Minister Dion George: Statement ahead of Forestry Fisheries and the Environment Dept Budget Vote 2024/25

Deputy Minister Narend Singh
Senior managers of the Department
Members of the Media
Ladies and gentlemen

Today, together with my colleagues, Deputy Ministers Swarts and Singh we will table the inaugural budget vote 32 of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment of the 7th administration in the Good Hope Chamber.

Parliament has recently adopted the Climate Change Bill, which will become law after the accent by the President. This Bill provides for a detailed response to climate change, and the mitigation of greenhouse gases which cause climate change, in line with South Africa’s international obligations.

The Department will focus on implementing ambitious actions in particular through the Sectoral Emission Targets and Carbon Budget Allocations to major companies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions including through the Just Energy Transition Investment Plan.

By the end of this financial year, we should have finalized the establishment of the Climate Change Respond Fund that was announced earlier this year. This will be crucial in financing adaptation and addressing loss and damage.

The Department finalized and issued decisions on 320 Environmental Impact Assessment applications in 2023/2024, 99% issued within the regulated timeframe.

The Department’s Directorate of Appeals and Legal Review finalised 16 ESKOM Minimum Emission Standards appeal decisions. The Directorate further managed to prioritize and finalise 30 energy related appeals within the 2023/2024 financial year, which assisted in relieving the energy situation.
 
We commit to accelerate the support to all small-scale fisheries cooperatives in the four coastal provinces. We need to connect and re-connect our coastal communities to the Ocean economy and encourage entrepreneurship.

The Working for Fisheries Programme has supported 8 significant, job generating projects and anti-Poaching measures continue to be a priority for the Fisheries Management branch and the Marine Living Resources Fund (MLRF), to ensure sustainable management of South Africa’s marine resources.

In contributing to the expansion of the conservation estate, 135,000 hectares of land were added in the last financial year. The study on the interlinkages of migration, drought, land degradation, and drought was adopted by Cabinet.

The finalisation of the Policy Position on the conservation and sustainable use of the five iconic species—black and white rhino, lion, leopard, and elephant—was also adopted by Cabinet.

To attract investments in the biodiversity economy, we profiled 59 bankable businesses on the Biodiversity Sector Investment Portal. As a result, two projects attracted an investment of USD 450 000 to promote conservation and community well-being. This investment will be used to develop a management plan and implement a biodiversity credit system.

SANParks has secured 10 million dollars from the Global Environment Facility to fund a project that will implement the Mega Living Landscapes concept in the Barberton-Makhonjwa, Greater Addo, and Eastern Cape Grasslands landscapes.

The Department is committed to supporting local government in increasing waste diversion from landfill sites through reuse, recycling, and recovery, focusing on packaging waste such as paper, plastic, and glass through EPR schemes. Eight municipalities are targeted to receive EPR infrastructure and support for separate waste collection.

Over the medium-term, R375 million will be allocated to improve and optimize the entity’s RADAR, surface observation, air quality, and ICT infrastructure networks, among other priorities. Much-needed RADAR spares have been received and installed at sites requiring refurbishment.

A total of 1 467 000 visitors to National Gardens, and over 217 000 children and youth participated in the “Kids in Gardens” Biodiversity Education Programme which is run in National Botanical and Zoological Gardens.

Botanical and zoological gardens continued to serve their roles as centres of social cohesion, supporting local economies and serving as embassies of biodiversity and culture.

iSimangaliso Wetland Park has made advanced progress in commercialisation efforts including conducting a due diligence assessment prior to assuming commercial assets from Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife.

Through a range of EPWP projects implemented by the Department, the DFFE exceeded its 2023/24 EPWP target by creating 42 302 work opportunities by creating a total of 80 918 work opportunities.

The implementation of the Municipal Greening and Cleaning Programme through a partnership model with the municipalities created most of the work opportunities.

The partnership had the Department paying for the EPWP stipends and providing the primary project management responsibilities.

Through the Working on Fire Programme, the Department effectively contained wildland fires, preventing their escalation into natural disasters.

The Forestry Masterplan is essentially about the transformation, growth and investment plan for the sector.

To date, 27 plantations covering approximately 6,213 hectares have been transferred to communities through the Community Forestry Agreement Model.

To reduce Temporary Unplanted areas in State plantations, the Department will be planting 1 800 hectares in Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal and in the Eastern Cape.

In addition to this, 2 100 hectares will be tendered through different silvicultural regimes like weeding, pruning and thinning.  Eight (8) Community Forestry Agreements will be concluded in this financial year.

A significant legislative milestone includes the President's signing of the amended National Veld and Forest Fire Bill into law. This amendment facilitates the formation of Fire Protection Associations, crucial for managing veld and forest fires effectively.

For the 2024/25 financial year, the plan is to plant 150 000 trees through DFFE interventions and 2 million trees in collaboration with other stakeholders.

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