The authors of the comprehensive South Africa Environment ÂOutlook report say it has already made an impact on how people view the country’s resources.
The report, based on 16 Âspecialist studies over a two-year period, aimed to provide scientifically Âcredible information to help drive the future environmental agenda. It cited four major priorities: water availability and quality, climate change, human vulnerability and loss of biodiversity.
The report, released in July, includes an analysis of the past, present and future trends in environmental conditions and how these relate to people and the economy. Authors Donald Gibson and Darryl Kilian are presently taking stock of what it has meant for South Africa.
“We are doing a six-month study on the report’s impact in order to understand its usefulness and to identify areas that can be strengthened for future updates,” says Gibson. “This is being administered through feedback questionnaires and targeted interviews. The results of the impact study will be published on completion.”
The authors, from SRK Consulting, the lead agent in the compilation of the report, say the report is much in demand.
“The department of environmental affairs and tourism has had more requests for the book than was initially catered for,” says Gibson. “Nearly all the initial 2 000 copies have been distributed to stakeÂholders, including Parliament. Because of the additional demand, a further 2 000 or more copies will soon be printed.”
Kilian says the internet version of the report has received hits from more than 230 cities in 57 countries, including Scandinavian and North America countries.
The report notes that South Africa has made significant progress in environmental management, but pressures on natural resources have grown and many aspects of the environment have deteriorated. The ecological footprint of South Africans — the basic measurement of how much land is needed to support the average person’s lifestyle — is now higher than the global average.
The authors of South Africa ÂEnvironment Outlook have made presentations on the report’s findings to various stakeholders, including financial institutions, local government and NGOs. “Many NGOs have indicated the report should be used for planning and decision-making,” Gibson says.
When the report was released, the department said it did not agree with all its findings, even though the department had commissioned the report. “The opportunities that the environment provides [such as for nature tourism] are not adequately addressed,” departmental spokesperson Mava Scott said. “Key emerging environmental issues were also not consistently identified throughout the report.”
Another criticism was that the research could have been subjected to more rigorous and formal intra-governmental consultation, specifically on sections dealing with options for action.
Gibson responds: “The report was based on the best available data at the time and was closely linked to the National Framework for Sustainable Development process. The chapters on options for action were debated and reviewed by a range of stakeholders at workshops in 2005 and 2006.
“What we have heard is that many department employees, both senior and junior, are very interested in understanding the report more fully.”
He hopes other state institutions, such as the presidency and department of finance, will also engage with the findings and recommendations.
Kilian and Gibson were thrilled when Southern African Development Community environmental educationists attending a recent conference in South Africa praised the report, saying it would enhance environmental awareness in the whole region. The report will be used in an internationally funded regional learnership programme.
The two believe the country’s overall state of the environment reporting system should be vertically aligned between national, provincial and local levels. For example, the information contained in municipal reports should be integrated into provincial reports, which in turn should be synthesised in a national report, says Kilian.
“There are many constraints to achieving this, however. Municipalities and provinces do not consistently use the same indicators and data sets, which makes integration difficult,” he adds.
The authors also believe Parliament should play a bigger role in environment reports in the future. “Consideration should be given to the role and location of institutional structures responsible for national level reporting,” says Kilian. “A national report should be compiled by an independent professional body that is supported, where necessary, by state departments. And the findings and recommendations of the report should be debated in Parliament, as is done in other countries.”