Narend Singh discusses environmental challenges in South Africa

JUNE marks National Environment Month in South Africa, focusing on environmental awareness and action against plastic pollution.

Narend Singh, the Deputy Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment,  discusses the pressing environmental issues facing the country, the initiatives in place to combat them and the role that society can play to make a difference.

Q. What are the pressing issues impacting the environment?  

A. The impact of pollution on the marine environment is one of the issues. Chronic pollution such as domestic and industrial wastewater, stormwater, and solid waste affect both estuaries and the ocean. Estuaries are vulnerable to the impacts of both chemical and solid wastes that enter the systems upstream which flow into the ocean. Effluent and chemical discharges from industries into our streams and rivers also eventually end up in the sea.

Q. What is a major pollutant of concern? 

A. Plastic pollution which washes from river systems onto beaches and has a significant impact on our coastal ecosystem services. Moreover, marine pollution is greatly exacerbated by activities such as ships dumping waste directly and illegally into the ocean and incidents where cargo is lost at sea.

In terms of the discharge of wastewater, we regulate the discharge through the coastal waters discharge permit process. These permits provide effluent limits to protect the marine environment and require the permit holders to monitor the effluent before it enters the marine environment.

Annual environmental monitoring is also required to be conducted by the permit holder to monitor the impact of the effluent on the receiving environment. Our environmental monitoring Inspectors also do regular environmental audits to monitor and assess if permit holders adhere to permit conditions.  We have also demonstrated a proactive approach to plastic pollution through scientific studies on plastics and our outreach and awareness programmes. 

Q. What is the environmental concern in KwaZulu-Natal? 

A. Coastal erosion - which affects 60% of KwaZulu-Natal's coastline, with critical hotspots including Durban's beachfront, The Bluff area, and numerous communities along the south coast. The long-term impacts of unmanaged coastal erosion include land loss, damage to infrastructure and property, and disruption of ecosystems and human communities. These impacts can lead to significant economic, social, and environmental consequences.

The department’s Coastal Adaptation and Response Plan, which was launched on World Environment Day 2025, identifies this as a high-priority climate threat exacerbated by sea level rise, increased storm intensity, and inappropriate coastal development.

Government is addressing coastal erosion through a combination of hard and soft engineering solutions and climate change adaptation initiatives. These efforts include beach nourishment, coastal protection structures, and integrating climate change considerations into development planning. 

Q. What is the department doing to address, eradicate or curb the environmental issues in the country? 

A. South Africa is leading the presidency for the G20 for 2025, with the theme being Fostering Solidarity, Equality and Sustainable Development which is underpinned by messaging around the need to foster global solidarity in several key areas including the environment and climate finance.

One of the priorities under the Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group is Oceans and Coasts with two sub-priorities being Marine Spatial Planning and Marine Plastics, focusing on the 7th Annual G20 marine plastics pollution report and Abandoned, Discarded and Lost Fishing Gear (ADLFG), to improve the understanding of plastic losses and leakage from "ghost fishing gear" and measures to address it.

The department is also part of the project titled “Mainstreaming Climate-Resilient Blue Economy in the BCLME (Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem) Region”, and will be contributing to the component focused on the improvement of coastal and marine pollution management within the BCLME region, with a focus on plastic leakage into the marine environment.

We recently completed a Source to Sea project in KwaZulu-Natal and directly employed 100 participants per coastal district (total of 500) for a period of six months. The participants were responsible for regularly cleaning of litter and waste along the identified rivers and streams and recorded the amount of litter collected. The environmental output of the project was the volume of litter prevented from entering our oceans and the number of areas cleaned per coastal district municipality.

South Africa also participates in the International Coastal Clean-up Day event, making a significant contribution to the global beach litter database annually. 

Q. Are there any programmes at schools that address the importance of protecting the environment and our natural resources?

A. One of our priorities is to heighten the awareness for communities including schools about the importance of environmental conservation, protection and management, land restoration and active participation in environment governance for achievement of the sustainable development goals and National Development Plan imperatives.

The active participation of communities in environmental management can be achieved only if the department creates an enabling environment of a strengthened relationship between “People and the Environment”. Hence, the department has made a strategic decision of upscaling and radically transforming its current public education and awareness programme. 

Q. Why is conservation and reducing our carbon footprint important?

A. Conservation and the reduction of our carbon footprints are crucial for environmental sustainability and mitigating climate change. Conservation helps preserve resources, protect ecosystems, and reduce reliance on non-renewable energy sources, while reducing carbon footprints minimises greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to a healthier planet for future generations. Reducing carbon footprint helps slow down or reverse climate change, which has severe impacts on ecosystems, human health, and economies.

Q. In our everyday lives, we may not realise that burning the garden refuse in the backyard, not recycling, throwing plastic into the ocean, over fishing and destroying natural habitat impacts the environment. What should communities be cognisant of, and why?

A. Communities have a major role to play in managing waste into the coastal environment. They need to be cognisant of the fact that litter that is thrown into the environment along rivers, ends up in the river and ultimately in the ocean. These communities often rely on the coastal environment for subsistence fishing. They need to understand the link between their action of littering and not being responsible for the waste they generate and the impact it has on fish communities and in the long-term, possibly their health.

Communities also need to be aware that their actions now can affect future generations, as plastics in particular, are not biodegradable. Each individual needs to have a sense of responsibility for the waste they generate and the sustainability of the environment that they rely on.

Individuals can play a role in participating in beach clean ups in their communities which helps preserve the marine environment. They can collect and separate their waste and ensure that they are recycling or even taking their waste to buy-back centres where they will be compensated for it.

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