‘Government commitment to sustainable development will ultimately be judged by actions not words’
- Friends of the Earth
The primary responsibility for co-ordination and implementation of sustainable development programmes rests with governments. Integrating sustainability into national development policies is one of goals of the United Nations Millennium Declaration, which South Africa has endorsed.
National Framework for Sustainable Development
In July 2008, the Cabinet passed the National Framework for Sustainable Development (NFSD). The NFSD is designed to “initiate a broad framework for sustainable development in South Africa that can serve as a basis from which to develop and consolidate a national strategy and action plan”. The NFSD proposes a national vision, principles, trends, strategic priority areas, and a set of implementation measures that are intended to enable and guide the development of the national strategy and action plan.
The NFSD discusses the various environmental and social risk areas facing South Africa and maps out five strategic priority areas.
- Enhancing systems for integrated planning and implementation.
- Sustaining our ecosystems and using resources sustainably.
- Investing in sustainable economic development and infrastructure.
- Creating sustainable human settlements.
- Responding appropriately to emerging human development, economic and environmental challenges.
The NFSD states that in order to embark on the journey (‘to a sustainable, economically prosperous and self-reliant nation’) it needs various things – a robust institutional framework, an action plan or roadmap to make sense of the five strategic priority areas, and “to ensure that everyone is on board and stays on board …for this we need ongoing consultation and communication”.
And it is this last requirement which sees the government holding regular national summits to which all interested parties are invited to attend. Critics say that South Africa does not actually having a national co-ordinated policy on sustainable development. It’s still on its way to developing one.
New Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) regulations
The new regulations, effective 2 August 2010, are aimed at improving the efficiency and effectiveness of EIA. It also introduces an approach where impacts associated with the sensitivity of the receiving environment are treated with more care; achieved through the introduction of a Listing Notice dedicated to activities planned for predefined sensitive areas. The lists of activities requiring environmental authorization prior to commencement have also been revised.
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LOOKING FOR REVENUE
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A RECYCLING ECONOMY
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NEW AIR QUALITY ACT COMES INTO FULL EFFECT ON 01 APRIL 2010
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THE NATIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
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LONG-TERM MITIGATION SCENARIOS: STRATEGIC OPTIONS FOR SOUTH AFRICA
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THE SA GOVERNMENT ON 12 OCTOBER 2009 RELEASED A REPORT ON THE STATE OF AIR
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Government's Response to Climate Change
In March 2009, government hosted The 2009 Climate Summit to formulate a national framework for the country's response to climate change. (The first Summit was in 2005). The 2009 Summit was held in Midrand, Johannesburg and the 700 delegates hailed from government departments, civil groups, business groups, NGOs and academia. The Summit laid the foundation for a participatory process that is set to culminate in a Policy White Paper on climate change by 2010, and the translation of this policy into a legislative, regulatory and fiscal package by 2012. To read the media release, click here
Update by Government in August 2009 ahead of the Copenhagen meeting
On 4 August 2009, government held a National Information and Consultation session in Pretoria. It was hosted by Environmental Affairs but many other government departments were present. Business, NGOs and some academics also attended. The aim of the session was to consult and provide info ahead of the global talks in Copenhagen. Importantly, it set out South Africa's expectations ahead of Copenhagen. To read more click here
At the update, the following draft document was released, which sets out SA's position ahead of Copenhagen and the major hurdles to be cleared for a successful agreement at Copenhagen. The document will be tabled at Cabinet before end of September 2009. Click here for Discussion document: National Information and consultation session.
MINISTER OF WATER AND ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS, MINISTER BUYELWA SONJICA ADDRESSES THE MEDIA ON CLIMATE CHANGE TALKS (COP 15) 22 December 2009
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ADDRESS BY PRESIDENT JACOB ZUMA AT UN CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE, COPENHAGEN Media Release for immediate distribution 18 December 2009
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HIGHLEVEL SEGMENT OF THE 15TH CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES (COP-15) OF THE UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE (UNFCCC) AND THE 5TH CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES SERVING AS THE MEETING OF THE PARTIES (CMP-5) TO THE KYOTO PROTOCOL 17 DECEMBER 2009 Statement by Minister Buyelwa Sonjica, Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, South Africa
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SIDE EVENT CONVENED BY BRAZIL, INDIA, SOUTH AFRICA AND CHINA ON MITIGATION ACTION
Media Statement 17th December 2009 South Africa is calling for Copenhagen to deliver a 2-track outcome: (i) 1 track for the outcome of negotiations under the Kyoto Protocol on further commitments by Annex I Parties for the 2nd and subsequent commitment periods - namely an amendment of Annex B of the Kyoto Protocol; and (ii) the 2nd track for the outcome of the negotiations under the Convention.
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PRESIDENT JACOB ZUMA TO ATTEND CLIMATE CHANGE TALKS IN COPENHAGEN Media Release 6 Dec 2009 President Jacob Zuma has accepted the invitation from the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Denmark, Mr Lars Løkke Rasmussen, to attend the Heads of State and Government Segment of the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the United Nations Framework Convention of Climate Change, (UNFCCC) and the 5th Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties (CMP-5) to the Kyoto Protocol, from 17-18 December 2009.
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UPDATE BY SA GOVT ON COPENHAGEN MEETINGS Media Release, 2 December 2009 - Representatives from Brazil, China, India and South Africa, met in Beijing on 27-28 November 2009 along with Sudan, the current chair of G-77, to discuss a coordinated approach to the forthcoming UN Climate Conference at Copenhagen.
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LATEST FROM THE SA GOVERNMENT ON THE COPENHAGEN TALKS Media Release 5 November 2009. The current United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations, culminating in Copenhagen in December, aims at reaching agreement on strengthening the international climate change regime beyond 2012
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SOUTH AFRICA WANTS COPENHAGEN DEAL TO BE FAIR AND INCLUSIVE : SA GOVT Media Release 15 September 2009. South Africa is committed to doing its fair share to ensure that the December Copenhagen Climate Change talks (COP 15) produce a deal that will be favourable to developed and developing countries.
To read more click here.