Ms. Nomalungelo Gina, Deputy Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation;
Councillor Lusengo;
Ms. Gugu Zwane, Acting Director-General of the Department of Science, Technology, and Innovation;
Dr Mary-Jane Bopape, Managing Director of NRF-SEON
Senior officials of my Department;
Members of the community;
Distinguished guests;
Ladies and gentlemen:
Background to this event
Thank you for taking the time to attend this important event. For the purpose of this Outreach Programme, I wish to reflect on several key issues. The first issue is the reason why we are hosting this event in Mpumalanga, in particular.
As some of you may be aware, South Africa is the current G20 President. During this month, as part of our country’s G20 programme, our Department of Science, Technology, and Innovation (DSTI) is hosting a number of G20 activities in the Mpumalanga province.
These activities include the second meetings of the Research and Innovation Working Group (RIWG) and Ocean20 here in Mbombela. The second RIWG meeting will discuss progress on agreed-upon deliverables.
Yesterday, we celebrated Africa Day at the University of Mpumalanga and as part of these celebrations, we hosted a dialogue, wherein science policy experts from around the world shared ideas on how Africa can use science, technology, and innovation to drive industrialisation and achieve higher levels of development.
Informed by this background, through today’s Outreach Programme, we aim to partially address the question that is lingering everywhere as to why we are hosting an Ocean20 meeting in an inland province.
South Africa’s land area and coastline
The second issue I wish to reflect on is South Africa’s land area and coastline. South Africa's Land Area is one million two hundred and twenty-one, thirty-seven (1,221,037) square kilometres.
South Africa’s coastline stretches for more than two thousand eight hundred and fifty (2,850) kilometres from the desert border with Namibia on the Atlantic coast southwards around the tip of Africa and then northeast to the border with Mozambique on the Indian coast.
This coastline also includes South Africa’s sovereign possessions of Prince Edward and Marion Islands, Prince Edward Island coastline 32 km, Marion Island 134 km.
All this contributes to bringing the size of South Africa’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) to one million five hundred and fifty-three square kilometres (1, 553,000).
Indications are that a successful Continental Shelf claim we submitted will add an additional eight hundred and eighty-eight thousand (880,000) square km to the SA EEZ, thereby potentially bringing it to two million four hundred and thirty-three (2, 433,000) square km.
In a nutshell South Africa has more ocean space than land. This helps us to understand why it is important that we conscientise both in land and coastal communities about oceans as part of South Africa’s biodiversity heritage.
DSTI’s support for ocean research and innovation
The third point I wish to reflect on is the work that my Department is doing to support ocean research and innovation. The ocean is deeply tied to the economy, environment, culture, and climate and for this reason, my Department has been supporting research and innovation in our oceans.
This support is provided as part of the South African Marine and Antarctic Research Strategy, through the South African National Antarctic Programme commonly known as SANAP, which is run through one of our entities, the National Research Foundation (NRF).
Further, through a business unit of the NRF, the South African Environmental Observation Network (SAEON) there are two nodes Elwandle based in Gqebera which conducts coastal research, and Egagasini based in Cape Town which conducts offshore research.
In addition, as part of the South African Research Infrastructure Roadmap (SARIR) that my department launched in 2016, we also have the Shallow Marine and Coastal Research Infrastructure (SMCRI) and the South African Polar Research Infrastructure (SAPRI), hosted by NRF-SAEON.
Through these programmes we are deploying environmental monitoring infrastructure that allows us to monitor and understand what is happening on our coasts and surrounding oceans and therefore strengthening the country’s position as a contributor to marine science.
The ocean as our source of life
The fourth and final point I wish to reflect on is the importance of the ocean as a source of life. Did you know that we all breathe because of the ocean? This is because the ocean produces over half of the oxygen we breathe, despite our long distance from the sea.
Therefore, every breath we take is a gift from the ocean. The ocean also plays a critical role in our weather and climate conditions. The ocean absorbs heat, stores carbon, and it also assists in regulation of rainfall patterns.
We are talking about the water that we put on our crops for our livestock, even the one we get from our rivers. Understanding this part of the ocean is particularly important for farming and rural communities. You are also aware that our rivers eventually flow into the ocean and therefore what we throw into the river eventually makes its way to the sea.
Therefore, the implications of our actions, even here in Mbombela have the potential to contribute to harmful effects on our weather patterns and biodiversity as it affects the ocean health. The ocean supports jobs, food, and trade that reach us here.
Further more, most of the things we use from food to goods we buy to clothe ourselves or farm equipment, most of it travels through the ocean to reach us. Therefore, a healthy ocean means a healthy planet. That means a safer, more stable future for our children and generations to come even here, far from the ocean.
We may not see the ocean every day, but the ocean feels the impact of our everyday actions. Therefore, both in-land and coastal communities should play a role in preserving our oceans and other aspects of our biodiversity.
Conclusion
In conclusion, as part of today’s programme, we have invited a glittering array of marine experts and scientists. Their work today is to fascinate you with the various aspects of our oceans and hopefully you will use whatever you have learned here today to develop yourselves and your communities. I wish you a productive and exciting day further.
