ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS SOUTH AFRICA YEARBOOK 2010/11 2010/11 ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS 9 South Africa is the third most biologically and coastal resources, fresh water and diverse country in the world. It encompasses natural forests. about 1 200 000 km2 and has about 10% Regulations in terms of the National En- of all plant species on Earth. The climate is vironmental Management: Protected Areas moderate and the land ranges from desert to Amendment Act, 2004 (Act 31 of 2004), pro- grassland to subtropical swamp, all helping vide for the proper administration of specific to create a country that contains some of the nature reserves, national parks and world world’s most diverse animals and plant life. heritage sites. South Africa has the world’s richest floral South Africa is one of only two coun- kingdom, which produces a brief but bright tries in the world to have promulgated and colourful flowering season. legislation specifically related to the World South Africa is also home to one-sixth of Heritage Convention (the other being the world’s marine species with the Indian Australia), which was adopted by the UN Ocean on the east coast and the Atlantic on in 1972. the west coast. South Africa has more spe- The country’s World Heritage Convention cies of wild animals than Europe and Asia Act, 1999 (Act 49 of 1999), stipulates that put together and a vast variety of endemic all world heritage sites must have an in- and migratory birds. tegrated management plan in place to The vision of the Department of Environ- ensure cultural and environmental protec- mental Affairs is to create a prosperous and tion and sustain able development of the equitable society living in harmony with the site. environment. The National Environmental Manage- The department aims to improve the ment: Waste Act, 2008 (Act 59 of 2008), levels of service delivery relating to waste came into effect on 1 July 2009. The Act management, pollution, air quality, adapta- provides for the drawing up of the National tion to the impacts of climate change, biodi- Waste-Management Strategy (NWMS) versity and conservation. within two years. By mid-2010, the department had devel- Policy and legislation oped a draft NWMS, which, among other The National Environmental Management: things, responds to challenges in respect of Biodiversity Act, 2004 (Act 10 of 2004), specific categories of waste and describes provides a regulatory framework to protect the application of different instruments for South Africa’s valuable species, ecosys- each waste category. The strategy is a tems and its biological wealth. It implements guide on how to reduce the amount of waste the White Paper on the Conservation and generated, recover material where possible, Sustainable Use of South Africa’s Biological recycle and reuse waste. Diversity (1997) and multilateral agreements The National Policy on the Thermal Treat- such as the United Nations (UN) Convention ment of Hazardous and General Waste was on Biological Diversity (CBD), which came implemented during 2010/11. into force in December 1993. The implementation of the asbestos regu- The National Environmental Manage- lations, promulgated in 2007/08 to prohibit ment: Protected Areas Act, 2003 (Act 57 the use, manufacture, import and export of of 2003), provides for the protection and asbestos and asbestos-containing mater- conservation of ecologically viable areas ials, is progressing well. that are repre sentative of South Africa’s bio- logical diversity, its natural landscapes and seascapes, and the management of these. At the end of September 2010, the former The Act envisages a national register Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, of protected areas, with a simplified clas- i Ms Buyelwa Sonjica, and the MECs responsi- ble for the environmental portfolio in the prov- sification system of national parks, nature inces, signed delivery agreements to realise Outcome reserves and protected environments. It also 10, which takes its cue from President Jacob Zuma’s introduces the concept of biological-diversity State of the Nation Address 2010, wherein he commit- protection and ecosystem manage ment. ted that government would ensure that the country’s Biodiversity, conservation and eco system environmental assets and natural resources are valued, management are noted as important aims protected, and continually enhanced. in policy and legislation that govern marine 2010/11 Environmental affairs – SOUTH AFRICA YEARBOOK 2010/11 192 World Summit on • responding appropriately to emerging Sustainable Development human development, economic and en- (WSSD) vironmental challenges. Johannesburg hosted the WSSD in Sep- Formal implementation of the action plan tember 2002. The agreements reached in commenced in 2010. Johannesburg are a guide to action that will take forward the UN Millennium Summit Biological diversity Declaration’s goal of halving world poverty South Africa enjoys the third-highest level of by 2015, and will incorporate decisions biodiversity in the world. The country’s rich taken by world bodies since the Rio Earth natural heritage is vast and staggering in its Summit in 1992. proportions. The biggest success was getting the world Although the country covers only 2% of to turn the UN Millennium Declaration into a the world’s land area, nearly 10% of the concrete set of programmes and to mobilise world’s plants and 7% of its reptiles, birds funds for these programmes. and mammals are found here. In terms of Targets set at the summit will have an the number of endemic species of mam- enormous impact, including the following: mals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, South • the number of people without basic san- Africa is ranked as the fifth-richest country itation and access to safe drinking water in Africa and the 24th-richest in the world will be halved by 2015 in terms of biodiversity. It is one of only 17 • collapsed fish stocks will be restored by countries that collectively contain two-thirds 2015 of the world’s biodiversity. The three inter- • chemicals with a detrimental health impact nationally recognised bio diversity hotspots will be phased out by 2020 in South Africa are the Cape Floral Region • energy services will be extended to 35% in the south, the Succulent Karoo that the of African households over the next 10 country shares with Namibia, and that of years. Maputoland-Pondoland in the east, which extends into Swaziland and Mozambique. National Framework for South Africa’s marine life is similarly Sustainable Development diverse, partly as a result of the extreme (NFSD) contrast between the water masses on the In July 2008, the Cabinet passed the NFSD. east and west coasts. The NFSD discusses the various environ- According to the White Paper on the mental and social risk areas facing South Conservation and Sustainable Use of South Africa and maps out five strategic priority Africa’s Biological Diversity (1997), over areas: 10 000 plant and animal species – almost • enhancing systems for integrated plan- 15% of the coastal species known world- ning and implementation wide – are found in South African waters, • sustaining the country’s ecosystems and with about 12% of these occurring nowhere using resources sustainably else. • investing in sustainable economic devel- The country’s natural heritage is best opment and infrastructure described according to a systematic • creating sustainable human settlements classifica tion of regions, or biomes. A biome is a broad ecological unit representing a major life zone, which extends over a large In November 2010, the Deputy Minister of area, and contains relatively uniform plant i Water and Environmental Affairs, Ms Rejoice and animal life closely connected with en- Mabudafhasi, handed over the R41-million vironmental conditions, especially climate. Mnquma Buyisela/Eco-Town as part of her Public Par- The White Paper states that South ticipation Programme in the Eastern Cape. The Mnquma Local Municipality is one of 10 munici- Africa is one of six countries in the world palities identified to be the recipients of the Buyisela/ with an entire plant kingdom within its Eco-Town concept. The project entails the installation of national confines. The Cape Floral King- bins, equipment and street furniture; the construction of dom has the highest-recorded species gateways and storage facilities; the planting of trees and diversity for any similar-sized temperate or ornamental plants; upgrading of public facilities; clearing of open spaces; and the establishment of food gardens. tropical region in the world. The project created 283 jobs for the local community Other biomes in the country are also of The Department of Environmental Affairs has set global conservation significance. For exam- aside R400 million for the Buyisela Eco-Towns Pro- ple, one-third of the world’s succulent plant gramme. species are found in South Africa. 193 SOUTH AFRICA YEARBOOK 2010/11 – Environmental affairs There are eight major terrestrial biomes, usually only found along rivers or on rocky or habitat types, in South Africa, which can, hillsides. in turn, be divided into 70 veld types. Common animals include the bat-eared fox, ostrich, spring hare, tortoises and brown Savanna Biome locust. The riverine rabbit is a threatened The Savanna Biome is the largest biome in species found in the Nama-Karoo Biome. southern Africa, occupying 46% of its area, This biome includes the Namaland area and over one-third the area of South Africa. of Namibia, and the central Karoo area of This biome is an area of mixed grassland South Africa. and trees, and is generally known as bush- Because of low rainfall, rivers are non- veld. perennial. Cold and frost in winter and high In the Northern Cape and Kalahari sec- temperatures in summer demand special tions of this biome, the most distinctive trees adaptations from plants. The vegetation are the camel thorn (Acacia erioloba) and of this biome is mainly low shrubland and the camphor bush (Tarchonanthus campho- grass, with trees limited to water courses.