The department has been reporting for the last few years on the need for securing a grassland national park, yet this biome is constantly threatened by other land-uses (e.g. development, agriculture and mining), especially in Gauteng, Free State and Mpumalanga. The committee is concerned that no real progress can be reported on this objective due to the lack of suitable land to conserve. The high rate of urbanization, increased agricultural production and the reliance on coal as an energy source are all contributing to the dramatic destruction of important grassland and wetlands which provide ecosystem services like flood attenuation and water purification.