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Mr Master of Ceremonies, Mrs Dowdeswell, honoured guests from countries all over the world, ladies and gentlemen, allow me first to welcome our foreign guests to our country and to this symposium. My congratulations to those who received the Global 500 Awards last night. I trust that the Awards will spur other groups and individuals here and abroad to greater involvement in environmental matters. Governments all over the world need all the help they can get to improve the quality of life of the people.

Ladies and gentlemen, you will hear during the course of the day how we in South Africa work together to conserve biodiversity and how we utilise this diversity to the advantage of our people. We are, of course, still in the process of transition from the discriminating policies of the past to a more democratic and equitable society.

THE RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

It will take some time to change policies and bureaucracies of the past and to realign them with the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) of the Government of National Unity. I can, however, assure you that within my Department it proved to be easier than I at first expected.

The reason for this can perhaps be best explained by the ultimate goals of the RDP, which shares some of the same objectives as environmental conservation. Both have the improvement of the quality of life of the people in common. The immediate objectives of the RDP are to supply shelter, water, sanitation, energy and education to all our people. This will of course alleviate the impacts of present living conditions on the environment.

In the meantime, the Department has adapted its budget and programmes for this and future financial years to fit the requirements of the RDP. Amongst others, we are developing new policies in the following fields:

a new overall integrated environmental policy;
a new fisheries policy;
an integrated pollution control policy;
guidelines and policies for development control and environmental impact assessment;
guidelines for environmental resource economics;
a Local Agenda 21;
a new national nature conservation plan in line with the Convention on Biodiversity;
standardisation of legislation and a policy on endangered species for our commitments to Cites;
a national tourism policy and restructuring of the present tourism structures;
a national wetlands policy in line with the Ramsar Convention;
a coastal management policy;
restructuring of the National Parks Board and National Botanical Institute;
a policy on global climate change for our commitment to the Framework Convention on Climate Change, and
a new policy on the handling of hazardous substances to comply with the requirements of the Basel Convention.

Some of these projects were embarked upon before the elections last year and are in an advanced state. What differ from pre-election policies is that we consult widely with communities and stakeholders before finalising any policy.

You will agree that there are many options and models and that the biggest problem facing us, will be to select the best policy options, strategic priorities and sustainable management model for South Africa. Since environmental concerns impact on all governmental functions, it will never be easy to satisfy all critics. Present environmental policy is contained in many documents, legislation, regulations and international agreements. It will probably always stay that way, because the environment knows no boundaries and deals with almost all aspects of human life.

I share the visionary approach of the World Conservation Union to strive for development that provides real improvements in the quality of all human life while at the same time, it conserves the vitality and diversity of natural systems. Living sustainable depends on accepting a duty to seek harmony with people and nature. This approach is in line with present thinking in South Africa and it also supports the principles of the RDP. With the proliferation of environmental functions among various departments and the adding of environmental conservation to the functions to provincial authorities, the main priorities should be to better co-ordinate and to supply our provincial authorities with the required guidelines and expertise to fulfil their functions efficiently and in line with national policy.

The following developments necessitated a review of present environmental policies:

constitutional changes which resulted in greater environmental responsibilities for provincial governments;
greater emphasis on environmental policy in tandem with economic policies and development planning;
greater involvement in regional and international affairs;
the vision and objectives of the RDP and ensuing White Paper;
the role and responsibility of commerce and industry;
the interrelationship between tourism and nature conservation;
the critical influence of population growth on the environment;
the seriousness of pollution, particularly toxic waste and littering;
the appreciation of the sensitivity and national importance of fragile areas such as the coastal zone;
the need for constructive involvement in rural and urban development;
new concepts in environmental law; and
increased accents on the principles of equity, public involvement, accountability and transparency.

The processes, such as research and consultation, to produce environmental policies are dynamic. One cannot produce a perfect policy overnight. So, policy formulation will be a dynamic process involving the public, NGO's, other central government role-players and provincial authorities.

I must also remark that disadvantaged communities perceive any environmental policy as something dealing with nature and animals. They do not perceive it as a subject dealing with their quality of life. We will have to devise ways and means to bring this important aspect to the attention of our people, through better environmental education programmes.

BIODIVERSITY.

You will hear from other speakers today about the challenges facing South Africa with the conservation of the immense biotic diversity in South Africa and the sustainable use of that diversity.

Suffice for me to say is that the diversity of this country is only matched by the rain forests of the world and that this fact is amply illustrated by the following statistics:

South Africa is the only country keeping in trust for the global community, one of the six accepted floral kingdoms of the world, almost entirely within the boundaries of one of our provinces. I am of course referring to the Cape Floral Kingdom of the Western Cape. Table Mountain alone hosts more plant species than the entire United Kingdom.
South Africa is home to more than 22 000 species of flowering plants, of which more than 1 000 species are regarded as trees.
220 of the 325 marine fish families of the world occur in our waters.
880, or 10%, of the world's bird species occur here.
300 species of mammals can be found here.

With this global heritage of biodiversity in mind, because we recently signed the Biodiversity Convention and because we celebrate this year the centenaries of the Hluhluwe/Umfolosi Game Reserves and of sea fisheries research, the local theme for World Environment Day is Diversity is Life. With this theme, and with the actions described earlier, we want to illustrate how we, the peoples of this great and beautiful country, stand united for the global environment.

I wish you all an informative and fruitful symposium and trust that our international guests will enjoy their further stay in South Africa.

Thank you.

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