Mainstream biodiversity, SA urges congress

06-Feb-2006: Guy Rogers for planets-voice.org --- SOUTH African presidential spokesman Murphy Morobe called yesterday (Sept 30 2005) for biodiversity protection to be mainstreamed into all areas of government -- and warned that 搊ur planet has entered a defining moment.

Addressing 1000 delegates from 50 countries packed into a hall here on the first day of the 8th World Wilderness (WWC), Murphy announced greetings from President Thabo Mbeki, and drew a parallel between the terror attack of 9/11 on New York, which just preceded the 7th WWC in Port Elizabeth, and the ravages caused by Hurricane Katrina.

揥e are all once again left wondering what it all means. Is it a metaphor to arouse our consciousness about the nature of the relationship between human beings and Nature??

Speaking also in his capacity as chairman of the 7th WWC, Morobe said the SA government was keenly aware that wilderness 損lays a vital function in the provision of environmental goods and services for all our citizens?particularly through the protection of watersheds and the fresh water resource.

The SA government recognises wilderness as a significant element in an overall protection strategy 損articularly in hotspots in the western and eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal?

揃ut we have to remain concerned about the people, many of them very poor, living adjacent to our protected and wilderness areas. How do we bring an awareness of the values and benefits of wilderness to them and to convince them to share in its vision and values? That I believe is one of the biggest challenges facing us.?

The call from South Africa therefore is that the congress should focus on finding innovative ways to enable communities to benefit from wilderness in a manner that does not compromise the integrity of wilderness, he said.

揟here is a demand for concrete action not self-edifying platitudes. We need to spread the wilderness ethic to help restore a flourishing human culture that, in the words of the founder of the American wilderness movement Aldo Leopold, thinks like a mountain and understands the howl of a wolf.?

Area under cultivation in South Africa has more than tripled in the last 50 years while forestry plantations have increased tenfold, he said. Illegal trade in wildlife and wildlife parts in SA is valued at R270 million a year.

Turning to some good news, Morobe said environmental concerns are playing a greater role in politics and decision-making in South Africa than ever before.

揂s we focus on our economy and its growth trajectory we are alive to the fact that it will have profound impacts on our natural resource base. We acknowledge that if environmental factors are not integrated into economic planning, sustainable development will remain an elusive goal.?

揙ur mission should be to create values in every sense of the word that can withstand and vanquish forces that diminish, demean and destroy.?

Focusing on South Africa抯 recently promulgated Protected Areas Act which allows wilderness areas to be proclaimed, Morobe said the Act is going to be supported by green taxes against polluters, which are being developed.

揃y mainstreaming the protection of our biodiversity into other sectors we will be contributing to economic and social development. Wilderness is a necessity not a luxury,?he said.