4 December 2006
By Nangamso Mabindla
Preserving the environment came under the spotlight at the annual regional conference of the Institute of Environment and Recreation Management (IERM)
The two-day conference was held in East London. It aims to draw attention to the importance of keeping a clean environment, and was attended by municipal delegates from across the Eastern Cape. Municipalities represented at the conference included Buffalo City, Nelson Mandela Metro, OR Tambo District Municipality and Qaukeni. Delegates came from departments of parks and recreation, nature conservation, urban forestry and environmental services.
Graham Smith, Buffalo City's acting director of community services, welcomed the guests, saying that it was important that the country had institutions to preserve the environment.
"The environment is our heritage and we need to look after it. A conference like this will help us share ideas with different people on how best to preserve our environment."
Smith urged officials to use the conference as a tool to promote the institute in the province. Its president, Thembinkosi Ngcobo, echoed Smith's words, saying that the IERM's main focuses were environmental management, sports and recreation management and land usage and its management.
"We aim to use conferences like these to redefine and relaunch the institute because if we want our voice to be heard, people need to know us."
He said it was difficult to preserve the environment. "If you look at politics of land usage, you will find that most arable land is owned by big corporations and ordinary folks do not have access to land; that is a challenge."
Another challenge faced by environmental institutions was the exclusion of local communities from land that would sustain them. Politics also presented a challenge to the preservation the environment. "If a politician were to choose between providing a house and preserving the environment, he or she would choose the former. That is one of the reasons we are facing a difficult challenge," Ngcobo said.
The upcoming 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup, though good for the economy and job creation, would also pose a threat to the environment. "The infrastructural developments will definitely put a strain on our environment."
HIV and Aids were also proving to be a major threat to recreational facilities like parks. "Because of the number of deaths we might have to start providing cemeteries instead of parks … The pursuit of wealth makes it difficult for people to spend time with their families in parks; that too is a challenge," Ngcobo added.
Turning his attention to the institute's goals, Ngcobo said it would like membership to grow and to build a relationship with other Southern African Development Community countries. The institute also aimed to work closely with provincial leaders, particularly the MEC of environmental affairs and tourism.
Donald McGillivray from Afri-coast Engineers stressed the importance of preserving the environment for the success of service delivery. "Municipalities should identify environmental projects that will stimulate urban renewal. This will benefit the communities. Our coastlines need to be preserved," he stressed.
Nelson Mandela Metro was undertaking a project aimed at improving the condition of Port Elizabeth's beachfront.
"Nelson Mandela Bay has built walkways and cycleways that are disabled friendly. It [aims to] preserve the coast and this will create jobs for the communities. Environmentally friendly projects are really exciting," McGillivray said.
Presentation for Seminar
