How are we responding to environmental change, and is it effective?

Please note that this section of the state of the environment report will be expanded in future to include more comprehensive on how we are responding to environmental issue to include, amongst others:

• Institutional arrangements
• Special projects and initiatives
• Information and education
• International co-operation
• Guidelines, standards
• New technologies, practices and processes
• Investments and expenditure on environment

For now, this section contains a brief overview of our responses to environmental change.

South Africa is responding to environmental change through signing of international agreements, passing of national laws and development of national policies, implementation of management strategies, and through monitoring and research. Specific examples of each of these responses are given in the relevant chapters. There are, however, some responses that are generic to most or all of the environmental changes taking place at present. The Constitution, for example, gives people the right to a healthy environment, and the right to have the environment protected against activities which are damaging or degrading. This means that fragmentation and loss of habitats, loss of biodiversity, resource depletion, pollution and waste, and the resulting loss of ecosystem functioning, can all be prevented or stopped by taking offenders to the Constitutional Court. Closely linked to this, is the increase in public awareness regarding environmental issues that has arisen in recent years. The plethora of environmental policies, and actions taken in the private sector towards more sustainable development, together with improved information and communications technology, access to information, and international awareness and pressure towards sustainable development, have raised public awareness. The participatory approach encouraged by the new government empowers individuals and communities to take action to protect their environments, for example, by lobbying against developments with negative environmental impacts.

Macro-economic reform is a response to combat environmental change in all ecosystems. The removal of subsidies from water and energy will encourage users to be more conservative, whereas in the past, these commodities were so cheap, there was no incentive to use them wisely, and considerable wastage developed. This culture of wasting resources has remained, and can only be effectively reversed by making users pay the consequences in Rands and cents. Removal of subsidies from agrochemicals will also restrict their use, and relieve some of the pressures on the land, and on aquatic systems. There are plans to reform the System of National Accounts to include natural resources as capital. This not only forces recognition of their value, but also forces the realisation that they are being used at unsustainable rates. At present we are living off our capital, instead of the interest (the renewable component), because the current accounting system does not make the value of resources explicit. Turning sustainable development into an economic issue, will ensure a faster and more effective response, than merely treating it as a political one.

Another response to all environmental change in South Africa is the White Paper on Population Policy. The exponential population growth is the underlying cause of rapid and uncontrolled urban and industrial development, habitat transformation, loss of biodiversity, resource depletion, generation of waste and pollution, and impaired ecosystem functioning. The White Paper aims to slow the growth rate and stabilise the population at 80 million by 2100. If population growth can be slowed, and eventually stopped, the use of resources at a sustainable rate, and conservation of sufficient levels of resources for future generations, are more tangible outcomes. However, even if this strategy is successful, the population will continue to grow until 2100, and the intended stable figure of 80 million is twice the current population, therefore resources will still be under intense pressure to meet human demands. The graph below illustrates 2 scenarios, the first, where population growth continues at its current rate, and therefore patterns of consumption also grow exponentially. Pretty soon all the resources will be used up, and there will be nothing left for future generations. In the second scenario, where the population is stabilised, and people use resources conservatively, there will continue to be enough resources for everyone well into the future.

At present it is difficult to determine the effectiveness of many of the responses. This is because many of the laws have been recently promulgated, and the impacts are not yet noticeable. Monitoring of the effectiveness of international conventions is also difficult. For example, the CITES convention is believed to have considerably reduced trade in endangered species or products derived from them. However, the extent of illegal trade in these items cannot be monitored, therefore it cannot be established whether trade has been reduced or not. Changes in population sizes of endangered species could be used to estimate the impact of CITES, however, if population sizes do change, it may not necessarily be due to the implementation of CITES regulations, but may be due to some other force. One of the functions of the National State of the Environment Report is to monitor effectiveness of our responses, and to make recommendations to continuously improve understanding and management. This requires continued collection of relevant, accurate data, as well as collection of new information where it is currently lacking.

Despite these problems with monitoring the effectiveness of responses, it is certain that they can only succeed if there is political will, financial commitment, continued support, and sufficient staff capacity to implement, police, and enforce compliance with laws and regulations. The plethora of new Acts and restructuring of the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism requires political and financial commitment to ensure they are operational, otherwise they merely serve to pay lip service to environmental issues. The Working for Water Programme has been enormously successful, but unless the political and financial support is maintained, the programme will fold, and all the good work will be undone. Setting standards for emissions to air and water, and setting penalties for non-compliance with these is also meaningless unless there is the staff capacity and funding to monitor emissions, and enforce regulations.

The positive swing towards improving environmental awareness and resource conservation must have the continued support of the government and the private sector, in order to truly get on the path of sustainable development. National needs must continue to receive attention in conjunction with careful environmental management and resource conservation. If social and economic issues are addressed separately from environmental issues, the "R-Strategy" scenario will prevail, leading to ecological and social collapse.

1. Fragmentation and Loss of Natural Habitats

Policy Responses

This is largely a result of uncontrolled urban, industrial, and agricultural (including afforestation) development in the interior and along the coast of South Africa, driven by rapid population growth and the need for economic growth. Responses include the legal requirements (in terms of the National Environmental Management Act) for any development of this type to undertake an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). This Assessment will investigate the extent to which natural habitats will be fragmented, transformed, or functionally damaged by proposed developments, and will make recommendations based on the findings, as to whether or not to allow the development to proceed. In terms of the Act, development must also ensure that "the disturbance of ecosystems and loss of biological diversity is avoided, or, where it cannot be altogether avoided, is minimised and remedied....". If adequately enforced, this is an effective response because the assessor must be an independent body, and developments cannot proceed if the assessment finds there will be irreversible environmental damage. However, EIAs can be very lengthy, and very costly, processes, and there is little coordination between the controlling authorities. In the coastal zone in particular, this has led to increased rather than reduced fragmentation of habitats, as projects are approved on a piecemeal basis, without consideration of the cumulative impacts of several developments in an area. In an attempt to counteract this, the Consortium for Estuarine Research and Management was established to control development activities and research in coastal areas. The National Environmental Management Act, and the recently developed National Coastal Management Policy are additional responses to enhance coordination and control of development, in terrestrial and coastal environments.

In terms of regulating forestry development and its impacts, the new Forestry Act makes provisions for more sustainable timber production, by regulating water use, enforcing strict pollution regulations, and development of criteria and indicators of sustainable forest management.

Programme/ Strategy Responses

The Spatial Development Initiatives promoted by the Department of Trade and Industry are designed to concentrate development in certain areas (such as the Wild Coast, the Maputo corridor, and the Coega harbour area). This should reduce the fragmented approach to development, by concentrating it in specified corridors. Spatial Development Initiatives are also subject to Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEAs), which consider the environmental opportunities and constraints to policies and development programmes on a regional scale. Consideration of all development projects within the specified region should identify any potential conflicts between projects, and raise awareness to cumulative impacts resulting from separate projects.

Many companies are implementing Environmental Management Plans which set guidelines for wise resource use, minimisation of impacts, and rehabilitation of degraded or damaged habitats. The mining and forestry industries have led the field in this respect so far.

2. Loss of Biodiversity

International Responses

This is prevalent in terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems, resulting from habitat loss and fragmentation, and also from exploitation of living resources. South Africa has signed the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and controls trade in endangered species through a stringent system of permits and customs control measures. South Africa has signed the Convention on Biodiversity, which aims to promote sustainable use of resources through regional cooperation. Some structures are already in place to ensure such cooperation, although it is uncertain how effective they will be.

Policy Responses

The White Paper on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of South Africa's Biological Diversity aims to promote sustainable use rather than exploitation of resources, and sharing of benefits to local communities. The latter aim is designed to empower and educate communities, thereby promoting ownership rather than alienation from natural resources, and hence recognition of the economic and ecological benefits of resource conservation. Threats to biodiversity from over-fishing, pollution and siltation of estuaries, are being tackled by the National Coastal Management Policy, which aims to establish and effectively manage a system of protected areas to maintain the diversity of coastal ecosystems, in addition to regulating resource use and pollution in coastal areas. However, these policies have not yet been passed as legislation, and will require commitment of extensive financial and human resources in order to be effective. The political desire to meet sustainable development objectives, as expressed in these far-sighted policies, requires the political will to allocate scarce resources, to ensure policy becomes legislation, and that legislation is enforced.

Programme/ Strategy Responses

Threats to biodiversity from alien invasive organisms are being tackled by government and private schemes such as The Working for Water programme. This has been remarkably successful in controlling the spread of alien vegetation, as well as generating employment, education, and awareness. However, unless further resources are committed to such programmes, very soon the gains made will be lost, and all the current effort will be negated.

3. Resource Depletion

International Responses

Resource depletion is apparent in terrestrial, freshwater, and marine and coastal ecosystems. Resources of particular concern are water, fish stocks, grassy and woody vegetation, soil, and rare and endangered species of terrestrial plants and animals. International conventions and agreements that aim to conserve these resources include conventions on shared water courses, the United Nations Law of the Sea, the Convention to Combat Desertification, and CITES. These empower South Africa to protect its own resources, and to cooperate with other countries on the protection of shared resources. Successful implementation depends on enforcement of the regulations, either through translation to national law, or via international watchdog activities.

Policy Responses

At the national level, policies and legislation aimed at reducing the rate of resource depletion include the New Water Act (which has introduced a radical new pricing structure to reflect the true cost of water to users, and makes provision for a minimum allowance per person per day). Making the user pay the full cost of inputs such as water and energy will deter users from wasting the resources and will go a long way towards promoting sustainable use. The National Coastal Management Policy aims to promote the diversity, vitality and sustainability of coastal economies and activities, ensuring that renewable resource user practices are in accord with the regenerative capacity of coastal ecosystems, and that non-renewable coastal resources are used in a manner that optimises the public interest and retains options for alternative and future uses. Licensing systems are already in place to control access to and harvesting of many marine resources, but the effectiveness of these systems is uncertain, due to shortages in policing capacity.

Programme/ Strategy Responses

Other responses include stock reduction schemes, the LandCare programme and the national grazing strategy, which are focussed on conservation and sustainable use of resources under agricultural and grazing use. The government's electrification programme should reduce the pressure on woody biomass as a fuel source, by supplying electricity to remote and or impoverished communities. However, preferences for certain fuel types, and continued population growth may override the benefits of electrification.

Investigations are under way to secure additional water resources in the future from neighbouring countries, and from desalination of sea water. However, these are stop-gap measures, and are unlikely to be economically viable. Furthermore, dependence on other countries for water supply may be a politically unstable situation. An education and awareness programme, and stringent water conservation measures (such as increased tariffs reflecting the true cost of water supply), need to be implemented in order to reduce demand to a reasonable level. Methods of supplying this reduced demand should then be investigated.

The success of many of these schemes and initiatives also depends on the level of ownership of those people affected. Several conservation authorities have established structures for greater decision making and sharing of benefits of protected areas with surrounding communities. The National Coastal Management policy also aims to ensure meaningful public participation and partnerships between the State, the private sector and civil society in order to foster co-responsibility in coastal management. Commodity forums and trusts have been established to control the quantities and prices of agricultural produce. These are positive steps towards an improved culture of stakeholder participation, and will in the long term contribute to the success of schemes for sustainable resource use.

4. Pollution & Waste

International Responses

International conventions that South Africa has signed to address problems associated with pollution and waste include the Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Montreal Protocol, the International Convention for Prevention of Pollution at Sea, and the UN Law of the Sea. South Africa and Namibia have also developed oil spill contingency plans. Again, the effectiveness of these responses lies in their enforcement, which, especially for the marine conventions, may be logistically difficult, and which in all cases, depends on financial and human resources being committed. The time frame over which certain obligations have to be met are in some cases so long that it may hinder monitoring of the effectiveness of these conventions.

Policy Responses

The White Paper on Integrated Pollution and Waste Management Policy is structured so as to promote holistic and integrated pollution and waste management through pollution prevention, minimisation at source, impact management and remediation. The National Waste Management Strategy, put forward by the White Paper, to implement this, will address the following priority topics:

• education and capacity building,
• waste inventories, reporting and data management,
• pollution prevention, waste minimisation, impact control and remediation,
• cleaner technologies, products and production,
• hazardous waste including radioactive waste, and
• legislative aspects

Various framework and sectoral policies also tackle waste and pollution at a national level, including the Dumping At Sea Control Act, the National Coastal Management Policy, the Energy White Paper, the Atmospheric Pollution Prevention Act, and the National Water Act and National Environmental Management Act. Perhaps the most over-arching is the Constitution which states that everyone has the right to an environment which is not harmful to their health or well-being. This empowers communities and individuals to protect their environments from pollution and waste, and to prosecute offenders through the Constitutional court. In practice this may not be as effective as it is in principle, due to shortages in capacity and awareness. Other tools that can be used to enforce compliance with regulations include taxation of pollution, use of pollution permits, and subsidisation of cleaner technologies, recycling, and other waste minimisation strategies. However, these too need resources in order to operate effectively.

Programme/ Strategy Responses

Other responses to pollution and waste problems include the development of Water Quality Guidelines for freshwater and marine waters, and monitoring of effluent outfalls along the coast. This is especially valuable where pollution can be attributed to a point source, and thus the pertinent regulations can be enforced.

5. Impaired Ecosystem Functioning

Impaired ecosystem functioning is the result of habitat loss and fragmentation, loss of biodiversity, resource depletion, and pollution, on their own, or in combination. All efforts to prevent, reduce or remediate these impacts should therefore have preservation of ecosystems as their ultimate objective.

Policy Responses

The New Water Act is perhaps the most revolutionary of all South Africa's legislation, as it makes provision for an "ecological reserve" which is the minimum amount of water which must remain in the river or water body, for it to function normally (i.e. not suffer reduced flow regimes). There are technicalities still to be finalised in terms of this Act, such as the exact amount of the reserve, and how preservation of the reserve will be regulated by the relevant authorities. However, this will contribute to improved water quantity and quality in future, for both human and environmental uses.

The National Coastal Management Policy has maintenance of the diversity, health and productivity of coastal processes and ecosystems as one of its goals, and the National Environmental Management Act states that damage to ecosystem functioning must be avoided. Both these policies also make provision for minimisation of impacts where they cannot be altogether avoided, and for rehabilitation of damaged and degraded ecosystems. Approval of an Environmental Impact Assessment prior to development, and conformation with an Environmental Management Plan during operation and following closure of the development, are regulations designed to enforce these aims. However, these activities increase the burden of monitoring and policing on the relevant authorities, and in turn causes delays, incurs additional costs, and reduces the level of effective coordination between projects.

Programme/ Strategy Responses

Many of South Africa's national policies and programmes, such as the LandCare programme, the Stock Reduction Schemes and the National Grazing Strategy aim to mitigate the causes of soil degradation, and desertification. If successful, these projects will contribute to sustainable use of the land, and improved plant and animal productivity. However, to be effective, the programmes must be adopted by the relevant farming communities, and monitored and encouraged by the relevant authorities. Such strategies must also be coupled with macro-economic reform, which removes subsidies that encourage damaging behaviours (such as cultivation in marginal areas, over-use of agrochemicals, and monoculture).

6. Not Meeting National Needs

National needs are economic growth, employment, peace, stability and security, alleviation of poverty, fair access to resources, and provision of infrastructure and services (in particular water, housing, electricity, sanitation, health, and education). Failure to ensure that ecosystem functioning is not impaired will only further reduce the capability to meet national needs, as human development is dependent on environmental services and resources. For example, if vegetation and soil degradation continues, the ability of the land to support agricultural crops and livestock will be even further reduced, and food security will be threatened. We therefore have to ensure that habitat loss and fragmentation is stopped, that resources are not depleted or polluted, and that biodiversity is maintained, in order to ensure proper ecosystem functioning, and ability to provide for the needs of the human population. This is what is meant by Sustainable Development; i.e. conservation of environmental resources in order to be able to provide, for the people, an increasing quality of life, sustained over future generations.

Policy Responses

The Constitution, and several sectoral policies (such as the National Coastal Management Policy and the National Water Act) make provision for equitable access to resources for all South Africans, redressing the imbalances of the past. This is effected primarily through various projects of the Reconstruction and Development Programme, such as the housing development scheme, electrification schemes, and water supply and sanitation programmes. The government is also focussing on job creation, by targeting sectors such as tourism, and by establishing nodes of development across the country (Spatial Development Initiatives).

The government also recognises the need to empower and uplift the people of South Africa. Education has received the largest share of government spending for the last 2 years, and Curriculum 2005 reforms the old education system, and includes environmental education as an integral component of every subject. The White paper on Science and Technology recognises need for further research in order to improve understanding and ultimately enhance management.

Conclusion

The prerequisites for success of any of the responses are political will, sustained commitment of financial and human resources, and effective implementation and compliance. Responses not backed up in this way are merely cosmetic responses, and will only exacerbate environmental problems in the long term. In addition, there needs to be economic and political reform, so that the environment is treated as an integral part of social and economic development, and not an alternative to it. And above all, population growth must be contained.

The Development Bank of Southern Africa predicted a drop in the fertility rate if quality of life improves, as the perception that more children are surviving would counteract the drive to have more children. Many of the responses listed above have the potential to enhance quality of life, if they are implemented and monitored effectively. This would then trigger a positive feedback loop, whereby a decline in the fertility rate would slow the rate of population increase, stabilising or even reducing the demand for natural resources. A stabilisation or reduction in demand would help ensure sustainability of the resource in the long term, and provision for future generations.