MINISTRY: ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS AND TOURISM REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA

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Brenda Pierce
5 years ago
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1 MINISTRY: ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS AND TOURISM REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA KENOTE ADDRESS PREPARED FOR THE HONOURABLE DEPUTY MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS AND TOURISM, MS REJOICE MABUDAFHASI. OCCASION: WORLD WETLANDS DAY 2009 CELEBRATION AT CRAIGIEBURN WETLAND, BUSHBUCKRIDGE, MPUMALANGA, MONDAY, 2 nd FEBRUARY 2009 SOUTH AFRICA S CELEBRATION FOCUSES ON INKOMATI CATCHMENT. THEME: Catchments Management, We all live downstream Mpumalanga MEC for Agriculture and Land Administration, the Hon D.D Mabuza Executive Mayor of Enhlanzeni District Municipality the Executive Mayor Cllr C.N Mkhonto Executive Mayor of Bushbuckridge local Municipality the Executive Mayor Cllr M.J Morema CEO Inkomati Catchemnt Management Agency, Ms Sizela Ndlovu Chief of Craigieburn community, Chiloane Members of the media Members of the community Ladies and Gentlemen International perspective Every year on the 2 nd February, the peoples of the world celebrate and commemorate the special history immortalised on this day 38 years ago. Governments of the world committed themselves to protect the wetlands and gave birth to Ramsar Convention on Wetlands on the 2 February 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar. The disappearance of the wetlands, the need to protect them for their values and benefits to both humankind and the ecosystem were the primary goals which led to the establishment of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. Many wetlands are international systems lying across the boundaries of two or more countries. The health of these and other wetlands is dependent upon the quality and quantity of the transboundary water supply from surface or ground water. Further, the migratory movement of many wetland dependent species necessitates international cooperative governance in order to ensure their conservation and management. 1

2 The Convention s mission is the conservation and wise use of all wetlands through local, regional, national actions and international cooperation, as a contribution towards achieving sustainable development throughout the world. Each year since the first World Wetlands Day celebration, in 1997, the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, has tried to bring a timely focus to the events by suggesting a unifying theme to highlight key messages. Wetlands Day 2009 is celebrated under the theme is Catchments Management and our country has adopted the slogan We all live down stream to make our celebration more relevant to our needs. This theme draws the attention to the need for good management of river systems to support the continuous livelihood of all biodiversity deriving benefits from water resources. National perspective South Africa became signatory to the Ramsar Convention in 1975 therefore became one of the founding members. One of the obligations of each Contracting Party is to designate wetlands of international importance, or Ramsar sites, as flagships for demonstrating conservation, good management practice and wise use of wetlands. To date, there are nineteen such sites in South Africa. Makuleke Wetlands and Prince Edward Islands were recently added to the Ramsar list. Being a Contracting Party to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands offers us opportunities to be part of a global celebration of wetlands and their value for biodiversity and human well-being. Benefits of the wetlands Wetlands play an important role in ensuring a steady supply of clean water for communities and help government save hundreds of millions that would be required to set up purification plants and the labour cost. We also preserve our rich agriculture lands during storms when the wetlands giant sponge like vegetation help to slow down destructive impact of fast flowing flood water, forces water to spread, store water when it rains and then release it slowly during dry season, helping to fight droughts. In coastal zones wetlands provide hurricane protection by creating a buffer zone between the water bodies and the land. Wetlands enable people to harvest protein-rich food such as fish, aquatic snails, oysters, reptiles and bullfrogs which are eaten widely or exploited commercially. Good food helps keep people healthy. 2

3 Various wetlands plant species have great medicinal value. In South Africa traditional medicine is the preferred primary health care choice for about 70% of people. Wetlands provide a significant amount of the tons of medicine plant material used by 28 Million South Africans every year. KZN is well endowed with river pumpkin which is used to ease childbirth, treat kidney and bladder infections. Other wetlands plant species are used to treat coughs, headaches, urinary complaints, throat ulcers, wounds and pain. The honey disa plant is used to restore the voice after an illness. The wetlands provide critical contribution in the economy. The majority of the household income is from the sale of crafts woven from fibre harvested from wetlands. Wetlands also create sustainable employment to locals as they play a bigger role in tourism attraction. Wetlands offer delightful scenery that people visit to walk and watch birds. Wetlands are important habitats for water-dependent wildlife such as hippos and cranes which add to tourism attraction. Other outdoor activities include cycling, boating, fishing, hiking, canoeing, etc that contribute to improving our lifestyles and mental well-being. Mpumalanga as focus area The celebration for this year focuses on Mpumalanga s Craigieburn Wetlands as the most ideal location to illustrate the theme of Catchment Management. This is because it is one of the country s most important water-producing regions. Four major river systems are fed from the high rainfall in the province and three major rivers, the Olifants, Crocodile and Komati start here. The Drakensberg escarpment extends through Mpumalanga, and we know that mountains are very effective for catching clouds and the rain they carry. So water is one of the most important products that this province produces. And this product is an important export for South Africa as well. For example, The Komati river flows into Swaziland and is important for the northern areas of that country. It flows eventually into Mocambique. The Crocodile also flows into Mocambique, after feeding important agricultural areas, large towns, and even Nelspruit city along the way. And the Vaal, which we all know well in Gauteng, picks up much of its water in this province, and flows through many farmlands before it finally reaches Johannesburg, then flows beyond until it joins the Gariep/Orange River. There is also the Sabie River and the Blyde River, and many others which play a variety of important roles. 3

4 These rivers all support important industries, such as sugarcane, commercial tree plantations, maize fields, fruit crops. And the water is used by many settlements, small rural settlements as well as dense urban settlements. We use our rivers and wetlands heavily and we need to use them for our own well-being. They support our food growing industry, our mining industry, our cities. We cannot survive without this water. But often we use our rivers and wetlands in ways that damage them and prevent them from providing the goods and services that we depend on. For example, we are all aware of the problems with crocodiles dying in the Olifants River. This river is affected by many different impacts, including acid mine drainage from the mining industry, agricultural chemicals from farms, and sewage from urban settlements. All of these impacts reduce the quality of the water in the system. In many sections of this river, even in Kruger National Park, crocodile populations have declined or are declining. This may result in serious economic impact as the loss of reptiles could affect tourist attraction and jobs. Throughout the high water-producing areas of Mpumalanga, there are many commercial tree plantations that use large amounts of water and have other impacts, such as erosion and roads that impact on wetland hydrology. Sugarcane is another large water user, and the trout industry has many impacts on river functioning and river health because of the many dams that are built to sustain this activity. Increasing urbanisation has seen many of the wetlands disappear. All these activities reduce wetland habitat and biodiversity, but these are all important activities economically, for food security and for recreation, and we need to find ways to continue to use our water resources without impacting on people and ecosystems downstream that also depend on those same resources. Water resource management is really the domain of my colleague in Water Affairs, but the reality is that water resources need to be managed as part of the catchments in which they are found. Any activities in a river affect ecosystems and people downstream, and anything that happens on land also affects the quality of our water. In this respect, the environmental management principles in the National Environmental Management Act are as important for how we manage our water and catchments, as the principles of the National Water Act and the Conservation of Agricultural Resources Act. Government is partnering with stakeholders to keep wetlands healthy and robust to ensure 4

5 sustained supply of resources. We are already scrutinizing all developments requests earmarked adjacent to wetlands. There are even ways to farm in wetlands without damaging their functioning. Around us in this area, there are many people who depend on the wetlands to grow their crops. Just in this village of Craigieburn, there are people who get all their household food from their wetland plots. This was an area that was affected heavily by forced resettlements during apartheid. Many people were moved here, onto these sandy soils where you cannot grow much food and the wetlands became important for growing food. But over the years the wetlands started to erode, and many farms were washed downriver. Now, there is very good work being done by the Association for Water and Rural Development (AWARD) and by Working for Wetlands to attempt to restore the original resourcefulness of this wetland. Working for Wetlands is rehabilitating the wetlands here to stop the erosion and protect the food plots, and also enable the wetland to continue providing its water purification and water storage functions. Rehabilitation restores the functioning of wetlands to a certain extent. Across the country government spends R75 million every year to rehabilitate wetlands, but it is even more important that we focus on maintaining the functioning in wetlands that are still healthy. We will go after lunch to see some of this important work. Ramsar Wetlands of International Importance We are also here today to celebrate South Africa s Wetlands of International Importance. In Mpumalanga we find a very special wetland of International Importance. Verloren Valei near Dullstroom feeds into two of our major river systems. To the west it drains into the Olifants River and to the east it drains into the Crocodile. In fact, it s on the Verloren Vallei reserve that the Crocodile starts its long journey across this province, along the southern border of Kruger National Park, and into Mozambique. Verloren Valei has a very complex network of wetlands which includes peat wetlands which enhances the water purification and water storage role of wetlands. This Ramsar site has a great diversity of plants, including many IUCN red list ground orchids. It s an important breeding site for Wattled cranes, and it provides habitat for one of the world s most rare birds, the whitewinged flufftail. 5

6 Mpumalanga is also blessed with Wakkerstroom wetland which also has a peatland, and it supports the biggest breeding population of the southern crowned crane. Because it has about 800 ha of peat, it is very important for water management. And even though it is in the middle of a town and surrounded by farms, it is still in excellent condition. Wakkerstroom town has built up a very important tourism industry, based mainly on the wetland. An application has been submitted to us for Wakkerstroom wetland to be declared a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance and the designation process has been initiated. The Chrissiesmeer area has a large concentration of unusual wetlands, about 320 permanently wet pans. There are many pans across the Northern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, North West Province and Mpumalanga, but most of these are dry salt pans that receive water only occasionally. In Chrissiesmeer, the pans are wet throughout the year. There is also a great variety of other wetlands. It is a unique area, because of its geomorphology, its hydrology, and the special biodiversity it supports. The Prince Edward Islands is first sub-antarctic Ramsar site in the world. Makuleke Wetlands is the first Ramsar Site to be jointly managed with the community in the country. By designating these unique sites South Africa was commended for the good work during COP10 at Changwon, Republic of Korea where the certificates for Makuleke Wetlands and Prince Edward Islands were awarded to our country through our department. The Convention acknowledges that countries like France, UK, New Zeland and Australia who have some overseas territories in their regions and none of them have thought to make them a Ramsar site yet will learn from us. Ladies and gentlemen I would like to congratulate the Prince Edward Islands Management Committee and Makuleke Wetlands Joint Management Board for the good work done in putting proposals for the designation of these unique wetlands and I would like to do it by handing over to them the Ramsar certificates. I would like to invite the representatives of the Prince Edward Islands and Makuleke Wetlands to come to the forth to receive their certificates. Thank you 6

WORLD WETLANDS DAY CELEBRATED AT MAKULEKE VILLAGE

CONTENTS World Wetlands Day Celebrated at Makuleke Village World Wetlands Day Celebrated in Other Provinces Contact Us WORLD WETLANDS DAY CELEBRATED AT MAKULEKE VILLAGE This year s national World Wetlands