KZN
General Overview
KwaZulu-Natal is a province rich in biodiversity with two of its natural areas, the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park, declared World Heritage Sites. It is also the second most populous province and home to the major ports of Durban and Richards Bay. This, combined with its huge tourism potential and ideal conditions for industrial-scale agriculture such as sugar and timber, has resulted in many environmental challenges. As such, WESSA:KZN plays a vital role in working towards more sustainable forms of development, and in helping to prevent and mitigate environmental impacts in general.
In its conservation and environmental work, WESSA:KZN works closely with government authorities at a local, municipal, provincial and national level to assist with capacity development and implementation, while also playing a watchdog role by engaging in a wide variety of public participation processes such as licensing advisory bodies and Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs).
WESSA owns or occupies over a thousand hectares of high biodiversity land in KwaZulu-Natal, as well as being involved in the protection of many threatened and sensitive areas The WESSA:KZN Region has a current membership base of about 1800 members. It consists of a Regional office, four Environmental Education Centres and thirteen Branches.
Environmental Education
WESSA: KZN is particularly active in the area of Environmental Education, with nearly a third of the approximately 1200 schools that participate in the national WESSA-WWF Eco-Schools Programme, situated in KZN. In addition, facilities for environmental courses and school tours are provided at all its centres. These are located at:
- Umgeni Valley, Howick
- Twinstreams, Mtunzini, Zululand
- Treasure Beach, Bluff, Durban
- Umbogavango, Umbogintwini, South Coast
Other Environmental Focus Areas
Over the years, WESSA’s focus has changed and it is no longer purely a conservation and wildlife society. In relation to the key environmental areas of Biodiversity, Energy, Waste and Water, it is now very involved with urban and peri-urban issues such as development proposals; waste management; pollution control; cleaner production; marine and coastal issues; and catchment management. It also runs or participates in a number of projects and campaigns aimed at tackling environmental problems and building awareness, or supporting environmental action within communities via other NGOs, conservancies and action groups.
Legislation and Compliance
WESSA:KZN regularly comments on EIAs, and by so doing has helped to influence many developments towards greater sustainability. If necessary, it will challenge decisions taken by government departments should they threaten the integrity of the environment, especially in the focus areas of Energy, Biodiversity, Waste and Water, or where public access to the natural environment, and ecosystem goods and services are threatened.
In the area of Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement (CME), should transgressions of environmental legislation occur, WESSA:KZN will bring this to the attention of the relevant authorities, and if necessary will refer a CME case to the regulatory body concerned to ensure that those responsible for environmental damage are held accountable.
Capacity Development
The impacts of climate change and escalating environmental degradation are becoming key constraints to economic advancement and poverty reduction. WESSA:KZN is ideally positioned to provide human and infrastructural resources to the national initiative. Capacity development within government departments involved with green issues is the most important work any environmental NGO can undertake as, although South Africa has some excellent environmental legislation, without strong institutional and governmental support to ensure its implementation and enforcement, many of our battles to save the planet will be futile.