Contents:

Why do we need a State of the Environment Report?
What does it tell us?
How was the report developed?
How to read the report.
How is the Internet report constructed?
Project Team
Acknowledgements
Copyright issues

Why do we need a State of the Environment Report?  

State of the Environment (SoE) Reporting was promoted during the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Agenda 21, the international programme for sustainable development adopted at UNCED , called for improved environmental information for decision making. Since then SoE reporting has become more popular, and many countries have published their reports on the Internet.

The National State of the Environment Report on the Internet(NSOEI) for South Africa has been designed to:

• provide information to Government and agencies for improved decision making in sustainable development
• compare South Africa's environmental performance against other countries
• increase public awareness of environment and development issues
• empower people and organisations to improve their environment and quality of life for themselves and future generations

What does it tell us?  

The National State of the Environment report on the Internet for South Africa provides information on the current state of the environment, what is causing environmental change and what are we doing about it. Although the report covers most of the current environmental issues of national importance, it is not intended to provide specific "answers" to all environmental "problems" in South Africa. Rather, the aim is to improve understanding of environmental issues, and to give guidelines for sound general management and best practices. The report also compares South Africa to other countries, and shows how international treaties and agreements have been accepted and implemented. The report states where environmental data are required in order to improve decision making and performance, and makes recommendations for further research.

The term "environment" in the context of this report, refers to the natural, or biophysical environment of South Africa, as well as the social economic and political environments. The report is written to enhance decision making for sustainable development, and to this end, human factors cannot be separated from biophysical factors. Sustainable development means social, economic and political development which uses natural resources wisely and minimises impacts on natural systems.

The report is designed to assist scientists, National, Provincial and Local government officials, Environmental Advisory groups, environmental NGOs , and the public, in understanding and managing natural resources and the environment in order to move towards sustainable development.

How was the report developed?  

The first attempt to produce a National SoE for South Africa was made in 1992, when a report was submitted to the United Nations Environment Programme at UNCED in Rio de Janeiro, describing the South African environment and resource base (although South Africa could not participate fully in UNCED, but only had observer status). A prototype electronic NSoE report was then compiled by the Department of Environmental Affairs &Tourism (DEA&T) in 1995, but was not published. This report is therefore the first National State of the Environment Report on the Internet for South Africa. The Internet was chosen as the preferred medium for this report (although an overview is also available in printed format), as it is widely and freely accessible to a broad spectrum of users, it can be easily updated, modified, and added to, and it gives greater flexibility in accessing the information. In this way, the report is useful to decision makers, environmental managers, and interest groups from different backgrounds, and for different purposes. In order to make this report useful to as wide an audience as possible, it is also available in Afrikaans, iXhosa, isiZulu, and Tswana.

City state of the environment reports are being developed in parallel with the national report for the Cape Metropolitan area, Durban, Johannesburg Metropolitan area and Pretoria Metropolitan area . These will provide information on local environmental issues specific to each city, and outline what can be done to enhance sustainable development and use of natural resources at a local level. As part of the State of Environment Reporting Programme initiated by the Department of Environmental Affairs & Tourism, four provinces, namely North West, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, and KwaZulu-Natal, have recently completed preliminary State of the Environment Reports. These may also be available on the Internet in the near future.

This report has been produced by the Department of Environmental Affairs & Tourism in close collaboration with GRID-Arendal - the Global Resource Information Database in Arendal, Norway, and over 20 research institutions and specialist consultants in southern Africa. The project was funded by the Norwegian Research and Development Agency, NORAD and by DEA&T. Internet software and training were provided by GRID-Arendal and Ugland Publikit . The project was managed by the CSIR Division of Water, Environment & Forestry Technology.

The report is the result of an extensive consultation process, with inputs invited from more than 200 stakeholders, and comments invited from the general public. The issues were agreed upon as being the most important current environmental issues in South Africa at present, by a wide range of stakeholders and specialists in the natural, social, economic, and political environments. Information regarding each of these issues was gathered and interpreted by specialists in the relevant fields. This information forms the seven sections on which this report is built. Summary information from these chapters has been organised into a framework designed to provide easy access to the issue and related information. The seven sections remain as source documents providing more detailed description of the issues. This framework was developed through a series of expert workshops and general review. Earlier drafts of the report were reviewed by a panel of stakeholders, and comments were invited from the general public through the Internet. Details of contributors are given in the Acknowledgements section.

This document is the first draft of the National State of the Environment on Internet Report for South Africa, and will be updated regularly to include new data, updates on trends in environmental quality, and new environmental management indicators and recommendations. Feedback is welcomed, as part of this process of updating and improving, and comments can be sent using the button below (Click here to send comments).

The following flow diagram shows the stages in the ongoing development of the National State of the Environment Report.

	Public and Expert Consultation regarding issues to be included in the report. Issues were selected on the basis of national importance, global concern, currency, and impact on natural resources.
	Source Documents Drafted by Experts: Experts consulted widely to ensure objective reporting on the issues, drawing on insights and experience in the field.
	NSOEI Structure Developed by chapter authors and other stakeholders; to provide easy access to data, and linkages between issues. The structure was populated using information from the source documents.
	Draft NSOEI Reviewed by scientists with experience of SoE reporting, by stakeholders, and by the public.

Publication of the First Edition: To be tested and commented on by interested and affected parties.

Research and Data Collection: Research into new areas as well as monitoring of existing indicators to provide updates.		Continuous Updating and Expansion: Of the NSoEI report.

How to read this report:  

This report has 3 main sections; the biophysical environment, the human environment, and causes of - and responses to - environmental change in South Africa.

The biophysical environment includes atmospheric resources and climate change, terrestrial resources, freshwater resources, and marine and coastal resources. The situation in each case is reported in terms of cause and effect, i.e. what factors and influences are causing environmental problems, what the current status is, and what is being done or should be done to alleviate environmental problems which impact on human health and quality of life.

The social, economic and political environments are described in terms of historical and current influences on society, the economy, and legislation, and how these impact on the sustainability, integrity and use of natural resources in South Africa.

The sections on "what is causing environmental change?" and "how are we responding to environmental change?" have been captured from information in the sections on the biophysical and human environments, synthesising common responses to change. This provides an integrated overview of environmental change (both positive and negative) for decision makers and environmental managers.

Sections on the biophysical environment and the human environment use the DPSIR reporting system, which describes environmental issues in terms of the following:
Driving forces These are the underlying human activities activities that lead to environmental change. They may be governmental activities, such as agricultural policies, or energy subsidisation policies, corporate activities, such as irresponsible disposal of waste or inefficient use of raw materials, or they may be consumer activities, such as private vehicle use, or recreational activities.
Pressures These are the consequent pressures on the environment and natural resources, such as increased pollution of air, water, and soil; or depletion of natural resources such as fish stocks and woody biomass.
State This section describes the current state, and where data are available, shows trends in environmental quality over time.
Impacts These are the consequences of the pressures on natural resources, such as reductions in biodiversity, soil degradation and desertification, or sea level rise.
Responses This section describes the current policies and management strategies that are in place to combat environmental degradation, the effectiveness of these policies, and recommendations for additional activities to alleviate environmental problems.

An example of the DPSIR system Issue: Global warming Driving forces (of environmental change): Burning of fossil fuels to provide energy Pressures (on the environment): "green house" gases are emitted on a large scale which trap heat in the earths atmosphere. State (of the environment): Mean annual temperatures are increasing, causing, inter alia, polar ice caps to melt, species distribution patterns to change Impacts (on ecosystems, population, economy): Coastal areas become inundated with water, affecting buildings and infrastructure, changing coastal ecosystem dynamics and harvesting of coastal resource, Response (of society): Policies and international conventions to reduce emissions of "green house" gases, mitigatory measures at the coast to control sea levels

Each of these categories is described using environmental indicators. Environmental indicators are used to assess environmental conditions and trends on a national, regional and global scale; to compare countries and regions; to forecast and project trends; to provide early warning information, and to assess conditions in relation to goals and targets. In this way, large amounts of information can be easily presented and understood, thus enhancing decision making.

Information on the environment may be difficult to evaluate in isolation. In answering questions such as: "How bad or good is the situation? Is it possible to do better?" it is important to be able to compare the situation and development of various countries. Indicators are useful means of bench-marking between countries. The indicators presented here have been selected from the list developed by the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), where they are appropriate to South Africa. A list of indicators proposed for use in the Cities State of the Environment Reports was also consulted, in order to have linkages between the two projects. This ensures local relevance, but also international comparison. Where data were not available to report on CSD indicators, or where CSD indicators were considered not to be relevant to South Africa, new indicators have been used.

An environmental indicator should:

• provide a representative picture of environmental conditions, pressure on the environment or society's response;
• be simple, easy to interpret and able to show trends over time;
• be responsive to changes in the environment and related to human activities;
• provide a basis for international comparisons;
• have a target or threshold against which to compare it so that users are able to assess the significance of the values associated with it;
• be theoretically well founded in technical and scientific terms;
• be based on international standards and international consensus about its validity; and
• lend itself to linkage with economic models, forecasting and information systems.

The primary aim of the report is to provide information and help environmental managers make sound decisions. The report has also been designed to be useful to a wide range of readers, from scholars and students to industrialists, politicians, and advisors. The Internet version has been constructed to provide easy access to the required information, whatever the reader's perspective or background. Hyperlinks have been used to connect related sections, and the search facility helps the reader to navigate according to keywords or topics.

The SoE Report on the Internet is constructed as follows:  

The first page is divided into three main sections. On the left are links to global and cities state of the environment reports. On the right are links to resources such as global indicators, maps and on line documentation. The centre part of the page contains links to the different sections of the national state of the environment report. The cooperating partners are shown as hyper links at the bottom of the page.
Choosing a topic or issue (chapter) related to the national state of the environment report, links to a page giving a brief overview of the topic. Further links provide access to information on driving forces, pressures, state, impact, response, outcomes, linkages, data issues, and references used in compiling the contents of the chapter. Additional links are provided at the top of each page, and where appropriate, links to city state of the environment reports are provided at the bottom of pages. Further links are provided in the text.

State of the Environment: Project Team  

Project manager: Rudi Pretorius, Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
Project coordinator: Anna Ballance, CSIR

Technical staff (Internet):
Rudi Pretorius, DEA&T
Charmain Kruger, DEA&T
Deon Marais, DEA&T
Lisa Grobelaar DEA&T
Annelize, Moore
Deon Marais (GIS unit, DEA&T)

Maps:
Deon Marais (GIS unit, DEA&T)

Training:
Aake Bjoerke (UNEP GRID-Arendal) Geir Andrew (Ugland Publikit)
Lawrence Hislop (UNEP GRID-Arendal)

Advisors:
Nick King (CSIR)
Pat Manders (CSIR)
Rose Smith (CSIR)
Morten Sorensen (UNEP GRID Arendal)

Acknowledgements:  

The following people attended a workshop to determine the key issues to be included in the NSOEI:

Barnard H, Greater Pretoria Metropolitan Council
Botha Dr P, Department of Environmental Affairs & Tourism
Breen Prof C, Institute for Natural Resources
Coetzee I, Department of Environmental Affairs & Tourism
Coetzee G, South African Weather Bureau
Croucamp P, Greater Durban Metropolitan Council
Dlamini Dr R, Land & Agriculture Policy Centre
Du Toit E, Department of Mineral & Energy Affairs
Ellis C S, Department of Welfare & Population Development
Emery A J, Department of Environmental Affairs & Tourism Mpumalanga
Engelbrecht J, Greater Pretoria Metropolitan Council
Fourie W, Department of Environmental Affairs & Tourism
Gerber S A, Department of Environmental Affairs & Tourism
Golding T, Department of Mineral & Energy Affairs
Grobbelaar C, Department of Mineral & Energy Affairs
Grobler M, Department of Environmental Affairs & Tourism
Knill Dr G, Group for Environmental Monitoring
Kruger C, Department of Environmental Affairs & Tourism
Layte M, Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan Council
Lutsch W, Department of Environmental Affairs & Tourism
MacDonald Dr I A W, Worldwide Fund for Nature, SA
Marais D, Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
Mathee A, Medical Research Council
Mentz I, Department of Welfare & Population Development
Minnie J, Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan Council
Mitchell S, Water Research Commission
Mokgohloa F, Department of Environmental Affairs Northern Province
Moore A, Department of Environmental Affairs & Tourism
Mosidi S, Department of Environmental Affairs & Tourism
Mothetho G, Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan Council
Mphahlele T, Department of Environmental Affairs Northern Province
Neethling H, Greater Pretoria Metropolitan Council
Nstane P, Department of Housing
Odendaal P, Water Research Commission
Pech G, Department of Transport
Pretorius Dr J R, Department of Environmental Affairs & Tourism
Prinsloo P, Cape Metropolitan Council
Pule T A, Department of Health
Roberts Dr D, Greater Durban Metropolitan Council
Ruiters C, Department of Environmental Affairs & Tourism, Mpumalanga
Scott Dr W, Department of Environmental Affairs & Tourism
Sokupa S, Department of Economic, Affairs, Environment & Tourism, Eastern Cape
Stassen R, Statistics South Africa
Swart E, Department of Mineral & Energy Affairs
Taylor K, Department of Agriculture
Tuck J, Cape Metropolitan Council
Van der Merwe J, Plan Practice Inc.
Van der Walt K, University of Potchefstroom
Van der Walt P, South African National Parks
Van Staden Dr J, Agriculture Research Council
Visagie M, Department of Trade & Industry
Willemse Dr G, Department of Environmental Affairs & Tourism
Wiseman K, Cape Metropolitan Council
Wolfson Dr M, National Botanical Institute
Worthington R, Earthlife Africa

The following people submitted written suggestions on issues to be included in the NSOEI:
Alderman C, World bank
Bailey C, CSIR, Division of Water Environment & Forestry Technology
Bally R, University of Fort Hare
Basson H S, Pretoria City Council, City Planning & Development Department
Beaty Prof, UNISA
Bentall M, East London Municipality
Conrad J, CSIR, Division of Water Environment & Forestry Technology
De Villiers A B, University of Potchefstroom
Fabricius Prof C, Institute of Social & Economic Research Rhodes University
Golding T, Department of Minerals & Energy
Hansen E, City Librarian, City Council of Pretoria
Hounsome R, CSIR, Division of Water Environment & Forestry Technology
Ireton K, Industrial Environmental Forum
Kruger A, CSIR, Division of Water Environment & Forestry Technology
Le Maitre D, CSIR, Division of Water Environment & Forestry Technology
Lloyd Dr P, University of Cape Town
Lotte Dr L, Chemical & Allied Industry Association
McCourt J, Chamber of Mines
McDonald Dr I A W, WWF-SA
Muyima Dr NYO, University of Fort Hare
Nel N Devereaux, Programme Management Services, Ministry of Finance
Noruka Dr B S, Community Services, East London Municipality
Olbrich K, CSIR, Division of Water Environment & Forestry Technology
Pollock D E, Sea Fisheries Research Institute
Pretorius Dr D, Department of Agriculture (DARC)
Reynolds Dr E, AHI
Roberts Dr Debra, Environment, Development & Planning Unit, Durban Metro
Shackleton Dr C, CSIR, Division of Water Environment & Forestry Technology
Slade Prof, UN Pietermaritzburg
Stevens P, Satour
Steyn A J, Environmental Health Officer, Port Elizabeth Municipality
Tapile E, Environmental Health Officer, East London Municipality
Van Druten E, Telkom
Van Vuuren Prof JHJ, Rand Afrikaans University
Van Zyl A H, Pretoria City Council, Transportation Engineering and Roads Department

Chapters Drafted by Experts:  

The following people contributed to the drafting of the source documents from which information in the NSOEI has been taken:

Introductory Chapter
Ballance A, CSIR, Division of Water Environment & Forestry Technology
King Dr N, CSIR, Division of Water Environment & Forestry Technology

Climatic & Atmospheric Change
Archer C, South African Weather Bureau
Brunke E, South African Weather Bureau
Coetzee G, South African Weather Bureau
John J, CSIR Division of Water, Environment & Forestry Technology
Kruger A, South African Weather Bureau
Laing M, South African Weather Bureau
Oosthuizen R, CSIR Division of Water, Environment & Forestry Technology
Scholes Dr R J, CSIR Division of Water, Environment & Forestry Technology
Van der Merwe Ms M, CSIR Division of Water, Environment & Forestry Technology
Contributions also gratefully received from A Peens of Caltex, and SAPIA

Sustainability of Terrestrial Systems and Resources
Barnard Dr R, ARC- Institute for Soil, Climate & Water
Hoffman Dr T, National Botanical Institute, Kirstenbosch Research Centre
Kruger Dr F, Consulting cc
Midgely Dr G, National Botanical Institute, Kirstenbosch Research Centre
Newby T, ARC- Institute for Soil, Climate & Water
Rutherford Dr M, National Botanical Institute, Kirstenbosch Research Centre
Scott Dr W, Department of Environmental Affairs & Tourism
Willemse Dr G, Department of Environmental Affairs & Tourism

Sustainability of Freshwater Systems and Resources
Silberbauer M, Institute for Water Quality Studies, Department of Water Affairs & Forestry
Walmsley Dr R D, Mzuri Consultants
Walmsley J J, Mzuri Consultants

Sustainability of Marine and Coastal Systems and Resources
Burns M, CSIR, Division of Water Environment & Forestry Technology
Connell Dr A, CSIR, Division of Water Environment & Forestry Technology
Makhaye S, CSIR, Division of Water Environment & Forestry Technology
Monteiro Dr P, CSIR, Division of Water Environment & Forestry Technology
Morant P, CSIR, Division of Water Environment & Forestry Technology
Taljaard S, CSIR, Division of Water Environment & Forestry Technology

The Social Environment
Bosman M, Human Sciences Research Council
Dreyer Dr L, Lynette Dreyer & Associates

The Economic Environment
Blignaut Prof J, Bureau for Economic and Policy Analysis, University of Pretoria
De Wit M P, CSIR, Division of Water Environment & Forestry Technology

The Political Environment
Fakir S, IUCN
Kruger Dr F, Fred Kruger Consulting cc
Pretorius Dr JR, Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism

Concluding Chapter
Ballance A, CSIR, Division of Water Environment & Forestry Technology
King Dr N, CSIR, Division of Water Environment & Forestry Technology

NSOEI Structure Developed

The following people contributed to the development of the NSOEI structure:
Barnard Dr R, ARC Institute for Soil, Climate & Water
Benkenstein Dr H, Department of Environmental Affairs & Tourism
Burns M, CSIR, Division of Water Environment & Forestry Technology
De Wit M P, CSIR, Division of Water Environment & Forestry Technology
Fakir S, IUCN
Ireton K, Industrial Environmental Forum
King Dr N, CSIR, Division of Water Environment & Forestry Technology
Manders Dr P, CSIR, Division of Water Environment & Forestry Technology
Newby T, ARC Institute for Soil, Climate & Water
Pretorius Dr JR, Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
Scholes Dr R J, CSIR Division of Water, Environment & Forestry Technology
Van der Merwe M, CSIR, Division of Water Environment & Forestry Technology
Walmsley Dr R D, Mzuri Consultants
Walmsley J J, Mzuri Consultants
Weaver Dr A, CSIR Division of Water, Environment & Forestry Technology
Willemse Dr G, Department of Environmental Affairs & Tourism

NSOEI Reviewed

Many people reviewed the draft version of the report on the Internet. Written comments from the following people are acknowledged with gratitude:

Bailey C,  CSIR Division of Water, Environment & Forestry Technology
Bate Prof G,  Institute for Coastal Resource Management, University of Port Elizabeth
Blignaut Prof J,  Bureau for Economic and Policy Analysis, University of Pretoria
Bosman M,  Human Sciences Research Council
Coetzee G,  South African Weather Bureau
Dini Dr J,  Department of Environmental Affairs & Tourism
Dreyer Dr L,  Lynette Dreyer & Associates
Haasbroek,  CSIR Division of Water, Environment & Forestry Technology
Hoch Prof M,  University of the Witwatersrand
Killian D,  Environmental Evaluation Unit UCT
Lotter Dr L,  Chemical and Allied Industries Association
Makhaye S,  CSIR Division of Water, Environment & Forestry Technology
Merrifield A,  CSIR Division of Building & Construction Technology
Roberts Dr D,  Durban Metropolitan Council
Schutte,  Pretoria
Silberbauer M,  Institute for Water Quality Studies, Department of Water Affairs & Forestry
Van der Merwe Dr H,  University of Stellenbosch
Van der Merwe H,  CSIR Division of Water, Environment & Forestry Technology
Wiseman K,  Cape Metropolitan Council
Zunckle M,  CSIR Division of Water, Environment & Forestry Technology

Copyright issues:  

Texts and graphics may be copied to single papers on condition that credit is given to the source.

If you wish to use parts of the SoE report for your own printing/publishing or use the photos/graphics for your own web-pages, please contact DEA&T for a separate agreement.