PROTOCOL
The Consul-General
of South Africa Mr Vika Khumalo,
The SA Pavilion Director Ms Grace Khoza,
Distinguished guests from various state
institutions in the People’s Republic of
China,
Representatives from other African countries
gathered here today,
Senior Officials from South Africa,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Welcome to you all to the occasion of the
Official Opening of the Environment and
Climate Change Theme at the South African
Pavilion here at the 2010 Shanghai World
Expo. Your presence here today is truly
appreciated. South Africa’s participation
here at the Shanghai Expo signifies the
maturation of a friendly and strong relationship
between our two nations. The Shanghai World
Expo is of global significance, providing
a unique opportunity for us to bring South
Africa to the world and engage with other
countries on this formidable stage. Congratulations
to the People’s Republic of China on the
successful hosting of this spectacular event.
Let us take a moment
to reflect on the overall theme for the
Expo namely, “Better Cities: Better Life”
and what this means in a global context
from a sustainable development perspective.
Just last month, leaders of the world met
in New York to review the Millennium Development
Goals or MDGs as we know them. We came away
with the realization that there is still
much more that needs to be done globally
if we are to attain these targets, which
our heads of state committed to ten years
ago. Working together we can achieve more
and the “Better Life” which so many peoples
aspire to.
The South African theme
for our pavilion is “South Africa: The rise
of a modern economy - Ke nako”. “Ke nako”
literally translated from Sesotho, one of
our officials languages means “it is time”.
And yes indeed distinguished guests, ladies
and gentlemen, it is time! It is time for
decisive action to safeguard our environment
for present and future generations and to
combat the ravages of run-away climate change.
Hence the appropriateness of the theme for
this month “Environment and Climate Change”
which bears testimony to the pressing need
for us join forces and act decisively and
to act now!
South Africa is moving
“Towards a resource efficient, low carbon
and pro- employment growth path”. We are
keen to pursue “labour intensive green growth”
that contributes to sustainable development
and the eradication of poverty.
During the course of
this month, we will afford you information
about our unique biodiversity and natural
heritage, as South Africa is blessed with
a rich and diverse abundance of animal and
plant species. We will share with you our
pioneering transfrontier conservation work
in Southern Africa, which is about conservation
beyond the borders of our country, an important
step towards playing a meaningful role in
conserving the natural estate of the region.
Being a water-scarce
country, South Africa faces a challenge
of water quantity. Climate change may worsen
this situation. Through innovative conservation
measures, we would like to share our experiences
in tackling these multiple challenges through
rainwater harvesting and desalination as
well as water recycling.
Air quality is an important
and challenging environmental issue particularly
in urban and industrial areas not only in
South Africa, but in some of the developing
countries. In this regard we are taking
concrete steps through the implementation
measures prescribed in our national air
quality legislation, innovation and exploration
of cleaner technologies. Furthermore we
are proud to say that we have an active
Oceanographic and Atmospheric Science Research
programme, with research stations in the
Southern Ocean and Antarctica.
Climate change is one
of the most serious and urgent global challenges,
which demands a global solution taking into
account different historical responsibilities
we have for current levels of emissions,
and the common responsibility we share for
the future. As a responsible global citizen
South Africa is committed to contribute
its fair share to the global effort to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions and is also identifying,
in detail, the current and future impacts
of climate change to inform the formulation
of adaptation strategies and programmes.
On the 6th December
2009, President Zuma announced that South
Africa would take nationally appropriate
mitigation actions to deviate its emissions
trajectory relative to Business As Usual
scenario based on current emissions levels
depending on the provision of financial
support, technology availability, transfer
and capacity building. We believe that implementing
nationally appropriate adaptation and mitigation
programmes within our respective countries
is vitally important. We are here to share
experiences and best practices in this regard
and my colleague, the Minister of Science
and Technology will be holding a joint seminar
on this issue later this month.
South Africa and China
are members of the BASIC Group of countries
together with India and Brazil. The BASIC
Grouping is emerging as one of the most
important formations in the climate change
negotiations. As like-minded developing
countries in the International Climate Change
arena, where the stakes are high and the
pressure to find a fair and equitable solution
is becoming more and more pressing, we are
very pleased to have China as a partner
in advancing the position of the developing
world on climate change issues.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
you will be pleased to know that a little
more than six weeks ago during the Presidential
visit to China, the Governments of the People’s
Republic of China and the Republic of South
Africa signed the Memorandum of Understanding
thereby formalizing our cooperation relationship
in the environmental field. The MoU creates
a platform for exchange of expertise, enhance
our capacities to perform environmental
monitoring, compliance and enforcement,
as well as promote environmental technology
for mutual benefit for the people of both
our countries.
Since our government’s
decision to participate in the Shanghai
World Expo, we have worked tirelessly to
showcase the diversity and the attractive
features of South Africa to the world. The
putting together of the Environment and
Climate Change Theme represents the culmination
of much hard work on the part of the officials
from the South African Departments of Environmental
Affairs, Science and Technology, Water Affairs
as well as department of Energy.
I would like to take
this opportunity to thank the government
of the Peoples Republic of China for so
graciously hosting us and providing us with
this opportunity to showcase our beautiful
country on a global stage here in the wonderful
city of Shanghai.
As this pavilion represents
a little piece of South Africa I would like
to in closing repeat a Confucius saying
which states: "friends have come from
afar, how happy we are!" With that
said, It gives me great pleasure to declare
the Environment & Climate Change Theme
at the South African Pavilion at the Shanghai
World Expo officially open.
I THANK YOU.
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ADDRESS BY DEPUTY MINISTER
REJOICE MABUDAFHASI AT THE HIGH LEVEL MINISTERIAL
SEGMENT OF THE CONFERENCE OF PARTIES (COP
10) HELD IN NAGOYA, JAPAN
27 OCTOBER 2010
South Africa wishes
to join the other delegates in thanking
the Japanese government and its people for
the warm welcome and hospitality we are
receiving in this beautiful City of Nagoya.
It is indeed a great honor and privilege
for me to address this panel, which forms
part of the High Level Segment of the tenth
Conference of Parties (COP 10).
South Africa’s vision
is to contribute to the conservation of
biodiversity across the region and to sustain
the country’s economic and social development
in harmony with the developmental, spiritual
and cultural values of its people. The biological
heritage that South Africa as a mega-biodiverse
country possesses, coupled by its associated
traditional/indigenous knowledge developed
by South Africans on the use and application
of these resources, constitutes a critical
element that underpins a large proportion
of our economy and human well being.
Many of the urban and
rural peoples directly depend on our mutually
supporting natural and cultural heritage
assets for jobs, food, shelter, medicines
and spiritual well being.
The World Summit on
Sustainable Development and subsequent COP
decisions called on us to develop an international
regime on ABS. The time has now come for
us to take decisive action that will give
effect to the third objective of the CBD.
It is in the interest of the global community
and future generations that South Africa
calls for the finalisation here in Nagoya,
of a legally binding Protocol on ABS.
The Protocol on ABS
must remain balanced and comprehensive enough
to embrace the issues and core principles
of Access, Benefit Sharing and Compliance.
It must provide for the recognition of the
traditional knowledge and most importantly
the need for a strong compliance mechanism
with possible sanctions and remedies in
the case of non-compliance to the Protocol.
Chair, the somewhat
gloomy scenario of biodiversity conservation
globally as presented by the third Global
Biodiversity Outlook, indicates that our
failure to reach the 2010 targets were as
a result of among others, limited financial,
human and technical capacity and the lack
of economic valuation of biodiversity.
It is therefore incumbent
upon us as a global community that shares
biodiversity as a common heritage to take
this review as a wake-up call for urgent
action. Such action, Chairperson, should
involve targeted interventions that will
remove these and other identified obstacles.
Chair, we note that
the draft post 2010 CBD strategic plan is
comprehensive and ambitious enough to address
those obstacles that were largely responsible
for our failure to meet the 2010 targets.
However, successful implementation of the
post 2010 strategy will depend largely on
the commitment to predictable, adequate,
timely and increased funding and resources.
Chair, while it may
be important to explore the policy options
on innovative financial mechanism, we must
admit that most of these proposed mechanisms
remain unclear especially in the absence
of clear principles and guidelines.
We note that some of
these mechanisms have bad precedence and
that most of these proposals appear market-based
with potential to replace the already inadequate
existing mechanisms. We therefore wish to
emphasise that these proposed mechanisms
should not increase the burdens of developing
countries and further plunge them into spirals
of debt.
Chair, South Africa
recognizes the role of biodiversity and
ecosystem services in the attainment of
the Millennium Development Goals. To attain
this, we cannot over-emphasize the role
of indigenous knowledge, the role of women,
youth, and that of the indigenous and local
communities.
Furthermore, South Africa
is convinced that these stakeholders are
crucial in contributing to the achievement
of the CBD’s objectives, strategic plan
and a range of its programs of work.
The destruction of our
natural environment and the associated impacts
that it brings such as biodiversity loss,
climate change and desertification has an
ever greater impact on vulnerable groups
and on women and children in particular.
Access to relevant biodiversity
information, such as made accessible through
the Global Biodiversity Information Facility
(GBIF) of which South Africa is an active
participant, can assist women and men from
communities in becoming more resilient,
improve their livelihoods, protect the natural
environment and secure a better future.
Chair, the synergies
between climate change and biodiversity
are obvious. South Africa recognizes the
need for CBD to provide biodiversity relevant
information to the processes under the UNFCCC,
while respecting the differences in their
legal mandates and composition.
Chair, South Africa
has a Biofuels Industrial Strategy which
takes into account the possible impacts
of biofuel production and use on biodiversity.
In this regard, South Africa would favour
a precautionary approach which is characterized
by continued research to address the scientific
uncertainties, recognition of socio-economic
conditions such as food, water, and land
tenure and energy security.
We welcome the ongoing
process that is underway pertaining to the
Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform
on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).
South Africa notes that the envisioned platform
shall seek to strengthen the science-policy
interface for biodiversity and ecosystem
services, long term human well being and
sustainable development. South Africa would
like that we rely on science in decision
making.
Conclusion
Finally, Chairperson,
our expectation is that that Nagoya should
provide a firm commitment and support mechanisms
that should promote capacity building, technology
development and transfer, South-South cooperation,
resource mobilization and effectively address
biodiversity loss.
Distinguished delegates,
the satisfactory outcome of these negotiations
in the context of a shared new vision for
the next decade will send a positive message
to our commitment to humanity, particularly
the poor and the vulnerable. The journey
from Johannesburg which started at the dawn
of the millennium culminating in the International
Year of Biodiversity has provided important
lessons for us all. Let us take the hard
lessons learnt on this road and recommit
ourselves to the global sustainable agenda.
Thank you
Tenth meeting of the
Conference of the Parties to the Convention
on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 10), 18-21
October 2010, Nagoya, Japan.
The Convention on Biological
Diversity was opened for signature at the
United Nations Conference on Environment
and Development in Rio de Janeiro in June
1992. It entered into force on 29 December
1993 and currently has 193 Parties (as of
12 October 2010). The principal objectives
of the Convention, to be pursued in accordance
with its relevant provisions, are the conservation
of biological diversity, the sustainable
use of its components and the fair and equitable
sharing of the benefits arising out of the
utilization of genetic resources, including
by appropriate access to genetic resources
and by appropriate transfer of relevant
technologies, taking into account all rights
over those resources and to technologies,
and by appropriate funding. South Africa
ratified the Convention in 1995.
Conference of the Parties
The governing body of the Convention is
the Conference of the Parties, established
under Article 23. Its key functions are
to keep under review the implementation
of the Convention and to steer its development.
Other important functions of the Conference
of the Parties include adoption of the budget,
the consideration of national reports, the
adoption of protocols or annexes and the
development of guidance to the financial
mechanism. A list of functions of the COP
under the Convention is set out in Article
23. To date there has been nine meetings
of the Conference of the Parties.
The tenth meeting of
the Conference of the Parties will take
place in Nagoya, Japan, from 18 to 29 October
2010. It will include a High-Level Ministerial
Segment organised by the host country in
consultation with the Secretariat and the
Bureau. The High Level Segment will take
place from 27 to 29 October 2010 at the
Nagoya Congress Centre in the City of Nagoya.
The High-Level Segment will be preceded
on 24-26 October by a Summit on Cities and
Biodiversity as well as a meeting on Parliamentarians
and biodiversity. A meeting of the heads
of bilateral and multilateral donors agencies
will be held on 26 October as well as a
meeting of private donors meeting. A High-Level
dialogue on business and biodiversity will
be held in the evening of 28 October in
conjunction with MESSE Nagoya.
The Republic of South
Africa will be participating in the tenth
meeting of the Conference of the Parties.
A national delegation comprising of officials
from the Departments of Environmental Affairs;
Science and Technology; Agriculture, Forestry
and Fisheries; International Relations and
Cooperation; Science and Technology; Parliament;
South Africa National Biodiversity Institute;
South African National Parks; Provincial
Governments and Local Municipalities. The
Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs
will lead the delegation.
The following are key
issues for South Africa at the tenth meeting:
International Regime on Access and Benefit-sharing,
Progress toward the 2010 biodiversity target,
including national reports and the Global
Biodiversity Outlook, Revised Strategic
Plan, biodiversity target and indicators,
Operations of the Convention, including
programme of work for the period 2011-2022
and periodicity of meetings of the Conference
of the Parties, Strategy for resource mobilization,
Biofuels and biodiversity, and Invasive
alien species.
The tenth meeting has
been preceded by the fifth meeting of the
Conference of the Parties serving as the
meeting of the Conference of the Parties
to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety which
took place from 11-15 October 2010. The
Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, which is
a Protocol to the Convention on Biological
Diversity, is an international agreement
which aims to ensure the safe handling,
transport and use of living modified organisms
resulting from modern biotechnology that
may have adverse effects on biological diversity,
taking also into account risks to human
health. It was adopted on 29 January 2000
and entered into force on 11 September 2003.
It establishes an advanced informed agreement
procedure for ensuring that countries are
provided with the information necessary
to make informed decisions before agreeing
to the import of such organisms into their
territory.
KEYNOTE ADDRESS DELIVERED
BY THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF WATER AND ENVIRONMENTAL
AFFAIRS, MS REJOICE MABUDAFHASI, MP, DURING
THE MEETING TO PROMOTE INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES
IN TRANSFRONTIER CONSERVATION AREAS TO THE
BUSINESS COMMUNITY IN NAGOYA, JAPAN
25 October 2010
Honourable Ministers,
Members of the Diplomatic
Corps
Distinguished Guests
from various business entities in Japan,
Ladies and gentlemen
My fellow Ministers
and I are delighted and honored to welcome
you all to this business meeting where we
will show case transfrontier conservation
areas that straddle the borders of 9 Southern
African countries and the business opportunities
available in these areas for consideration
by the business community. Your presence
here today is truly appreciated
Southern Africa has
recently enjoyed significant global coverage
during the successful hosting of the 2010
FIFA World Cup. This event provided us with
an unprecedented opportunity to shape the
image of our region and to highlight our
tourist attractions and business opportunities.
We showed the world that working together
we can do more. We were delighted to see
the Japanese team proceeding to the next
round on the African soil.
Your culture of success
and perseverance in running businesses has
encouraged us to see Japan as a potential
partner. Your businesses are not just successful
but sustainable.
This has encouraged
us to invite you that we share with you
our singular success story on pioneering
transfrontier conservation work, which is
about cross border conservation, an important
step towards playing a meaningful role in
conserving the natural estate of the region.
Transfrontier Conservation Areas connect
our countries and ecosystems and enable
us to work together in conserving our unique
and significant biodiversity in these shared
ecosystems while promoting cultural heritage
preservation and economic growth through
tourism development.
After all, most of the
southern Africa’s key tourist attractions
such as the mighty Victoria Falls, the majestic
Ukahlamba-Drakensberg, the extensive Okavango
Delta, the great Fish River Canyon, Kruger
National Park, expansive deserts and spectacular
rivers are located in transfrontier conservation
areas.
Transfrontier conservation
areas have been instrumental in cementing
cooperation of the southern African countries
and we have been cooperating in the area
of conservation and tourism development
for more that a decade. We believe that
nature-based tourism is a conservation tool
as it creates an enabling environment for
conservation to pay for itself and improve
the well being of local communities.
We further believe that
investment in tourism facilities, supporting
infrastructure and services will unlock
the tremendous potential of the industry
to address current regional development
needs and contribute to the achievement
of at least two Millenium Development Goals
of eradicating extreme poverty and ensuring
environmental sustainability.
Ladies and gentlemen,
you will be pleased to note that we have
packaged 51 investment projects in 7 transfrontier
conservation areas that straddle the borders
of 9 southern African countries (Angola,
Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia,
South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe).
The projects range from rustic to five star
luxury accommodation facilities. The bulk
of the products are in the mid-range category
of accommodation and opportunities include
three and four star lodges, house boats
and hotels. The total estimated value of
packaged investment opportunities is ZAR
1 billion (US$ 167 million).
The investment promotion
process was launched in October 2008 and
so far 4 projects have secured investors.
47 projects are still available and they
will be presented to you in this meeting.
I trust that business
people gathered here today share our philosophy
that emphasizes the importance of a healthy
relationship between nature, commerce, culture
and community. I trust that your participation
in this meeting will be rewarding and would
like to thank you once again for your attendance.
Without partnerships
and investment, conservation cannot benefit
those whose survival is dependent on it.
Let us therefore work together to create
new opportunities that utilize the unique
offerings in our region. Let us take delight
in the connections between us and focus
our collective creativity, ingenuity and
passion on sharing the treasures of our
beautiful region with the rest of the world.
I would like to take
this opportunity to thank the government
of Japan for hosting the tenth meeting of
Conference of the Parties to the Convention
on Biological Diversity and the Secretariat
of the Convention on Biological Diversity
for allowing us to showcase our beautiful
region against the backdrop of the Conference
of the Parties meeting.
I thank you.
