Launch of the State of Environment Reporting in South Africa by the Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism: Mohammed Valli Moosa - 26 October 1999 in Johannesburg

Good morning Ladies and Gentlemen,

As the second millennium draws to a close, 20 percent of South African households and one sixth of the global population lives in poverty, many without proper housing, water supply, sanitation, waste disposal services, as well as limited access to health care and education.

In contrast, the wealthiest 10% of South Africans account for 35% of all expenditure; they use many more resources and create more waste.

This is mirrored in the global environment where a tenfold reduction in resource consumption by developed nations is required to ensure adequate provision of resources for developing countries.

The greatest challenge facing South Africa therefore, and indeed, the rest of the world, is to improve quality of human life for both present and future generations, without depleting our natural capital.

This can only be achieved, ladies and gentlemen, if we have a healthy natural environment, which can supply us with raw materials, absorb and treat our waste products, and maintain water, soil and air quality.

Food security, water provision and climate stability depend on having properly functioning ecosystems, maintained levels of biodiversity, sustainable rates of resource extraction, and a minimal production of waste and pollution.

To this end, in 1992 the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development adopted developed Agenda 21 as the global strategy for sustainable development.

South Africa has taken several steps to implement Agenda 21 at a national and local level, including reforming environmental policies, ratifying international agreements and participating in many global and regional sustainable development initiatives.

In accordance with chapter 40 of Agenda 21, we are also striving to empower our people through enhanced access to information, including environmental information.

Environmental information provides individuals, communities, organisations, and government with the tools with which to improve the quality of their environment, and therefore the quality of their life.

The benefits also extend beyond South Africa's borders as we can assist in global monitoring of environmental change and the development of global and regional environmental management strategies.

Today we are taking the first steps towards improving access to environmental information with the launch of the State of Environment Reporting in South Africa.

Although today is the beginning, we are already able to provide information on national environmental issues, selected local environmental issues and make comparisons between them and with other countries and cities around the world.

But the State of Environment Reporting goes further than describing the environment: It tell us what is causing environmental change, how environmental change impacts on the quality of life and our ability to improve it, and what we can do to mitigate negative environmental changes.

In this way it is an effective tool for individuals, communities, organisations and governments to implement effective environmental management.

Local governments in particular have a key role to play in implementing the principles of Agenda 21 and this reporting will facilitate their ability to make sound management decisions.

However, information is only effective if it is supported by other mechanisms, such as the capacity of decision makers to strive for improved environmental quality, and their financial resources to monitor environmental conditions and implement intervention strategies where necessary.

My Department places a high premium on access to information and building capacity to improve environmental management in South Africa.

We are therefore grateful, Mr Ambassador, to the Norwegian Government and NORAD, in particular, for providing funding to initiate state of the environment reporting in South Africa.

We also value the institutional cooperation between my department and GRID-Arendal in Norway.

We share the same vision and it is my sincere wish that we continue building this relationship so that we can extend our knowledge and expertise to benefit SADC and other countries in Africa.

On a national level a common set of core environmental indicators must be developed with the assistance of all relevant stakeholders.

These will not only assist reporting on the environment, but will also assist us in setting up the necessary monitoring and reporting mechanisms to support integrated state of the environment reporting.

On a provincial level, Gauteng, Mpumalanga KwaZulu-Natal and North West province have started SOER processes. We need to get the other provinces on board as well.

In the long-term, the challenge for my department and the four cities will be sustainability to ensure the continued success of the programme.

This project marks an important achievement as South Africa is the only country in Africa to have completed City State of the Environment Reports for the international City Environment Reports On Internet programme.

In conclusion, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to thank all those who made this possible: NORAD for providing funds, GRID-Arendal who provided training and technical advice, Ugland-Publikit for software development, the staff who worked on the reports for the Metropolitan Council in Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg and Pretoria, the CSIR, the many technical consultants, and last but not least, the dedicated staff of my department.

Today we are giving the people of this country access to a very powerful tool: the knowledge of the environment in which they live and work.

I hope that through reporting we will raise awareness in our country of environmental issues and the importance of preserving it for generations to come.

I thank you.