South
African and Vietnamese officials today agreed
on a process towards the finalisation of
the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to
collaborate amongst
others on natural resource management, wildlife
protection and law enforcement.
This comes after today's
bi-lateral meeting where amongst other issues
discussed, was the issue of wildlife protection
and in particular issues pertaining to hunting
and illegal killing of rhinoceros as well
as the subsequent illegal trade in rhino
horn.
The objective of the
MoU is to promote co-operation between the
two countries in the field of biodiversity
conservation and protection, law enforcement
and compliance with CITES on the basis of
equality and mutual benefit.
The two countries have
agreed that the MoU and the subsequent implementation
plan allow co-operation in areas of biodiversity
conservation, biodiversity law enforcement,
wildlife trade, information and intelligence
sharing and gathering, permit issuing processes
and verification mechanisms, monitoring
and reporting systems, technology development
and sharing, capacity building and training,
prosecution and law enforcement, awareness,
knowledge and research, custom services
and legal systems within which the two countries
operate.
The parties also agreed
to include natural resource management,
protected areas management, community development
and sustainable livelihoods in so far as
such relate to biodiversity management.
A Vietnamese delegation
led by their Vice Prime Minister visited
South Africa recently and it was agreed
that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
on wildlife trafficking would be finalised.
The final MoU between the two countries
will be finalised once all the due processes
have been followed flowing from today’s
discussion and agreement on areas of co-operation.
The government of the
Republic of South Africa has committed itself
to creating a prosperous and equitable society
living in harmony with natural resources
and protecting the country’s rich biodiversity
heritage for the benefit of all its citizens.
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SOUTH AFRICA IS HOSTING
A CONSULTATION & CAPACITY BUILDING WORKSHOP
ON REDUCING EMISSIONS FROM DEFORESTATION
AND FOREST DEGRADATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
(REDD+)
South Africa is hosting
a consultation and capacity-building workshop
under the auspices of the Convention on
Biological Diversity, on reducing emissions
from deforestation and forest degradation
in developing countries (REDD+), with a
focus on biodiversity safeguards. The workshop
commenced on 20 September 2011 at Lord Charles
Hotel, Somerset West, Western Cape and ends
today, 23 September.
One of the key issues
facing negotiators and policy makers at
UNFCCC COP17 in Durban later this year is
how to slow the rate of greenhouse gas emissions
from deforestation and other forms of forest
degradation. These processes produce about
20% of total human-caused greenhouse gas
emissions on an annual basis. If these emissions
could be reduced, it would make a significant
contribution to achieving the global target
of keeping global warming to below 2°C.
The REDD+ agenda item has been discussed
as contributing to mitigating climate change
since the Montreal COP11 in 2005.
Decisions on developing
a mechanism for incentivising reduced emissions
from deforestation are very likely to have
implications for the management of biodiversity,
and a host of related issues for the use
and management of forest areas, especially
by indigenous peoples. For this reason,
the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
has made efforts to inform this debate and
build capacity amongst UNFCCC negotiators
in ways that will contribute positively
to ensuring that biodiversity and local
livelihoods are enhanced by a REDD+ mechanism.
The CBD has hosted a
series of four international workshops over
the past year to help build a deeper and
mutual understanding of these issues amongst
affected Parties. More than 60 experts and
negotiators from more than 20 African countries
have been engaged in the discussions at
this workshop, which is the last in a series
of four expert workshops on the links between
biodiversity and reducing emissions from
deforestation and forest degradation.
The workshops were organized
by the Secretariat of the Convention on
Biological Diversity (CBD) pursuant to CBD
decisions IX/16, IX/5 and X/33. It took
place in Nairobi, Kenya, from 20 to 23 September
2010; Singapore, from 15 to 18 March 2011;
and Quito, Ecuador, from 5 to 8 July 2011.
Funding for the series was provided by the
governments of Germany, Japan, Norway, the
United Kingdom, the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity,
and by the UN REDD Programme. The South
African workshop has been co-hosted by the
Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA)
and the South African National Biodiversity
Institute (SANBI).
“We are very grateful
to the government of South Africa for taking
the lead in linking biodiversity and climate
change objectives, together with other interested
African countries. Our success in tackling
climate change will greatly depend on maintaining
and enhancing biodiversity and ecosystem
services. REDD+ gives us a concrete opportunity
for doing this,” said Mr. Ahmed Djoghlaf,
Executive Secretary of the Convention on
Biological Diversity.
Department of Environmental
Affairs Deputy Director-General of Biodiversity
and Conservation, Mr Fundisile Mketeni,
said, “We are delighted to be able to support
the CBD in their efforts to help African
countries in gaining a deep understanding
of these issues, and allowing them to develop
well informed positions going into COP17.
This is an important contribution to building
the momentum towards achieving a good outcome
in Durban.”
CEO of SANBI, Dr Tanya
Abrahamse stated, “Having the REDD+ meeting
on African soil has given us a great opportunity
to engage with our colleagues on the continent
around common challenges and priorities
relating to deforestation, biodiversity
and climate change. We share common concerns
of poverty, capacity, resources and co-ordination,
and want to ensure that we speak with a
united voice on these matters at COP 17.”
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SOUTH AFRICA RESPONDS
TO STATEMENT BY EARTHLIFE AFRICA ON SOUTH
AFRICA’S DELEGATION TO THE UNFCCC COP17
The South African government
would like to express disappointment at
a statement issued by Earthlife Africa Johannesburg
questioning the composition of the South
African delegation to the17th Conference
of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
in Durban later this year.
The policy governing
the composition of the South African delegation
for all UN climate change meetings and Conferences
of Parties is constituted with representatives
of government, business, civil society,
labour and SALGA (local government) representatives
and also includes representatives with specific
skills, particularly from the South African
scientific community.
It must be noted that
once a part of the South African delegation,
representatives from sectors other than
Government also operate under strict code
of conduct and discipline.
This policy that draws
on expertise from across society in general
was agreed to in 2004 at the National Committee
on Climate Change to enable the South African
delegation to include very best capacity
in the country. Since then, there have been
members of the delegation drawn from a wide
range of sectors like academic, business
and the Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs)
communities. It is crucial to also add that
at the COP itself, our delegation has also
included parliamentarians and local government
representatives.
Furthermore, in order
to broaden access to negotiations by civil
society, it has been a practice – finance
permitting- for government to pay for trade
union, youth and women organizations.
The basis of the inclusion
is that all of these individuals represent
the SA government, not their respective
organizations, and are bound by the country
position. The view of government is that
the current team has been of benefit to
the SA negotiating position.
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MINISTER EDNA MOLEWA
TO LAUNCH THE ENYOKENI GREENING (TREE PLANTING)
PROJECT
Edna Molewa, the Minister
of Water and Environmental Affairs will
officially launch the Enyokeni Greening
(Tree Planting) Project in Kwa-Nongoma,
KwaZulu-Natal on Sunday, 11 September 2011.
The Department of Environmental
Affairs through its Social Responsibility
Programme – an affiliate of the Extended
Public Works Programme (EPWP) – has committed
about R3.5 million to execute this project.
This significant tree
planting initiative will see a total of
34 000 trees planted in the surroundings
of the Enyokeni Royal Palace in Kwa-Nongoma,
linked to the annual Reed Dance Ceremony.
4 000 of these trees were obtained through
a sponsorship from Vodacom. The project
is in line with initiatives aimed at combating
the effects of climate change through tree
planting and forest preservation.
His Majesty King Goodwill
Zwelithini has allocated approximately twenty
(20) hectares of land for this worthy project.
The Champions of the Environment Foundation
and USUTHU Traditional Council are also
key stakeholders in this project. The launch
of the project will also coincide with the
Zulu Reed Dance Ceremony at the Enyokeni
Royal Palace.
Traditionally maidens
remove reeds from the river and present
them to the King. The removal of the reeds
being linked to the planting of trees is
also in keeping with the principle of sustainable
development. The tree planting ceremony
combined with the Zulu Reed Dance is seen
as an awareness raising event in the build
up to the Seventeenth Conference of Parties
(COP 17) of the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in
Durban later this year.
Trees are known for
acting as carbon sinks in that they absorb
the carbon dioxide which gets emitted through
a variety of human activities including
the burning of fossil fuels. Carbon dioxide
and other Greenhouse Gases contribute to
Climate Change.
In August, Edna Molewa
who is also the Head of the South African
Delegation to COP17 said that, “If there
is any legacy we can bestow on our people
from this conference is the power of knowledge.
Knowledge not only in understanding what
climate change is and how each and every
one of us can contribute, but in knowing
that decisions we make today determine the
heritage of future generations.”
Climate change is one
of the greatest threats to sustainable development
and it is imperative that South Africans
are made aware of climate change as we continue
to look at opportunities of climate proofing
our people, our economy and our natural
resources.
