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ADDRESS BY HONOURABLE DEPUTY MINISTER OF WATER AND
ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS, MS REJOICE MABUDAFHASI DURING THE WORLD WETLANDS DAY
CELEBRATION AT MAKULEKE RAMSAR SITE, LIMPOPO PROVINCE “WETLANDS AND TOURISM” 02 FEBRUARY 2012. Program Director Honourable Deputy Minister of Tourism: Ms Tokozile Xasa Honourable MEC for Agriculture: Ms Dipuo Letsatsi- Duba Honourable
MEC for Economic Development, Environment and Tourism: Mr Pitso Moloto Mayor of Vhembe District Municipality:Cllr Florence Dzhombere Traditional Leaders Makuleke Community Property Association SABC Limpopo Regional General Manager: Mr Victor Ravhuanzwo Representative from SANBI Government Officials Members of the Makuleke
Community Members of the media Ladies and Gentlemen: BACKGROUND Today
marks the 15th anniversary of the commemoration of World Wetlands
Day since the inaugural celebration in 1997 and most importantly the 41th
anniversary of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands since it’s signing in
1971. So far, wetlands continue to offer
great value for biodiversity which human beings depend on for their
livelihood. The
significance of this day is celebrated worldwide through a variety of
activities aligned to Ramsar Convention’s theme for this year; which is “Wetlands and Tourism”. In South
Africa this theme has been localized by adding a slogan “Enhancing
Community Livelihoods”.
This is due to the fact that there are linkages between wetlands conservation
and tourism. The
department has chosen the Makuleke Ramsar site to obtain
first-hand information on the importance of the wetlands conservation for
tourism and how tourism generated revenue can enhance community livelihoods. The Makuleke
Wetlands has been declared a Ramsar site (Wetland of International
Importance) on the 22 of June 2007 and is the first Ramsar site owned and
co-managed by the community not only in South Africa but worldwide. The
proposal for its designation, received much publicity during the celebration
of World Wetlands Day in 2002. In that event, I highlighted the fact that,
should this site be designated as Wetlands of International Importance, it
would be the first community-owned Ramsar site in the country, and as such,
represented a new approach to wetland management. By
designating these unique wetlands South Africa was commended for the good
work during the Tenth meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to
the Ramsar Convention (COP10) at Changwon, Republic
of Korea where the certificate for Makuleke
Wetlands was handed over to me. I therefore would like to thank all who
participated in the process of designating Makuleke
Wetlands a Ramsar site. The Convention encouraged other countries to learn from South Africa. Wetland ecosystems in a
landscape are like kidneys in our human bodies – they play a vital role in
sustaining healthy lives of people.Our wetlands are
vital for purifying water and regulating water flows, thus acting as sponges
that store water and release it slowly, filtering pollutants and easing the
impact of droughts and floods in the process. We are very familiar with
the concept of service delivery and the challenges we face while trying to
make sure that all citizens receive essential services. What we are sometimes
not familiar with is the notion that it is not only municipalities that
provide services, but also our biodiversity and ecosystems. While we are
aware of our municipal infrastructure like roads, sewers and pylons, and the
services they bring to us in our homes, few of us are aware of the services
we get from our ecological infrastructures like wetlands, rivers, coastal
dunes and vegetation. All these amazing services are called ecosystem
services. Ecosystem services, like
municipal services, play an essential role in our day to day lives! This
often invisible ecological infrastructure, together with man-made
infrastructure, has the potential to generate hundreds of thousands of jobs
and eradicate poverty. Today I want to share a
sneak preview of the 2012 State of Biodiversity report with you. What is, of interest about this report are the dramatic results it has
produced for wetlands, which were included in the assessment for the first
time. This assessment clearly
shows that wetlands are exceptionally high-value ecosystems that make up only
a minute fraction of the country. Healthy wetlands such as the ones we visited
today (Mapimbi and Rietbuck
vlei) represent our endowment fund for immediate
communities and those further afield – all of whom derive benefits. We must balance the growth of strong and equitable
economies with a development path that will allow our natural environment to
flourish and continue to provide us with food, water, economic opportunities
and a sense of pride and wonder. By
recognizing the importance of both built and ecological infrastructures, and
by bringing together natural and artificial design, restored wetlands show us
the possibilities for job creation, service delivery and economic growth in a
truly green economy. South Africa’s extraordinary ecological wealth
gives us a unique opportunity to capitalize on emerging green markets and
help us adapt to climate change. The rehabilitation and proper management of
our ecosystems will not only increase our competitive advantage, but help us
adapt our economy to become more sustainable and resilient in changing global
conditions. Healthy ecosystems can also be tourism assets and
in so doing contribute to local economic development if used sustainably.
This is what the theme of this year’s global World Wetlands Day celebrations
is all about, and is the reason why we are holding our national event here. The Department is spearheading this process to
demonstrate the tremendous contribution of biodiversity to development in
South Africa. Through this we are
showing that biodiversity is not only a cornerstone of our climate change
response strategy, but it is also good for growth and providing jobs. Making this a reality has required an approach to
conservation and biodiversity management which promotes social justice and
puts people at the centre, creating opportunities for people to benefit from
biodiversity. One of the best known stories in this regard is
government’s Working for Wetlands Programme, which successfully combines the
creation of thousands of work opportunities nationwide with the
rehabilitation of more than 800 wetlands; and the Working for Water Programme
that clears invasive alien plants from our catchments to improve water
quality and supply. One such example you might be familiar with is
the rehabilitation work that took place in the southern bank of the Luvuvhu River. Although the rehabilitation was just upstream of
the Makuleke Ramsar site, it contributed largely to
improving the health of the Ramsar site. At the same time, about 40 people
from the Makuleke community were employed in this
rehabilitation project of R1,8 million which ensured
that this wetland remains in its pristine condition. Government recognizes the value of wetlands not
just in the country but also globally and that is the reason why ongoing
monitoring is very much important to Ramsar sites such as this. Our message is simple: our vast wealth of
biodiversity - our variety of life from species and ecosystems – is our
endowment fund! We must step up our efforts to unlock the potential of our
biodiversity to deliver benefits to communities and provide jobs. Healthy
intact ecosystems also give us more options for responding to climate
change. This message is relevant to
all from rural to urban, rich and poor. With their natural beauty and biodiversity wetlands are
ideal locations for tourism. The income can be significant and support
livelihoods locally and nationally. Wetlands provide other ‘services’ , too,
such as water, food, water purification, erosion control ,etc., for the
benefit of tourists and tourist accommodation. The income generated by
tourism for national and local economies in and around wetlands can be
substantial. The Ramsar Convention has signed an MOU with the United
Nations World Tourism Organization in recognition of the interdependence
between sustainable tourism and the sustainable management of
wetlands. There are now joint projects between the two organizations to
promote sustainable wetland tourism and great potential for combining their
expertise to further wetland wise use and sustainable tourism on a larger
scale. The Ramsar’s 11th meeting of the Contracting
Parties (COP11) in July this year will have the same theme, thus putting
sustainable tourism firmly on the Ramsar agenda. CONCLUSION Ignoring protection of the wetlands can only result
in disaster of food insecurity, wiped out biodiversity that would negatively
impact on subsistence farming which in turn would result in deepened poverty
levels, drastically reduced water supply leading to substantial rise in
prices and removed vegetation that would fuel destructive nature of global
warming. Let’s work together to secure our Wetlands for the
sake of biodiversity and in order to make a meaningful contribution towards
mitigating the effects of Climate Change. The Makuleke
community regained the land back in 1998 after a restitution of land rights
process. The community then decided to retain the land as part of Kruger
National Park to be co-managed by the Makuleke
Community Property Association (CPA) and the South African National Parks
(SANParks) through the Joint Management Board (JMB) for the purpose of
conservation and related economic development in the area. In recognition of this partnership and effort of this community’s contribution towards
conservation, the CEO of SANParks Dr David Mabunda
presented the SANParks / First National Bank Kudu Award to the CPA on the
28th November 2011 at Skukuza. The African Safari
Lodge Foundation also sponsored five young women from this community who
graduated on the 18 November 2011 from the Southern African College for
Tourism in Graaf Reinet,
Eastern Cape. I will therefore handover the awards and
certificates to the Makuleke Community Property
Association and the graduates. Thank you For
media queries contact Peter Mbelengwa Cell: 082 611 8197 |