ATC210519: Report of the Select Committee on Land Reform, Environment, and Mineral Resources and Energy on the Budget Vote and Annual Performance Plan 2021/22 of the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries – Budget Vote No 32, dated 19 May 2021

NCOP Land Reform, Environment, Mineral Resources and Energy

Report of the Select Committee on Land Reform, Environment, and Mineral Resources and Energy on the Budget Vote and Annual Performance Plan 2021/22 of the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries – Budget Vote No 32, dated 19 May 2021.   

 

The Land Reform, Environment, and Mineral Resources and Energy having considered Budget Vote: 32 and Annual Performance Plan 2021/2022 of the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, reports that the that the committee met with the department on 11 May 2021, where the department briefed the committee on the matter of its APP and Budget.

 

The committee appreciated the inputs from the Deputy Minister and respective DG’s related to the current APP, budget allocation and performing key responsibilities under Covid-19 restrictions and with a reduced budget. The committee, in its deliberations, focused on matters of interest to provinces, which include the biodiversity economy, air quality, waste management, the ocean Phakisa, compliance and law enforcement. The committee was concerned by the fact that budget reductions appeared to be focused in key programmes of the department, namely Regulatory Compliance and Sector Monitoring, Climate Change, Air Quality and Sustainable Development, and Biodiversity and Conservation. It was felt that reductions in funding for these programmes could have significant impact on the mandate of the department, particularly in provinces.

 

Issues for consideration pertaining to the department’s Annual Performance Plan

 

• Department’s significant decline in budget allocation to Programme 4: Climate Change, Air Quality and Sustainable Development by 22.5 % might affect some of the planned activities. This despite the fact that this programme receives support from Foreign Donors such as Germany (for Climate Change Support Programme: Implementation of the Climate Change Web-based Monitoring and Evaluation System); Flanders (for Adaptive Capacity Facility); United Nations Environmental Programmes (for South Africa: Enabling activities for the preparation of the third national communications and biennial update report); Norway (for Capacity development within the national greenhouse gas inventory unit, once this is operational); and the European Union (for iThemba Phakama People PPP Model for Human Development and Inclusive Environmental Economic Growth). Activities likely to be affected if funds are not managed well will be the planned National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy and National Climate Change Bill, which will serve as an overarching legislative framework for adapting to and mitigating the effects of climate change, supported by the implementation of the low‐emissions development and growth strategy for South Africa. The Bill and the strategy are key to ensuring that the country is equipped to manage and mitigate the effects of climate change. This would lead to much needed development of sector jobs’ resilience plans in the coal, agriculture, tourism, petrol‐based transport and metals sectors, as these are considered particularly vulnerable to climate change; and support provinces and municipalities with the development and implementation of climate adaptation plans.

 

• The allocation to Programme 5: Biodiversity and Conservation is reduced by more than half. The bulk of the cuts will affect two of the Department’s entities, namely iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority and South African National Parks. The Department needs to inform Parliament how it will ensure that this does not negatively affect the two entities’ performance. Parliament might need to establish what measures are in place to ensure that this significant cuts don’t affect operations in this entities, specifically relating to protection and conservation of endangered species management. Moreover, the needed measures to curb the COVID-19 infections by way of international travel restrictions and national lockdowns affected and still does impact the entities’ income generation through eco-tourism and research.

 

Issues for consideration pertaining to the department’s Budget

 

• The increase pressure on budget allocation and bleak economic outcomes might require Parliament oversee how Government intends consolidating efforts or realigning activities across its entities whose function and activities overlap. For example, SAWS under DEFF, South African Environment Observation Network (SAEON) a national facility of the National Research Foundation (NRF), Agricultural Research Council (ARC) under Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) and others all implement and manage terrestrial monitoring (e.g. weather stations) stations.

 

• The SAWS, iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority and SANParks need to show how they plan to cover the shortfall in budget allocations for 2021/22 while meeting their set targets.

 

• Similarly, Parliament would need to ensure that it oversees the MLRF’s implementation of the oceans economy through creating work and licensing in the commercial fishing sector.

 

• Parliament would need to oversee that SANParks has necessary contingency plans in place to continue with its core business of conservation. This is particularly so owing to the entity’s contributions to local community livelihoods, through programmes that promote access and benefit sharing, socio-economic development and improved living conditions for local communities adjacent to national parks18. These programmes foster conservation and protection of species, due to loss of revenue from the Tourism sector.

 

• The projected further decline in budget for the mid-term period (2020/21−2023/24) is of concern owing to impacts on critical operations of the Department. For instance, this financial year the Biodiversity and Conservation programme will be allocated less than half of its previous budget and this directly affected iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority and South African National Parks, whose role is to protect and conserve biodiversity in South Africa.

 

• The Department identifies “Biodiversity Economy; Chemicals and Waste Economy and Oceans Economy Phakisa” as a target to be achieved in 2021/22, but how does the Department envisage measuring the sustainability of the “Chemicals and Waste Economy Phakisa”?

 

• In which Provinces or Municipalities will the 2000 jobs earmarked through Chemicals and Waste Economy Phakisa be developed?

 

• Waste dumping in rivers and other non-dumping sites is still an ongoing issue. What environmental impact will the 2000 jobs to be created through Chemicals and Waste Economy Phakisa have?

 

 

South Africa Weather Services

 

• The growing recurrence and intensity in climate events over the recent years, as well as the gaps in monitoring of climate over South Africa (specifically radar and weather stations in the northern parts of KwaZulu-Natal where Tornados or extreme thunderstorms were experienced). What plans are in place to improve the country’s early warning systems to save lives and protect infrastructure?

 

• What is the weather services doing to provide support to the different economic sectors reliant and affected by weather to mitigate against or capitalise on weather events? There is a need to look at extreme weather events, such as flooding causing storms, as sources of water, and assist relevant sectors in capitalising on that.   

 

The chairperson also raised the following with the department, namely;

 

1. There is a need to fast track the eradication and control of Invasive Alien Plants, specifically those directly affecting our limited water resources and water bodies, such as the Water Hyacinth. The Committee welcome the targeted Integrated Permitting System that will assist organisations who contribute to controlling the Invasive Alien Plants through processing them into new and useful products (for example, paper, fertilizers, ornaments, etc.).

 

1. In light of the ongoing water shortages across most of our Municipalities, waste dumping in our water bodies remained a continuing challenge, such as dumping of disposable nappies and other forms of waste, Provinces and municipalities should be brought on-board in the Waste Economy Master Plan and assisted in waste management to protect our limited resources.

 

1. There was a need to continually improve and maintain our weather and air quality monitoring station networks, to enable for the timeous production of early warnings to protect our communities and infrastructure from extreme weather events, and ensure a healthy environment. The Department should work closely with SOEs performing earth systems observation monitoring to coordinate efforts towards improving the monitoring networks across South Africa.

 

1. The Department should work closely with the Provinces and Municipalities, especially those with limited capacity, to assist them in developing and implementing their own Climate Change Adaptation Strategies.

 

The Select Committee on Land Reform, Environment, Minerals & Energy having considered Budget Vote: 32 and Annual Performance Plan 2021/2022 of the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, reports that the Committee has concluded its deliberations thereon.

 

 

Report to be considered