Environmental Programmes (Employment creation) In all 12 priority government outcomes, job creation features as a priority output. In the context of this imperative and the constitutional mandate to ensure safe, healthy and sustainably managed environment which provides critical eco-system services as a foundation for economic and social development, the department aims to facilitate a transition to an environmentally sustainable, job creating and low carbon green development pathway, with a particular focus on the contribution of the environment sector. Unsustainable production, consumption, land use practices, alien species invasions and the impacts of climate change result in degraded land and ecosystem productivity and threatens both current future development opportunity. The departmental mandate to sustainably manage, restore and maintain degraded ecosystems and their associated ecosystem services presents an opportunity to contribute significantly to job creation, social inclusion and the low carbon green economy through environmental Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) and through the National Green Fund aimed at catalysing scaled up investment in climate resilient, low carbon sustainable development. Over the medium term the department will focus on developing job creation, sustainable development and climate friendly co- benefits through the National Green Fund catalysing investment flows into Green Economy Programmes as well as further developing its Working for Waste, Land Restoration and Working for Energy EPWP programmes and intensifying existing invasive alien plants, wild fires, wetlands, land and forest degradation, river health; coastal and parks programmes, particularly exploiting the potential creation of value-added industries.