A new 'environmental moralism'

By Saliem Fakir, Country Coordinator, International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

In the past many forms of commercial development in South Africa occurred without sound environmental planning.
This impacted negatively on people and their environment. However, following the inception of a democratic government, a set of new policies and laws have been introduced to prevent damage to the environment through irresponsible forms of development.
It is true to say that these new laws have the best features of environmental protection available to us from both local and international experience.
We have a set of tools allowing environmental problems to be sorted out long before a development is conceived and executed. Citizens can also take up environmental problems by referring them to the recently established Environmental Tribunal.
However, environmental rights do not work in isolation and should not do so.
Our constitution and laws are designed to encourage negotiation and compromise. There are many public participation provisions in the environmental laws that are designed to allow debate, and the interests of various groups to be represented before a final decision is made.

Resrictive

The new environmental laws and policies have thus managed to put a brake on unrepentant forms of commercial development.
But now there may be a new threat to economic growth of the kind that can benefit the poor and unemployed. This threat is not from developers or inconsiderate government officials and planners, but from a rather narrow, and mundane form of environmental moralism.
This is a moralism that seeks to protect its sacred tenets at all cost.
It is a moralism that falsely depicts all forms of commercial development as being inherently a danger to the environment. It also tends to see programmes that benefit the poor through land reform or access to natural resources as threats rather than opportunities.
Often the people who hold this position argue against giving the rural poor access to natural resources by making false promises and presenting mirages, such as unthought-out arguments that eco-tourism or welfare projects will provide long-term livelihood security and cash.
These promises are often a ruse, and a diversion, to prevent people from getting real rights to their land and the resources on which they may rely.

Compromises

This kind of moralism refers to environmental laws and protections but seeks to expunge the rights- based approach and the ethic of seeking compromise that are basic to our constitution. This form of environmental moralism threatens to extinguish all creativity and innovation that comes from trying to bridge the gap between conservation and development. Uncompromising positions become a religious tenet, adhered to for the sake of it, rather than a tool or principle to guide the evolution of responsible forms of economic development.
Environmnental and developmental legislation is used as a blunt instrument through which to subjugate others. This rather archaic and sterile form of environmentalism is inconsistent with the vision set out by the World Summit on Sustainable Development recently hosted by our country.
It is unfortunate that an unintended consequence of our legal framework is that it has given power to the kind of environmentalists who see in all forms of development the gloomiest of scenarios.
Environmental moralists want us to believe that the world will be a more hopeful place if we trust in their blind faith. This is not a virtue, but the next big threat to the poor.

Independent Opinion

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Message from Ishwaran Natarajan, Head Natural World Heritage Sites UNESCO

`I was impressed and at times amazed with the variety of scenery and the diversity of life and eco-systems in St Lucia Wetlands; such a multiplicity of attractions and pristine nature all packed into one World Heritage Area.
I am thankful to Andrew Zaloumis and his staff for giving me the opportunity to view the site from land as well as air, in particular the coastal dunes. The Park Authority faces many challenges in ensuring that the different stakeholders with an interest in benefiting from the Park’s values, also make constructive contributions to the Authority’s efforts to protect the Park for the benefit of current and future generations.
They need all the support they can get, both in South Africa and internationally. The World Heritage Centre will do its best to link the Authority with partners who may be able to provide such support.’

Visitors to the park may notice that all sorts of new animals are appearing that weren’t there a couple of years ago.
The most noticeable of these are the elephant and buffalo now to be seen on the Eastern and Western shores. As part of the Conservation Management of the Park, the Authority is aiming to ‘rehabilitate’ the Park and introduce animal species that used to live in this region but were exterminated by human activity over the last century.
In addition, it makes good sense from a tourism point of view to have a greater range of animals for game viewing experiences in the Park.
In order to undertake animal introductions, the Authority has commissioned Dr Noel van Rooyen from the University of Pretoria to formulate a Game Introduction Policy setting down the key principles of the way in which this process will be carried out.
Dr van Rooyen is also at present working on formulating a 5 year Game Introduction Programme to determine which species will be introduced, in what numbers and in what areas.
This requires a very detailed mapping of the vegetation and habitats of the Park. Dr van Rooyen stated that: This is essential to determine the stocking densities for the different types of wildlife, based on their habitat preferences
This task relies heavily on the previous research done in the Park, much of which has been done by researchers from EKZN Wildlife. Van Rooyen stated that he was collating the results of the different studies on grazing and browsing capacity and previous re-introductions of wildlife that have been done in the area - and there are a magnitude of studies.
This points to the importance of research in the Park as the basis for the formulation of management plans and the taking of decisions.
Dr van Rooyen noted that he is making good progress with the programme, which should be completed within the next 2 months. With this programme in place, its implementation over the next five years will see the introduction of a wide range of animals into the Park. So the next time you drive through the Park, you can look forward to seeing a range of new animals being introduced as part of the Game Introduction Programme.