Dec 10, 2021 | Archives
The 2021 National WESSA Awards were presented at a virtual event of the organizations 95th AGM, on Saturday 4th December 2021. WESSA paid tribute to a wide range of outstanding environmental achievements to recognise and honour those who have made a significant contribution to the conservation or environmental education sector in South Africa over the past year in an exceptional and sustained manner. The WESSA Awards have been presented since 1974. That amounts to 47 years of acknowledging South African environmental champions at WESSA!
The goals of the WESSA Awards are to give appropriate, high level recognition to people, groups or institutions for advancing
the cause of environmental conservation and education in South Africa in an exceptional and sustained manner. It also provides an opportunity for WESSA to increase public awareness of local or national achievements in environmental conservation and education. The main criterion for the WESSA Awards is to acknowledge an individual, corporate/organisation, community group, educational group, conservation or environmental group who have done outstanding and sustained work for the benefit of environmental conservation and/or education in South Africa.
The WESSA Individual Award was presented to Mr Funisile Zothe, the WESSA Group Award recipient was presented to the Gauteng Stewardship and Conservancy Association, the WESSA Award for Corporates was awarded to Contour Enviro Group, and the WESSA Youth Award was presented to Siya Ntsumpa. This year, WESSA introduced a new award, the WESSA Teacher award, which celebrates the unique contribution of teachers to the Schools and Youth Unit and honours their commitment to improving the quality of environmental education in the South African school curriculum and enriching the lives of their students. This year, the award was shared with Ms Thandeka Sibiya and Ms Antonia Mkhabela. WESSA also paid tribute to Patrick Dowling who was awarded the prestigious WESSA Gold Award for his extraordinary contribution to environmental advocacy and activism and environmental education, and Dr Jeremy Anderson who was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award for a lifetime of contribution to conservation.
In addition, WESSA gave commendations to several organisations and individuals doing exceptional work in their particular fields in the environmental sector. In no particular order these are:
K9 Members of the Eastern Cape SAPS under the leadership of Dr Div De Villiers and Colonel Moodley who are responsible for several arrests and the recovery of thousands of kilograms of abalone. They are consistent with these successes on a monthly basis. WESSA salutes them for their bravery and commitment to the environment.
Itumeleng Youth Project who have built an information centre to support matriculated students. The organisation adopted environmental health as a main objective. Their Change Project focus is on illegal dumping with a particular focus on disposable nappies.
Izimbali Zkusasa is an organisation that believes in the power of women to change their own lives and create their own future. They educate women and young girls so they can be a positive change in their community and aim to ensure they are respected in the workplaces. WESSA recognises them for their significant impact on their community and youth development.
Romario Valentine is a 9-year-old eco-champion and has been an eco-warrior advocate for 4 years. At his young age, to date he has cleaned the beach 160 times, helped 900 endangered birds at Umgeni River Bird Park in Durban during the COVID-19, and supports a Bird Habitat Restoration Campaign for African Grey Parrots at Birds of Eden Cape Town to raise funds for the completion of an aviary. He is a true champion of the environment.
Kabega Primary Eco-Life is a recycling initiative of Kabega and focuses on education to create awareness. Through the recycling of bottle tops learners have provided wheelchairs to disabled learners.
The Liesbeek Maintenance Project Team is to rehabilitate and restore the river’s ecological functioning, clean the riparian edge, manage and control alien invasive species whilst replanting with indigenous vegetation and enhance the recreational and social value of the river and its trail. The team have completed a Lythrum control project and are busy removing crofton weed, balloon vine, moth-catcher, bind-weed, brambles, alders, long-leafed wattle, stinkbean, ginger, lantana and Spanish Broom from the riverside. WESSA salutes the LMP team for their commitment to ecosystem rehabilitation.
Please click here to view the presentation of the 2021 WESSA National Awards.
AWARDS AND FULL CITATIONS:
WESSA Award for Individuals – Presented to Funsile Zothe
Funisile Zothe is a general worker at Three Crowns Primary school located in Khavala village in Lady Frere, Cacadu, Eastern Cape. Mr Zothe became involved with conservation and environmental education through the Eskom Energy and Sustainability project which was introduced to the school in 2009. He was present and instrumental when the project installed the Integrated Biogas and Algal Sanitation System (IBASS) at the school and the subsequent projects that followed including food
gardens and orchards. Mr Zothe has sustained his conservation work at the school by expanding to other projects such as indigenous gardens, waste management systems and water conservation. The school is recognised as a conservation champion in the district and province, which is attributed to the phenomenal work performed by Mr. Zothe behind the scenes. Funisile Zothe is a worthy recipient of the Individual Award, and is regarded as an ambassador for the environment for his passion, contribution and example as a role model for individuals in similar circumstances to him!
WESSA Award for Corporates – Contour Enviro Group
Contour Enviro Group has been successfully implementing the Department of Agriculture’s Junior LandCare Programme which seeks to reach both rural and urban communities in the Western Cape Province. The programme focuses on teaching youth about conservation of the Cape’s Biodiversity including indigenous and endemic fauna and flora, pollution and waste management, soil conservation and sustainable agricultural practices, water conservation, catchment areas and river health, climate Change and the threats facing biodiversity, and alien Invasive plants and their effects on the natural ecosystems. Through these interventions Contour Enviro Group have managed to reach a total of 4 284 Primary School learners and 164 teachers and community members. They are most worthy of this award as a corporate committed to caring for the Earth.
WESSA Award for Groups – Gauteng Conservancy and Stewardship Association (GCSA)
The Gauteng Conservancy and Stewardship Association was formed in February 2003 to promote conservation on private land in Gauteng and to protect Gauteng’s fast-disappearing biodiversity. The Association represents 65 conservancies, and trains Conservation Officers enabling each conservancy to have trained people assisting with various environmental issues, re-establish plants that have been removed by the Muthi trade. They work with traditional healers and the Regional Healers Associations to educate and inform on the extinction of indigenous plants, and to assist with Environmental Management Plans focusing on both conservation and sustainable development. WESSA is so proud to be associated with the GCSA.
WESSA Award for Youth – Siya Ntsumpa
Siya Ntsumpa is the founder and CEO of an NPO in Motherwell township in the Eastern Cape, established in 2014 called Giving Them Wings. Siya is a nationally recognized and award-winning environmentalist who applies much of his time on school-based environmental projects. Through his work Siya has mentored over one hundred school environmental clubs where learners take on sustainable living projects. Siya is working with school’s in the Eastern Cape to promote sustainability through food gardening and recycling projects. He is a true champion of the environment and WESSA salutes his efforts!
WESSA Teacher Award – Presented to Thandeka Sibiya and Antonia Mkhabela
Thandeka Sibiya has wide experience in the subject of environmental sustainability, climate change and biodiversity. She has successfully managed to integrate this subject in to he South African curriculum and in the execution of extracurricular activities. This has been seen out school, locally and internationally. She has inspired many teachers in the province and nationally, who have received awards in different areas of education. Before, leaving Mpophomeni, a township in Howick, Kwazulu-Natal, she had already established networks with different organisations and think tanks, such as the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), uMngeni Water, WESSA, KZN Department of Sport Arts and Culture and others. Thandeka is a champion of environmental education in South Africa.
Antonia Mkhabela representing Shea O’Connor Combined School is a teacher and environmentalist and represents an incredible commitment and passion for education and community development. Through her efforts and commitment to the environment, the school has received an international community award through their incredible water saving efforts and other environmental projects. Antonia is a committed environmentalistand is being recognised for all she has given and all she continues to give because of a deep and personal commitment to making a difference to our planet!
WESSA Lifetime Achievement Award – Presented to Dr Jeremy Anderson
Dr Jeremy Lorn Anderson has 40-years of experience in natural resource conservation and ecotourism development in Southern Africa (Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe) and further afield in Kenya, Zambia, Sri Lanka, Syria, United Arab Emirates and China. Dr Anderson has authored over 30 scientific and technical reports and holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. degree in conservation from London University. He is a member of 10 professional and conservation allied societies and has been both a member for many years, as well as branch and regional member and chairman of WESSA. We salute him for his outstanding contributions to conservation and environmental education over is his lifetime. He is most deserving of receiving a lifetime achievement award for WESSA.
WESSA Gold Award
Presented to Patrick Dowling After 19 years as Environmental Educator and Trainer, Patrick has not taken a break. He continues to educate, inspire, lead, change lives, defend what is right, counter what is wrong, and all this with a passion for Earth and humanity. Today there are many men and women who have been taught by Patrick or within working situations have been inspired by him, who now work full time in the environmental sector, both government and NGO. They carry the banner that challenges complacency and acceptance of the status quo. They share the urgency that Patrick instils in us. Today there are many men and women who have been taught by Patrick or within working situations have been inspired by him, who now work full time in the environmental sector, both government and NGO. They carry the banner that challenges complacency and acceptance of the status quo. They share the urgency that Patrick instils in us. WESSA salutes Patrick and bestows the Gold Award to him for a lifetime of commitment to the environment.
Nov 24, 2021 | Position papers
The editor
Fin 24
Sir/Madam
WESSA understands the concerns that many people currently working in the coal, oil and gas sectors might have when there is talk of changing to a more renewable energy-based economy.
Employees around the world are dealing with this too as “decarbonising” becomes more urgent to avoid the worst impacts of climate change and deal with new global trading conditions. South Africa has good solar and wind resources and these will not run out as coal, gas and oil do.
Though they do not need to be mined they will provide many jobs at various skill levels and these will be distributed more evenly around the country than the coal mines and power stations of Mpumalanga and Limpopo. This should allow for a more widely resourced electricity grid with the opportunity for community co-ownership of new installations.
Eventually all electricity and energy for transport will have to come from the sun, wind and a few other sources like tidal flows and waves. This means lots of development of new infrastructure and much less pollution of air, soil and water. South Africa is Africa’s biggest carbon emissions polluter at the moment but we could change that round to being one of the main producers of clean energy.
Unfortunately, if we do not take climate change and its impacts seriously we won’t have good reason to expect large loss and damage pay-outs from Western and Northern polluters. South Africa, already an arid country with a long coastline, is especially vulnerable to drought, crop failure, wildfires, flash floods and storm surges which can further undermine an already struggling economy.
Like the oil industry in other parts of the world South Africa has also started exploring non-conventional sources of fossil fuels such as off-shore gas and oil and hydraulic fracturing (fracking) for gas in places like the Karoo. There have even been proposals to mine coal in protected areas or right next to communities. Such activities are not sustainable as they disrupt or pollute, water supply, reduce biodiversity and negatively impact livelihoods like fishing as well as human health.
A just transition should mean a steady moving away from coal and other fossil fuels as old mines and power stations close giving workers a chance to learn new skills and do more interesting and cleaner work. Humans have had to make this sort of change for thousands of years as new technologies develop. It’s our turn now and we can do it.
Nov 23, 2021 | Position papers
South Africa as a signatory to the Paris Climate Agreement, COP26, and as a member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature [IUCN] has aligned and committed to divestment in fossil fuels and a just energy transition to renewable energies and lower carbon emissions. Operation Phakisa’s gas and oil exploration and extraction are contrary to the Paris Agreement in that the oil extraction targets, if realised, will dramatically increase emissions; and the IUCN Resolution 5.079 urging all State Members of the IUCN to facilitate the adoption of the precautionary principle with respect to deep-sea mining and to support and implement a moratorium on deep seabed mining.
WESSA is unreservedly opposed to the 3D seismic surveys for oil and gas in the Indian Ocean coastal waters off the Wild Coast region of the Eastern Cape, and elsewhere off the coast of South Africa. Seismic surveys are high energy, low frequency, consistent impulse signals delivered through airgun blasts over extended periods into the marine environment. They disrupt and potentially destroy healthy marine ecosystems.
Seismic activity impacts marine species in a variety of ways that jeopardise their survival. Noise pollution and shock waves lead to stress, disorientation, embolisms and tissue damage, larvae deformity and species displacement. These have been recorded across all levels of the marine ecosystem. 1-4 While some attention, albeit inadequate, has been paid to whales and dolphins, an ecosystems approach to the protection of our marine resources has not been properly adopted.
For example, zooplankton is critical to both the health and the productivity of our marine ecosystems. McCauley et al, “Nature Ecology and Evolution” (June 2017) highlights that a negative, two to threefold increase in dead adult and larval zooplankton, was found up to 1,2km away and not, as previously assumed, restricted to an impact range of 10m.
Cognisant of the fact that new scientific research on the impacts of seismic activity on marine ecosystems points to risks far beyond those considered in the approval of the current seismic survey permits, WESSA demands that South Africa comply with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to which it is signatory, especially goal 14 on Life Below water which is explicit about impacts of seismic exploration noise and apply the precautionary principle by refusing to permit any and all seismic surveys with immediate effect in order to avoid unacceptable ecological degradation of our offshore coastal resources.
1. Pearson, W. H., Skalski, J. R. & Malme, C. I. Effects of sounds from a geophysical survey device on behaviour of captive rockfish (Sebastes spp.). Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 49, 1343–1356 (1992)
2. Fewtrell, J. L. & McCauley, R. D. Impact of airgun noise on the behaviour of marine fish and squid. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 64, 984–993 (2012).
3. McCauley, R. D., Fewtrell, J. & Popper, A. N. High intensity anthropogenic sound damages fish ears. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 113, 638–642 (2003).
4. Kostyuchenko, L. P. Effects of elastic waves generated in marine seismic prospecting on fish eggs in the Black Sea. Hydrobiol. J. 9, 45–48 (1971)
Oct 27, 2021 | Archives
WESSA (The Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa), the National Operator for Blue Flag South Africa officially launched the 2021/22 Blue Flag Season this year at Hermanus in the Western Cape.
The award ceremony was held at Grotto Beach on the 27 th October 2021 and attended by Ms Shamilla Chettiar, the Deputy Director General of the National Department of Tourism, Mr Dudley Coetzee, Executive Mayor of the Overstrand Municipality and the new WESSA CEO Dr Andrew Baxter. In recognition for their excellence in safety, amenities, cleanliness and environmental standards, 60 Blue Flags will be proudly flown at 51 beaches, 5 marinas and by 4 sustainable tourism boats around South Africa over the forthcoming 2021/2022 Blue Flag season. The season officially opens on the 1 st December 2021. In his welcome address at the launch, Mr Dudley Coetzee of Overstrand Municipality gave his commitment to a safe and clean environment for the Western Cape treasures to be enjoyed!
The award also allows for potential Blue Flag sites to participate in a pilot programme. Thirty-three Pilot beach sites were recognized this year for their efforts toward reaching Blue Flag status in the near future. With a national goal of 100 Blue Flag sites by 2030, all efforts are now focused on assisting these pilot sites to become fully awarded with the Blue Flag. Please go to: https://wessa.org.za/our-work/sustainable-tourism/blue-flag-south-africa/ for a list of all full status and pilot sites for the 2021/2022 Blue Flag season.
Blue Flag South Africa is proudly in its twenty first year. In 2001, South Africa was the first country outside of Europe to join the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) on the Blue Flag Programme. Since then, many countries outside of Europe have followed South Africa’s example and joined Blue Flag giving the programme its international recognition. Speaking on behalf of the National Department of Tourism, Ms Shamilla Chettiar, in her keynote address for the day praised the tourism sector for being resilient and rising again, and that South Africa’s strong relationship with our stakeholders will be built on to bring back tourists to our shores. Ms Chettiar went on to say that Blue Flag represents excellence in service delivery by municipalities, who are the heartbeat of our country. WESSA continues to celebrate the great work of Grotto Beach and the Overstrand Municipality, hosts of the 2021/2022 launch who proudly achieved their Blue Flag status for 21 years! WESSA is committed to continue working together with municipalities and tourism operators to build the Blue Flag programme to its full potential and to restore the tourism industry after the devastating effects of COVD-19. We also aim to expand on conserving our marine and coastal environment, raise environmental awareness and increase sound environmental practices amongst tourists, coastal communities and beach managers.
Image 1: Blue Flag Overstrand Municipality Sites 2021 2022
Back left to right: Dr Andrew Baxter WESSA CEO, Councillor Kari Brice, Anver Wyngaard, Mayor Dudley Coetzee, Francoise Myburgh, Shamilla Chettiar Department of Tourism.
Front left to right: Whale Crier Bulelani Ngidi, Dencil Arendse
Image 2: WESSA Flag Hoisting ceremony
From left to right: Morgan Griffiths WESSA, Dudley Coetzee Overstrand Municipality, Kari Brice, Shamilla Chettiar NDT, Bulelani Ngidi, Tevya Lotriet WESSA, Andrew Baxter WESSA.
Image 3: Ray Nkonyeni Special Award
From left to right: WESSA CEO Dr Andrew Baxter, Nomfundo Dlamini Umdoni Municipality (representing Ray Nkonyeni Municipality), Shamilla Chettiar National Department of Tourism.
Image 4: WESSA Blue Flag Team
From left to right: Lindokuhle Mkhize, Sakhile Sithole, Morgan Griffiths, Vincent Shacks, Tevya Lotriet, Andrew Baxter
Image 5: WESSA Blue Flag hoisting with Mayor
From left to right: Executive Mayor Dudley Coetzee, Shamilla Chettiar, Andrew Baxter and officials
For more information please contact:
WESSA Communications Manager
sarah@wessa.co.za : 076 213 9873
www.wessa.org.za
Sep 28, 2021 | Position papers
WESSA as a partner in the Climate Justice Coalition, will be joining the mobilisation during the week of the 22nd of September 2021 in actions taking place across the country under the banner of cUprootTheDMRE. We do so because the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) under the leadership of Minister Gwede Mantashe, has been a major obstacle to progress on a just energy and mining future.
We are facing interconnected social, economic and ecological crises, which require us to transform our archaic and harmful energy and mining sector to ensure a more socially, economically and ecologically just future. The Business-as-usual approach of the minister and department is out of synch with the global trends that generally show more awareness of and compliance with the letter and spirit of the 2015 Paris agreement.
We need genuine transformative action now, not the slew of new gas, oil and coal related exploration and implementation projects such as the Karpower ships, Limpopo SEZ, and Gazania1. Furthermore, over-eager granting of mineral exploration and mining rights in or near sensitive coastal and protected areas is causing great social and biophysical damage that cannot be aligned with South Africa’s commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals.
We urge the DMRE and minister to take this national call from civil society seriously and to act purposefully in changing for the better our unenviable status as the most carbon-intensive and inefficient energy sector of all G20 countries. This will entail an absolute decline in our emission trajectory before 2025 to achieve below 300 MtCO2e by 2030. By acting boldly and appropriately many thousands of diverse new job opportunities around the country will be created.
For more information contact:
Patrick Dowling – Chair of the WESSA Environmental Governance Committee
084 966 1249
communications@wessa.co.za
Sep 28, 2021 | Archives
For eThekwini-based Tourism Blue Flag Beach Steward, Nomfundo Ndaba, World Tourism Day means exciting possibilities! Across the world, tourism creates millions of jobs for youth and equips them with the necessary skills needed to excel in this industry. Nomfundo pointed out that tourism creates income, not just for stewards, but also for women and youth in rural areas and small businesses that contribute to this sector.
Tourism for inclusive growth means that everyone from any part of the country can participate. The lady who makes traditional beadwork and even the man who takes rickshaw rides along the promenade. WESSA Tourism Blue Flag Project Coordinator, Lindo Mkhize, explained that Beach Stewards are funded by the National Department of Tourism, with the aim of contributing to the tourism sector by supporting local coastal businesses. Stewards are hosted for a year at various tourism companies or organisations, providing capacity to the host, while gaining valuable work experience. Lindo pointed out that the Stewards are also trained in guiding, innovative skills and career development.
This support is also evident in the numerous coastal clean-ups that stewards participate in, especially after the devastating looting that took place in July. Stewards were active across KwaZulu-Natal helping small businesses and our City get back on their feet. The beach clean-ups help keep our Blue Flag Beaches clean; Blue Flag Beaches being internationally accredited for their exceptional standards of cleanliness, water quality, safety and security. These beaches are often the main attraction for visitors to enjoy in various coastal towns and cities. Stewards provide valuable environmental information to visitors and keep these Blue Flag Beaches protected.
Nomfundo Ndaba said that: “World Tourism Day celebrates inclusive growth in tourism and new employment opportunities for South African youth. We aim to support the tourism industry as it rebuilds stronger and more resilient after Covid, and we are here to make sure of it!”
For more information contact:
Sarah Alcock
WESSA Marketing and Communications Manager
Tel 033 3303931 / 076 213 9873
Email: sarah@wessa.co.za
www.wessa.org.za
