Chair, hon Minister, Deputy Minister, hon members of the House, guests and friends, our environment provides us with a range of goods and services that are essential for human survival, wellbeing, cultural diversity and economic prosperity. In terms of the January 8 statement of 2012, the obligation to strive for a clean and healthy environment has been placed on the national agenda, as awareness of the environmental rights of and responsibilities towards citizens is growing. The ANC-led government has adopted various policies on environmental management, with special attention to those issues that contribute to creating a better life and more sustainable use of resources, not only for the present generation but also for future generations.
However, human activities are having significant impacts on the environment, ranging in scale from the local to the global. For example, the growing human population is consuming resources and discarding waste at a rate that we have never experienced in the past. The ability of the earth to sustain us is diminished by, inter alia, accelerated rates of deforestation, soil erosion, desertification and increasing levels of air and water pollution. This means that the increasing pace of human-induced environmental change is altering the ability of the environment to provide essential goods and services. This in turn impedes progress towards sustainable development.
I will now deal with various public entities within this department. The mandate of SANParks is, according to a biodiversity website,"to conserve, protect, control, and manage national parks and other defined protected areas and their biodiversity." In an effort to fight the recent escalation in rhino poaching, particularly in the Kruger National Park, the National Wildlife Crime Reaction Unit was established between SANParks, the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs, the SAPS, the NPA and provincial conservation authorities, led by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation. To reduce poaching and increase awareness about the importance of conservation, the entity plans to increase the number of junior rangers from 520 in 2011-12 to 620 in 2014-15.
SANParks received a total of 4,5 million visitors in 2011-12, which it targets to increase to 4,8 million by 2014-15 by upgrading and expanding tourist facilities in the various national parks. As economic conditions start to improve, the entity expects that its upgraded tourist facilities will contribute to an increase in the number of visitors. It has identified cost-effectiveness measures to ensure its financial stability without compromising on the ability to deliver on its mandate. Savings of R35 million over the MTEF period are expected from cost-reduction measures.
SANParks approved the establishment of 3 646 posts, which were all filled as at September 2011, and accounted for 53,3% of its total budget of R1,1 billion in 2011-12. Revenue increased from R1 billion in 2008-09 to R1,2 billion in 2011-12 and is expected to increase to R1,4 billion over the medium term, due to inflation and an increase in the number of tourists visiting the various parks.
Our ecosystems are the basis of our society and our economy. Healthy ecosystems provide vital services to people. Wetlands purify water and control floods. Plants remove pollutants from the air and absorb greenhouse gases. Wetlands are essential in a water-scarce country like South Africa, yet an estimated 50% of South Africa's wetlands have been destroyed or converted. This means they can no longer provide the ecosystem services of flood control, improvement in water quality, water storage and maintaining biodiversity.
A major focus area of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority has been developing infrastructure and land rehabilitation in a way that has simultaneously improved the conservation and biodiversity of the park and maximised the number of local community jobs and the use of local community SMMEs. Labour-intensive methods are used wherever possible. With an estimated 4 000 temporary jobs created, over 60 small and medium enterprises have been supported and over 100 direct permanent and 230 indirect permanent jobs have been created.
The focus over the medium term is to continue increasing revenue and creating jobs. ISimangaliso Wetland Park had a total budget of R94,8 million in 2011-12, of which 51,9% was used for infrastructure, land care and park establishment. It aims to increase the amount of revenue generated from its operations to decrease its reliance on government funds.
The SA National Biodiversity Institute has also taken positive steps to protect our biodiversity, but increasing population pressure and consequent changes in land use, overexploitation, invasion by alien invasive plants, land degradation and the threat of climate change are placing the continued provision of ecosystem services at risk. The institute continues to lead in conservation through controlling the emergence of invasive species and rehabilitating wetlands. Working with the various botanical gardens, it expects to have a large number of invasive species under control by 2012- 13. The target thereafter is to find and monitor five invasive species a year. As at 30 September 2011, the entity had a total establishment of 709 posts, 633 of which are funded through its budget allocation and 76 by donors.
The SA Weather Service's main activities are the maintenance, extension and improvement of the quality of meteorological services, and training; providing risk-management information that is essential in minimising the impact of disasters; collecting meteorological data over South Africa and the surrounding southern oceans; and fulfilling the government's international obligations. The service currently has a forecasting and warning service accuracy level of 70% and plans to increase this to 74% by 2014-15. It plans to achieve its target by upgrading existing equipment and increasing the number of weather stations around the country. It had 373 filled posts in 2011-12 and this number is expected to rise to 398 over the medium term, driven by the need for specialised skills to complement core competencies in the organisation.
Over the past years the department has been working on far-reaching programmes to transform the way it operates and to turn itself into a model of effective and accountable delivery. The Minister and the departmental officials always ensure that they not only spend the budget they have been allocated, but do so in a manner that makes the best use of scarce resources to the benefit of all South Africans. After all, the good intentions reflected in the policies of this government will remain an empty dream unless they are matched with public managers who are capable of translating them into the desired outcomes. In this regard, I want to commend the director-general and her team for continuously receiving a clean audit.
The ANC will continue to provide leadership on environmental issues, including working with progressive forces in South Africa and throughout the world, to ensure that environmental issues continue to receive the prominence they deserve. The ANC supports the Environmental Affairs Budget Vote.