Chairperson, thank you to the members for such a warm welcome. This being Grandparents' Day at the school of Lesolesizwe, my granddaughter, I dedicate this maiden speech to her, because I had to juggle between writing this speech and attending a function at her school.
Chairperson, hon Ministers present, Minister Joemat-Pettersson, Minister Van Schalkwyk, hon Members of Parliament, Ms Sotyu, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, allow me to acknowledge that over 15 years in government the ANC has made progress in developing policies and strategies for the environmental portfolio. These policies informed the Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land and the repository of the values of the nation. They were further extended to the White Paper, which is the policy of government. All of these constitute the legal and political mandate for the department and for ourselves and the context within which we will pursue our efforts to contribute to a better life and a cleaner environment. Our biggest challenge is to integrate climate change considerations with sustainable development strategies further. What is key about our mandate is the balance between environmental protection and sustainable development. There are no easy answers. There can't be development at the expense of the environment and it cannot be the environment at the expense of development. What we all need to apply our minds to is the balance. We need to look at the middle ground very creatively in trying to come up with answers, because that is where the crux of our challenge lies. How do you ensure that in the process of your development - mining, and the construction of damns - you don't impact negatively on the environment? This question has to be answered by all of us here, and that includes me. According to section 24 of the Constitution "everyone has the right to an environment that is not harmful to their health ..." and "to have the environment protected ..." in the context of socioeconomic development. This is the mandate we have and it is a big challenge indeed. For us to succeed we need to join hands with all South Africans to attain a common vision that will be in support of the creation of a healthy nation.
The Department will support rural development objectives by ensuring that the integrity of ecosystems on which rural economies are based is protected. In his state of the nation address, President Zuma said that sustainable resource management and use is one of the strategic priorities of government. It is in this context that the department will continue to roll out community-based natural resource management programmes. These will focus on enterprise development and sharing with local communities the benefits from indigenous biological resources. The policy and legislative tools provided by the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act will therefore be used to this effect and we will make sure that the processes make sense to the affected communities and their effective involvement will be encouraged. Provinces and local government must come up with specific programmes that will respond to their unique challenges.
Transformation of the biodiversity sector is significant in the creation of decent work and sustainable livelihoods that could benefit millions of our people. The conservation estate provides a key resource for the empowerment of local communities. Ecotourism opportunities and nature-based or green jobs associated with conservation and biodiversity will need further enhancement.
As a country we are ranked third in the world for our richness in biodiversity. This means we have a diversity of landscapes and natural beauty to match our diversity in culture and language. Increasingly, this natural beauty is used to untangle the social injustices of the past and unlock economic benefits to all the people of South Africa, especially the poorest of the poor. However, this resource base has not been sufficiently unpacked to provide direct benefits to the rest of our people. If we are to deal truly with the grinding poverty that our people live in, we must find creative and collaborative ways of extending the benefits accrued from such developments to ordinary South Africans.
The rich natural resources are not benefiting all sectors of society equitably. In order to address the transformation of the biodiversity sector the department will focus on the development of a comprehensive framework for sector transformation.
The department has noted the important contribution that the hunting industry makes to our GDP. The industry alone injected an estimated income of about R753 million in the 2006-07 financial year. This industry, based on the country's rich fauna, has therefore been identified as providing a potential platform for broadening the participation of local communities in economic activities. Working together with the hunting industry, we have initiated a process to establish a transformation charter and consultations with industry representatives have been initiated. We will publish national norms and standards for the hunting industry for implementation by March 2010, which will form part of the transformation agenda of the department. Climate change, as already indicated, is a threat to the stability of our country and if left unattended it can cause serious damage, not only to the environment, but to the entire ecosystem and our ability to meet the Millennium Development Goals. There is a great need to demystify the whole climate change debate and ensure that all of us have a full understanding of the human activities that contribute to climate change. I agree with the hon member who alluded to this. We are doing very well internationally, but charity should begin at home.
I have a good example of people who know exactly what to do when a climate catastrophe affects their country. Cuba is one such country. All Cubans know exactly what to do, for example, when there is a hurricane. That is the kind of capacity that this country needs, but that will come with education and a full understanding by the most vulnerable people. They have to understand what climate change is all about, because, unknowingly, through their actions, they may be contributing to climate change. That is why I feel very strongly that we still need to do a lot in terms of taking them on board.
It is with that in mind that we declared this month Environment Month, and I hope all of us will be mindful of this and do our bit to take care of the environment. Our theme for this year is: "South Africa, Act now! Combat climate change". This is a call for all of us to act responsibly in our quest to combat this phenomenon ultimately. [Time expired.]