
Strong action is required to mitigate climate change and reduce the risks to
jeopardising Africa's development. It is important that science produce the
information needed to inform and influence global change policy and decision
making.

The success story for the realisation of these very important and wisely
selected priority areas calls for the necessary interventions to take
cognisance of scientific networking and fruitful collaboration, sound policies
for education, research and innovation and more importantly the development of
African human capital needed to implement them.

The success story for the realisation of these very important and wisely
selected priority areas calls for the necessary interventions to take
cognisance of scientific networking and fruitful collaboration, sound policies
for education, research and innovation and more importantly the development of
African human capital needed to implement them.

It is clear, ladies and gentlemen, that a myriad of issues and challenges
fall under these four broad priority areas. Coincidentally the areas of focus
are cross cutting with the programme clusters of the Africa's science and
technology plan of action. It is the aim of this forum to set out specific
issues to be tackled by time bound, cross cutting programmes in order to
ultimately use science to advance the African community and eradicate its
poverty. The identification of specific issues to be addressed within the four
priority areas requires a multidisciplinary and international effort. To the
members of the Scoping Groups, I thank you for your commitment and for all the
time and effort you offered up, fitting it in with your normally busy
professional lives.

These science plans are the first step towards establishing mutually
beneficial partnerships in and with Africa. The development of effective
science and technology systems to tackle the multitude of problems facing the
continent is crucial. Ultimately, excellence in science should be linked to
policy making and socio-economic development so that scientific knowledge is
used for the maximum benefit of society, especially in the eradication of
poverty in Africa.

For some time there has been global preoccupation with natural resources and
their associated economic explosion on commodity markets. Africa with its rich
natural resources and competitive advantages stands at the door of the next
wave of economic revolution. This kind of revolution requires a local
innovative thinking through intensive and well mobilised research and
development (R&D) activities, new strategic partnerships and smart policy
choices. We hope this Forum will go a long way in preparing the groundwork for
serious dialogue and practical ways on how to harness our collective efforts in
applying science, technology and innovation for the benefit of the global
society.

South Africa continues to offer its unwavering support to the forum's
endeavours and to the ICSU regional office and committee for Africa. I wish to
acknowledge that you have accepted our Minister's challenge of a year ago and
that the regional office has certainly "taken off" with gusto, vigour and
admirable commitment to the cause of Africa's development. For this we commend
you and wish to challenge you once again to assess and evaluate the impact
these science plans make on the African development agenda.

Furthermore, may the regional office continue to grow from strength to
strength. Ladies and gentlemen, I am greatly encouraged by the good attendance,
enthusiasm and interest shown by the delegates present here today. May you
continue in the spirit of co-operativity with my best wishes for successful
deliberations over the next few days.

Distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen, I now declare the second
Consultative Forum of the ICSU Regional Office for Africa open.

Issued by: Department of Science and Technology
25 September 2006
Source: Department of Science and Technology (http://www.dst.gov.za/)