White Paper on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of SA's Biological Diversity

This section describes the implementation of the policies articulated in this document. It is divided into six parts:

an introduction;
an identification of the key players, and their roles in implementing the policy;
a discussion of the existing and future legislative framework;
institutional changes required;
funding sources; and
the priority action for implementation.

4.1. Introduction

The implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity, through this policy and strategy, lies in the sphere of responsibility of a variety of agencies, from national through to provincial and local level. In terms of South Africa's Constitution, many functions of relevance to biodiversity conservation are a concurrent legislative competence of national and provincial government. The Constitution also demarcates several relevant areas as being an exclusive national competence, such as marine resources, national parks, and national botanical gardens; of exclusive provincial jurisdiction, such as provincial planning; and provides for the administration of certain functions at the local government level, such as beaches and municipal parks. This means that cooperative governance within national, provincial, and local spheres will be necessary for the effective implementation of this policy. Cross-sectoral cooperation within each sphere of government will also be crucial, given that biodiversity issues are of relevance to virtually every government institution.

Many of the actions required by this policy are already being financed and implemented by the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, by the provincial departments of environment and conservation, and by various other national and provincial departments. However, several new tasks are required which are essential to South Africa meeting her international obligations, and to achieving the goals and objectives of this policy. For these tasks to be fulfilled it is imperative that the need for new and additional financial resources be taken into consideration in the allocation of future government department budgets.

One of the most far-reaching provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity requires Parties to integrate the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity into relevant sectoral or cross-sectoral plans, programmes and policies. A key recommendation to emanate from this policy proposes that this be achieved by the drafting of a biodiversity plan by relevant government institutions, based upon guidelines developed by the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism. It is also proposed that such plans reflect the integration of biodiversity considerations in relevant sectoral budgets. A political commitment to achieving this, through the allocation of necessary budgets, is fundamental to the successful implementation of this policy.

4.2. Roles of the Key Players

4.2.1. The role of Government

NATIONAL GOVERNMENT

The Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism

As the institution charged with administering the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism will play a strong leadership role in ensuring that the provisions of this policy are implemented effectively. Through its Environmental Management and Sea Fisheries Chief Directorates, the Department is already actively engaged in implementing many of the provisions required by the Convention. New actions articulated by this policy will, however, require the Department to be strengthened, existing priorities to be realigned, and new and additional financial resources to be committed to and by the Department.

As the "champion" of biodiversity, the Department will play a proactive role in:

promoting global, regional, and national cooperation and coordination with regard to the conservation of biodiversity;
formulating and reviewing policy;
strengthening communication networks with the provinces, and other national government departments and institutions;
promoting and facilitating the integration of biodiversity considerations into sectoral and cross- sectoral plans, programmes and policies;
establishing, administering and managing required coordinating structures; and
organising the participation of national and provincial government in relevant international fora.

Other national government departments

Because of the cross-sectoral nature of biodiversity, several other national government departments will play a vital role in the implementation of this policy. These include the Departments of Agriculture; Land Affairs; Water Affairs and Forestry; Trade and Industry; Foreign Affairs; Health; Transport; Housing; Welfare and Population Development; Arts, Culture, Science and Technology; Finance; as well as the South African National Defence Force. Of crucial importance will be their commitment to cooperating with one another, and to developing sectoral-specific plans and budgets to reflect how biodiversity considerations will be incorporated into the activities of departments.

National statutory bodies

The two national statutory bodies directly affected by the provisions of this policy are the National Botanical Institute and the National Parks Board. These agencies will continue to play a crucial role in ensuring that South Africa's biological heritage is conserved and used sustainably. To achieve the goals of this policy, this may require in some instances that existing priorities be reassessed. An important task will be to strengthen cooperation between the National Parks Board and provincial conservation agencies, so as to enable an effective and representative protected area system to be developed.

PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT

In many respects, the functions of the provincial government with regard to the implementation of this policy will be similar to those of national government, although emphasis at provincial level will be on formulating policies and strategies which are locally applicable and which are in accordance with national biodiversity objectives. Furthermore, the provinces will play a far greater role in undertaking the execution of the policy. Many of the actions required by the policy are already being undertaken by the provincial environment and conservation departments. However, such departments are over-stretched and their execution of new tasks will require considerable capacity to be built and additional financial resources to be provided.

Through the provincial legislature and necessary coordinating structures, environment and conservation departments in each province will play an important role in developing strong collaboration between other departments responsible for activities concerning the conservation and use of biodiversity within the province. Other provincial departments will also be affected by the provisions of this policy through measures introduced by their national departments, and by legislation.

In addition to these roles, provincial environment and conservation departments will continue to play an essential function throughout the provinces in terms of providing conservation extension services, regulating and monitoring the use of biological resources, preventing the loss of biodiversity, and developing and managing protected areas. Their primary function will be to conserve the country's biodiversity, and to participate in and coordinate efforts so as to ensure the development and management of an effective and representative protected area system. An additional function of conservation agencies will be to promote sustainable development outside protected areas, through the forging of appropriate partnerships with communities, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the private sector, and other government departments. Building such partnerships may require the involvement of communities in the management of protected areas.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Local government is faced with particular difficulties in implementing this policy. In rural areas especially minimal capacity, infrastructure, or resources exist to enable many of the provisions of this policy to be implemented effectively. According to local circumstances and capacity, some functions of local government will be to:

ensure that biodiversity considerations are effectively integrated into local strategies, plans and programmes;
institute and participate in public education, awareness and training programmes;
develop management plans for local resources that are under pressure;
ensure that biodiversity considerations are integrated into land-use planning procedures for rural and urban areas; and
encourage and prepare municipal open space systems which play a positive role in conserving and using biological resources sustainably.

4.2.2. The role of other key players

Strong partnerships will be required not only between government agencies, but between non- governmental organisations, community-based organisations, women's groupings, holders of traditional knowledge, the private sector, the scientific community, and private individuals.

This support is especially needed in light of the limited capacities of government to implement the required steps. Government's policy will be to enter into partnership arrangements wherever necessary with different groupings, and to ensure that mechanisms and procedures are in place which facilitate this cooperation.

The scientific community

The knowledge and expertise contained within South Africa's universities, museums, conservation and other government agencies, parastatals, non-governmental organisations, and other research institutions is fundamental to implementing this policy. The primary role of the scientific community will be to provide the information required to achieve the goals and objectives of this policy. It is the intention of Government to build on this body of excellence to improve knowledge and understanding of South Africa's biodiversity, and to draw upon available capacity to provide guidance to policy-makers and resource managers.

Business and industry

Business and industry will play several important roles in the implementation of the policy. Among others these will include full compliance with the nature conservation and environmental regulations prescribed by government; the acceptance of social responsibility for biodiversity by adopting additional voluntary measures wherever possible and appropriate; and the development of economic activities that support the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

Non-governmental organisations

Many successful efforts in South Africa to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity have come about through the commitment of conservation and development NGOs. Such organisations will continue to play a crucial role in realising the goals and objectives of this policy, through the implementation of specific projects and programmes. NGOs will also provide an essential independent monitoring and "watchdog" role, to ensure adherence to the commitments articulated in this policy. Those with insights into the implementation of specific aspects of the policy will be invaluable in providing advice and expertise to Government. A particularly crucial role will be played by those NGOs engaged in development work, and in capacity-building and environmental educational and training programmes.

Communities

Communities, hitherto excluded from policy discussions concerning biodiversity conservation, are also expected to play a vital role in the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. How this is effected will vary from community to community. In some instances, communities will play an important role in managing and using local resources to ensure their conservation and sustainable use. In other cases, local knowledge and skills will be invaluable in assisting monitoring and inventory work such activities also providing jobs for people. And in certain circumstances, communities have a key role to play in rehabilitating degraded ecosystems. Fulfilling such actions will require increased and improved training opportunities to be created, and the creation of related economic opportunities to allow for skills to be used.

Traditional healers, farmers and others holding traditional knowledge

Traditional healers, farmers, and others holding traditional knowledge will play an especially important role in developing guidelines for the protection and use of traditional knowledge, and procedures for benefit-sharing. In addition, these groups will play a vital monitoring role, to ensure that provisions of this policy concerning traditional knowledge and benefit-sharing are implemented satisfactorily. This will require improved coordination and mobilisation between relevant organisations and individuals, and support to enable such actions to occur.

Women

Women, and rural women in particular, play a vital role in the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. Often being responsible for gathering fuelwood, building materials, medicines or food, they are also frequently most directly affected by a local loss in biodiversity. Their involvement in the implementation of this policy and strategy will be key to ensuring that the use of resources for subsistence purposes is sustainable, and that livelihoods are secured. As mothers and educators, women also have a central role to play in raising awareness amongst future generations as to the importance and value of conserving and sustainably using the country's biodiversity. Their role in decision-making requires particular emphasis, given the fact that women have thus far been largely marginalised from decisions concerning the conservation and sustainable use of South Africa's biodiversity.

4.3. Legislation

4.3.1. International framework

South Africa's ratification of the Convention on Biological Diversity on 2nd November 1995 has several legal implications which need to be considered within the framework of the country's domestic legislation. In terms of the Constitution, South Africa can be and is bound by international agreements.¹¹ However, because of the nature of the Convention, which sets out broad principles rather than specific legally binding provisions, a further process is required to give the agreement full effect. This would determine the extent to which existing domestic legislation meets the specific requirements of the Convention, and the need for new or amended domestic legislation to be enacted.

4.3.2. Constitutional implications

The Constitutional scheme

The proposals articulated in this policy and strategy cut across most national government departments and impact on national, provincial and local government. Thus it is necessary to consider the policy in the context of the Constitution generally, and specifically with regard to the allocation of powers and functions entrenched therein.

The constitution provides for a single sovereign state in which the national government has full powers to pass legislation on matters other than those which fall within a functional area of the exclusive competence of the provinces. National government also has powers to pass legislation on matters which are not expressly assigned. The provinces have only those powers and functions allocated to them by the Constitution.

The Constitution allocates certain powers concurrently to national and provincial spheres of government, and certain powers exclusively to the provinces. These are described in Schedules 4 and 5 respectively of the Constitution. Of importance is the fact that machinery is provided by the Constitution to enable national and provincial spheres of government to perform functions for other levels of government on an agency or delegation basis. This may be through the delegation of executive functions - whereby the delegating agency retains responsibility for the function; or through assignment - in which case legal and executive functions and powers are handed over to the agency in question. Agencies outside of government would be given specific tasks on a contractual basis.

Concurrent competences of national and provincial government

With some exceptions, most functional areas of relevance to the conservation and use of biodiversity are set out in Schedule 4 of the Constitution, which describes functional areas of concurrent national and provincial legislative competence. These include such areas as agriculture, environment, nature conservation, pollution control, regional planning and development, soil conservation, urban and rural development, and tourism.

Concurrent competence means that both national and provincial spheres of government are empowered to pass and implement legislation relating to specific functional areas. Where there are conflicts between national and provincial government concerning a functional area listed within Schedule 4, certain rules are provided to resolve such conflicts.¹² Of relevance is a "national override" provision which states that national legislation would prevail over provincial legislation if:

the national legislation deals with a matter that cannot be regulated effectively by legislation enacted by the respective provinces independently;
the interests of the country as a whole require that a matter be dealt with uniformly across the nation (e.g. the setting of national norms and standards); or
the national legislation is necessary for such matters as the protection of the environment.

Exclusive provincial competence

Schedule 5 of the Constitution sets out those functional areas in which the provincial government enjoys exclusive competence. Although the bulk of functional areas relevant to the conservation and use of biodiversity are of concurrent national and provincial competence, some relevant functional areas, including provincial planning, are included in Schedule 5.

Where a power has been allocated to the exclusive competence of provincial government, national government may intervene and pass legislation, but only where such legislation fulfils certain constitutionally mandated purposes (e.g. the setting of national standards).¹³ The Constitution empowers provincial government to legislate on any matter outside of the functions already listed in the Schedules where that matter is expressly assigned to the provinces by national legislation.

The executive authority of the provinces includes the authority to implement provincial legislation, implement national legislation within the functional areas listed in Schedules 4 and 5, develop and implement provincial policy and coordinate provincial departments and administration. However, a province has executive authority only to the extent that it has the administrative capacity to assume effective responsibility. Pursuant to section 100 of the Constitution, the national executive enjoys a power of supervision over the provincial administration, enabling the national executive to intervene where the province cannot or does not fulfil an executive obligation. The national government is however required to assist provinces, by legislative and other measures, to develop the administrative capacity needed for the effective exercise of their powers and performance of their functions.¹⁴

The "environmental right"

A key human right that is enshrined within the Bill of Rights of South Africa's Constitution is the so-called "environmental right". This newly developed right has important implications for the development of legislation to give effect to the Convention on Biological Diversity.

It states:

"24. Everyone has the right -

(a) to an environment that is not harmful to their health and well-being; and

(b) to have the environment protected, for the benefit of present and future generations, through reasonable legislative and other measures that

(i) prevent pollution and ecological degradation;

(ii) promote conservation; and

(iii) secure ecologically sustainable development and use of natural resources while promoting justifiable economic and social development.

Part (a) of this clause grants a substantive environmental right ensuring that legislation which is potentially harmful or which may have harmful environmental consequences can be repealed. This clearly has important implications with regard to conserving biodiversity, and minimising adverse environmental impacts.

Part (b) is less clear, in that it represents more of a directive principle than a right, and in many ways underscores the status quo. Although it imposes a positive obligation on the state to pass legislation which supports environmental protection, an individual would not be able to use the clause to claim any rights. Thus, while supportive of the objectives of the policies articulated in this document, the clause is limited.

Property rights

The recognition of property rights has been a historical cornerstone of South African common law, and has recently found expression in the Bill of Rights of the Constitution. Because much of South Africa's biodiversity falls within private ownership, it is crucial to consider the property clause of the Bill of Rights in the context of this White Paper.

Historically, under South African common law, the state has had authority to regulate and control the manner in which any property, including biological resources, is conserved and exploited. The property clause of the Bill of Rights reinforces this common law position, but provides that no-one may be "deprived" of property unless this is in terms of a law of general application and is not arbitrary. The section further stipulates that compensation is only payable if there is expropriation, and does not refer to the situation where there is only deprivation. This implies that the state through legislation is empowered to introduce regulations on properties to achieve the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

4.3.3. Limitations of existing legislation

Fragmentation

South Africa has a substantial body of law regulating the conservation and use of biodiversity. However, as is the case for several other areas of environmental policy, biodiversity cuts across many diverse sectors and areas of public administration. The result is an extremely high degree of fragmentation, with legislation being spread across many different departments, at both national and provincial levels. Exacerbating the problem is the lack of national norms and standards from which legislation for biodiversity can be harmonised.

Conflict of interest

Also of concern is the fact that legislation is often conflicting, a problem heightened by the fact that a number of the government departments responsible for enforcing compliance with environmental regulations are also charged with promoting the activities that they are supposed to regulate. This situation has resulted in many calling for national norms and standards to be set and regulated outside of the department promoting the activity. Various mechanisms have been suggested to accomplish this, including the establishment of an independent inspectorate. Critical is the need to obtain clarity on the roles and responsibilities of different government agencies. Such clarity will be forthcoming from the general national environmental policy.

Ineffective enforcement

Although a substantial amount of environmental legislation is in place in South Africa, poor enforcement renders much of it ineffectual. Compounding the problem are the often inappropriate penalties imposed for infringing legislation, and the lack of capacity within government agencies to monitor infringements. These constraints have serious implications for the effective implementation of the policies articulated in this document.

4.3.3. Gaps within existing legislation Lack of an integrated and holistic approach to biodiversity

The Convention on Biological Diversity sets out important new approaches to biodiversity which have yet to be uniformly reflected by South African legislation. Underpinning international thinking is the importance of an integrated and holistic approach to biodiversity, which considers the range of political, economic, and ecological levels at which actions need to be targeted, and supports sectoral and cross- sectoral interventions to achieve conservation and sustainable use. For example, biodiversity incorporates ecosystem, species, and genetic diversity as well as landscape diversity, but South African legislation has focussed largely on species diversity, and predominantly on mammal and plant diversity. Similarly, the importance of integrating biodiversity into all spheres of decision-making, and within and across different economic sectors has received little attention.

Biodiversity outside of protected areas

A major gap in existing legislation relating to the conservation and use of biodiversity is the general lack of attention given to biodiversity outside of protected areas, and specifically to landscapes and ecosystems outside of protected areas. Where legislation does exist, it is often fragmented, poorly applied and enforced. The approach adopted by this policy is one which is holistic and integrated, requiring the adoption of legal measures to ensure the protection of identified species, ecosystems and habitat types outside of protected areas. This is considered fundamental to achieving the goals and objectives of this policy.

Sectoral policies

A major goal of this policy requires the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity to be integrated into all sectoral and cross-sectoral plans, programmes and policies at all levels of government and in industry. The need for legislation to achieve this requires further consideration.

Access to genetic resources

There is an obvious policy vacuum with regard to controlling access to South Africa's indigenous genetic resources, and a clear need for legislation to establish national sovereignty over South Africa's biological resources, to guide the development of appropriate agreements, and to establish optimum conditions for benefit sharing.

Wild animals as a public end private resource

Wild animals are classified in South African common law as res nullius, that is as objects which are owned by nobody but which can be owned. Ownership is established by taking control of the animal with the intention of being the owner. In the past it was difficult to establish what degree of control was necessary to legally establish ownership, particularly in the case of large farms where wild animals tend to wander freely. Issues concerning the acquisition and loss of ownership of game are considered by the Game Theft Act (105 of 1991), which protect the rights of ownership of game where the game escapes or is lured away from the landowner's land. "Game" is classified in the Act as that which is kept for commercial or hunting purposes. However, not all wild animals fall into this category and thus the common law still applies to animals not classified as game.

Assigning private ownership for game has acted as an important incentive for conservation, and has resulted in many successful conservation initiatives in the country. There is, however, also a need to ensure that the public interest is safeguarded, and that private and public interests are fairly balanced. An issue to be resolved concerns that of compensation for damage caused by wildlife, and the liability for such damage.

4.3.4. Criteria and guidelines

In considering the amendment of existing or introduction of new legislation to meet the goals and objectives of this policy, Government will be guided by the following criteria and guidelines which require:

legislation to emphasise the importance of the national government as the custodian of South Africa's biological diversity, and to adopt necessary measures to emphasise this role;
uniform norms and standards to be established;
legislation to be reasonable and easily implementable;
effective conflict resolution mechanisms to be established to address conflict at all levels of governance;
new legislation to complement existing legislation;
socio-economic aspects of biodiversity (e.g. benefit sharing, compensation for local knowledge) to be a crucial component of legislation;
legislation to recognise that those who conserve biodiversity should derive value from such actions;
legislation to be used to implement the development of incentives and effective deterrents;
legislation to be considered in conjunction with other tools;
clarification to be given with regard to the roles and responsibilities of different agencies, and the problem of fragmentation of public institutions; and
an integrated and holistic approach to be adopted which focuses predominantly upon the in-situ conservation and restoration of ecosystems and natural habitats, and the maintenance and recovery of viable populations of species in their natural surroundings.

4.3.5. National legislation

Stemming from these criteria and guidelines, as well as from the limitations and gaps of existing legislation identified above, the following actions will be undertaken by Government:

As part of the legislative and institutional audit that will be undertaken to implement the general national environmental policy, an investigation will also be performed of the efficacy of existing and proposed biodiversity-related legislation. This will consider legislation governing the conservation and use of biodiversity, as well as that regulating sectoral activities. It will also review South Africa's approaches to other international agreements of relevance to biodiversity, and ensure that such approaches are consistent with the policies articulated in this White Paper. Such an investigation will lead either to the development of new legislation or the amendment of existing legislation, and will indicate institutional changes required.
Following this audit, framework biodiversity legislation will be developed and implemented that is specific to achieving certain goals and objectives contained within this White Paper. It is envisaged that such legislation will rationalise and harmonise existing legislation, will articulate national norms and standards, and will embrace the holistic approach towards biodiversity that is presently absent in the law. Institutional arrangements for the effective realisation of the law will additionally be specified. The participation of both the national and provincial spheres of government will be ensured in this process so that the result is in keeping with the concurrent responsibilities held by these levels of government. This will further lead to the development or amendment of provincial legislation as appropriate.
The purpose of the framework legislation described would largely be to give effect to Goals 1 and 2 of this policy, concerning the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. There is, however, also a need to develop legislation to control access to South Africa's genetic resources. Given the absence of control measures, Government undertakes to develop such legislation as a matter of urgency.

4.4. Institutional Changes Required

4.4.1. Existing constraints

There are a number of major constraints hindering the effective implementation of this policy:

Inter-institutional fragmentation and conflicts of interest have resulted in strained intergovernmental relations concerning environmental matters. It is imperative to improve coordination and build understanding between institutions responsible for activities concerning the conservation and use of biodiversity.
The linking of conservation to other competencies such as tourism and agriculture has resulted in considerable competition in the allocation of funding. In addition, the establishment of new environmental departments in many of the provinces has resulted in a dwindling of the funds assigned for conservation, rather than new and additional funding being allocated from provincial and central government coffers.
There has been a perceptible drainage of essential expertise from government, as part of the rationalisation process. This has affected the ability of government to implement the provisions of this policy effectively.
The tendency of government departments to keep functions exclusive has thwarted efforts to integrate biodiversity and environmental considerations cross-sectorally.
There has been a lack of government capacity to monitor implementation and no structured mechanism to independently evaluate the performance of government and other sectors.
The Committee for Environmental Coordination (CEC), which is constituted under the Environment Conservation Act (No. 73 of 1989) to coordinate policy at the inter-institutional level, is widely considered to be weak and ineffectual. A major shortcoming of the Committee lies in the fact that it has little political recognition, and thus is not accorded importance by other departments. Additional concerns have been raised about the fact that the committee does not explicitly provide for non- governmental representation.
There is considerable confusion concerning the roles and responsibilities of different spheres of government in the context of the new Constitution.

4.4.2 Institutional structures

Not all of these constraints can be easily addressed, but all point towards a number of institutional deficiencies requiring

political will and commitment at the ministerial level;
improved coordination, integration, and communication between and across the different levels of government;
a structured mechanism, wherein input from non-governmental parties such as industry, NGOs, communities, holders of traditional knowledge, women, and the scientific community can be solicited to guide implementation;
an independent mechanism to monitor and evaluate government's performance with regard to the implementation of this policy;
clarification on the roles and responsibilities of the different spheres of government with regard to biodiversity management; and
a strengthening of government's role and capacity in biodiversity management.

Guiding the development of models to address such deficiencies is the principle that wherever possible existing structures should be adapted or strengthened to undertake the required tasks, through the enhancement of existing capacity, the provision of adequate powers, and the allocation of sufficient budgets. In the interests of prudent administration, a proliferation of institutional structures should be guarded against, and new structures should be introduced only where appropriate and absolutely necessary.

4.5. Funding

The full and effective implementation of this policy will clearly not be possible without additional financial investments. Government will investigate possibilities for obtaining additional finances through: continued state funding, pursuing private sector funding, the introduction of incentives and disincentives, revenue generation, and attaining international and donor funding.

4.5.1. Government funding

Many of the actions required by this policy are already being financed and implemented by the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, provincial departments of conservation and environment, and several other national, parastatal, and provincial agencies. Government will at the least maintain adequate funding levels and endeavour to increase funding in areas articulated by this policy that are not well addressed by present arrangements. To optimise the present use of funds, Government will institute performance audits of existing and future expenditures on biodiversity.

Attention will additionally be given to existing under-investments in biodiversity. In 1996, for example, only 0.28% (R532 million) of the national fiscus was allocated to biodiversity conservation (see Table IV, page 89). Clearly, these figures do not reflect the fundamental dependence of South Africa upon biodiversity, nor the investment required to ensure the continued economic well-being of South Africa and her people.

4.5.2. Private sector funding

The private sector have traditionally been a vital partner in assisting to finance biodiversity initiatives in South Africa. Government will support the continued and increased involvement of the private sector in funding aspects of the policy, and in assisting through social responsibility programmes. It will be crucial to ensure that funding arrangements, and the development of agreements with the private sector be transparent and open to public scrutiny.

4.5.3. Incentives, disincentives and revenue generation

Government is also aware of the need to pursue innovative approaches to ensure implementation of this policy. Attention will be given to investigating and developing creative ways in which new finances can be generated to support the objectives of this policy through, for example:

the use of taxes, levies, and charges linked to activities directly using and/or affecting biodiversity;
the generation of revenues from the sustainable development of biodiversity (e.g. tourism, animal and plant products);
the establishment of a Biodiversity Trust Fund;
royalties generated through biodiversity prospecting activities; and
the introduction of conditions and incentives to strengthen the involvement of the private sector in the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

The introduction of such measures will be coordinated and streamlined with other similar initiatives to ensure that Government adopts a uniform, and rational approach to the introduction of incentives and disincentives.

4.5.4. International and donor funding

Increasing efforts will be made to obtain international and donor funding for appropriate projects that can be implemented immediately but which can be managed sustainably. In addition, mechanisms will be established as a matter of priority to coordinate donor funding, and a forum established to liaise with donors.

Table 4: 1996 State Expenditure Allocated to Biodiversity Conservation

IMPLEMENTING THE POLICY

4.1. Introduction

4.2. Roles of the Key Players

4.3. Legislation

4.4. Institutional Changes Required

4.5. Funding