/ 5 September 2008

On the green path

The appointment of a new DG of the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism last month coincided with Cabinet's approval of the NFSD.

The appointment of a new director general of the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism last month coincided with Cabinet’s approval of the long-awaited national framework for sustainable development (NFSD).

Nosipho Jezile-Ngcaba, the new DG, will need to take the new framework forward in order to meet South Africa’s international commitments after the World Summit on Sustainable Development, held in Sandton in 2002.

The framework is filled with lofty phrases, but what needs to be done? Now that it is approved, will officials be rushing about cleaning rivers, placing moratoriums on wetland development and slapping carbon taxes on SUVs?

Not yet. The framework still needs to be superseded by another two documents before any actual legwork occurs, and each will involve lengthy public participation.

”The NFSD is a multistakeholder process, which is why it has taken about four years to materialise. We should have an implementation plan by next year,” says Jezile-Ngcaba.

What’s happened so far is that phase one of the process, a framework document, is complete. The framework sets out a context for sustainable development, outlines the rationale for the approach taken and sets out a vision and principles.

Phase two will see the development of a detailed action plan. It will also involve ”mobilising resources”, which means finding money for departments and municipalities that do not have environment as a line function.

Phase three will entail the process of roll-out, implementation, monitoring and review — finally the pedal will hit the metal. Jezile-Ngcaba says action will include policing, rehabilitation, reduction of greenhouse gases and water savings.

In the meantime there is a marketing strategy: consumers, organisations and households will be encouraged to help drive the change to a more sustainable lifestyle. It is a signal that citizens need to get on with saving the planet and not wait for government wheels to grind into action.

”The national framework seeks to build on existing programmes and strategies that have emerged in the first 14 years of democracy,” says Jezile-Ngcaba. Many of these are in fact citizen and corporate-led initiatives, such as solar energy projects or tree-planting NGOs.

Worthwhile government initiatives include environmental laws under the National Environmental Management Act, wise-water management enabled by the water department, and biodiversity initiatives such as transfrontier parks and World Heritage sites.

NFSD intentions that will prove helpful if they are made workable include strengthening the government-wide monitoring and evaluation system by incorporating sustainable development indicators, and developing a range of tools to measure sustainable development.

The biggest challenge to the framework is how to achieve growth and reduce poverty without trashing natural resources.

”Zero-growth strategies like those adopted in some developed economies will not work,” says Jezile-Ngcaba. ”Poverty eradication will of necessity entail substantial investments in material infrastructure, physical development and the material preconditions for a decent quality of life for all. To achieve this, inequalities will need to be reduced and consumption systems and patterns will need to become more resource-efficient and less wasteful.”

Find the NFSD at www.environment.gov.za/HotIssues/2008/nfsd/nfsd.html

Setting a good example
Nosipho Jezile-Ngcaba (left), the new environmental affairs and tourism DG, has no problem taking her work home. She says she tries to influence family and friends to be environmentally friendly through activities such as planting water-wise gardens and taking showers, not baths.

She hails from the Wild Coast and she notes that traditional rural households often have a better environmental ethos than city folk. ”My family has always rotated grazing and reused bottles and plastic containers, thereby creating far less waste than the average suburban household.”

Jezile-Ngcaba has been with the department since 2003, first as chief director for social responsibility and projects, and then as CEO since 2005. She served as acting director general from March this year until becoming director general in July.

She has a BSc degree with majors in biochemistry and physiology, and a higher diploma in education from the University of the Western Cape. She is completing a master’s degree in business leadership.

Prior to joining environmental affairs and tourism, she was a director in the Eastern Cape department of economic affairs, environment and tourism.