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Saturday, October 29, 2011

Resourcing the Future: Positioning Africa for Success

Higher Education and Training Minister Dr Blade Nzimande addresses the IPM Convention on Skills Development

28 Oct 2011

The Institute of People Management (IPM) will hold its 55th National Convention at Sun City from 30 October to 2 November 2011. Held under the theme “Resourcing the Future: Positioning Africa for Success”, the Convention will bring together thousands of professionals in the fields of human resources management, as well as a wide range of experts in the field of skills development. The convention will discuss a variety of issues related to skills development in South Africa and the continent.

The Minister for Higher Education and Training, Dr Blade Nzimande, will address the Convention on Monday, 31 October 2011. Dr Nzimande will outline his vision and the Government’s national programme of skills development. He will also outline the latest developments in his campaign to provide a skilled and capable workforce for the economy.

Journalists are invited to attend.

The event takes place as follows:

Date: Monday, 31 October 2011
Time: 13:45
Venue: Sun City (North West province)

For further information, contact:

Muzi Khumalo
Cell: 072 288 5340
Tel: 012 312 5024
E-mail: khumalo.m@dhet.gov.za

Issued by: Department of Higher Education and Training
28 Oct 2011


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World Bank grants loan to Eskom


Pretoria - Power parastatal Eskom has been granted a $250 million loan (about R1.9 billion) for its Eskom Renewables Energy Support Project (ERSP), said the World Bank.

The loan will help Eskom to implement two of the largest renewable energy projects ever attempted on the African continent.

It will enable the utility to build a 100megawatt, utility-scale, concentrating solar power plant in Upington as well as a 100megawatt wind power project in Sere, 300km north of Cape Town.

"The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors today approved $250 million in funding for the Eskom Renewables Energy Support Project (ERSP) to help implement the pioneering and innovative Upington concentrating solar power and Sere wind power plants in South Africa," said the Bank on Thursday.

According to the World Bank, the loan is funded by the Clean Technology Fund which promotes scaled-up financing for demonstration, deployment and transfer of low-carbon technologies with significant potential for long-term greenhouse gas emissions savings.

"Africa is beginning to grow and the problem of energy insecurity is dampening that growth. By investing in these cutting-edge, transformational solar and wind power projects, we are saying that Africa can lead the way in securing a clean energy future," said World Bank Vice President for the Africa Region, Obiageli K. Ezekwesili. - BuaNews

Sunday, October 23, 2011

How Deep is your Carbon Foot Print - ?? Emotional or Factual???

This has become an very important question since so may people are jumping on the emotional band wagon of securing funds for "conservation" and "causes". We should think about the offset of user groups when opposing certain practices and life styles. What might offend you may not necessary be as bad as you imagination or personal emotion is making it out to be. What is your Carbon foot print ... it is the unseen destruction of the planet which you can not pray upon emotionally.

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_footprint

"A carbon footprint has historically been defined as "the total set of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by an organization, event, product or person."[1]. However, calculating a carbon footprint which conforms to this definition is often impracticable due to the large amount of data required, which is often costly and time consuming to obtain. A more practicable definition has been suggested, which is gaining acceptance within the field:"

Many people take for granted that eco Tourism is an absolute alternative towards fishing/hunting. They forget that the food that these five star tourist consume are of a much higher production standard than that of some one with an out door leisure life style. This increase the carbon footprint not only for the production of said food source, but also the storage, transportation and preparation of said food.Their is a parallel that can be drawn between every other amenity they use. Transport to reach our country, from point a to b and even their accommodation.

All these leave a much deeper foot print than any other form of local tourist will ever leave on the planet. The sad part about fishing/hunting it is an emotional visual sport  that really only offend the ignorant whom hardly gets involved in knowing the techniques and the person behind the activity. Cruelty against animals are always the main concern, but the highway they drive on, the golf coarse they play on or the movie they watch, is never a consideration since the evidence of cruelty to animals is only evident to those who really care about the planet.

http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2009/06/embodied-energy-of-digital-technology.html

So please if you are emotional about something please follow your heard and not your heart before you exploit the privacy of an innocent person. 

Emotional Causes that have negative effect on the environment.

Elephant Culling - Money is the main guideline
Seal Harvesting - Environmental issues like habitat destruction is the main guideline
Rhino Hunting - Pays for the fight against poaching

The list is actually as long as the consumers needs on the planet, but the problem is we get emotional about something and force a government to intervene and then we walk away ... We leave the bill for the few user groups that really care or for the poor to suffer through the results of our five minutes of participation ...

EVIL -

 The real evil is the foreign scientist that are using emotional see saw to dictate the donations that would have or could have gone to the poor and legitimate Environmental organisations.

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Public invited to comment on rhino law

Pretoria - Members of the public are invited to comment on the newly proposed amendments to the norms and standards for the marking of rhinoceros horn and hunting of white rhinoceros for trophy hunting purposes.

Water and Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa published the proposed amendments in Gazette No. 34650, General Notice No. 685.

The proposed amendments stipulate that the horns must be transported from the address where the hunt took place to the taxidermist or similar facility to be processed and prepared for exportation.

Currently, the provincial conservation authorities issue permits for sport hunting of rhino and an unfortunate challenge being faced in terms of the permitting of rhino hunting, is the abuse of the system by unscrupulous individuals.

"The proposed amendments are intended to address the abuse of the permit system," said Department of Environmental Affairs spokesperson Albi Modise.

"Although illegal hunting is the main threat that could impact on the survival of rhinoceros in the wild in the near future, stricter provisions relating to hunting is required to ensure processes are standardised and to reduce possible abuse of the system," he said.

He said the Department views this in a very serious light and is committed to the fight against rhino poaching and abuse of the permit system. This is evident from the numerous interventions that have been initiated to this end.

Rhino horns obtained as a result of dehorning of the rhino, which were not micro-chipped, will now have to be micro-chipped by the permit issuing authority.

Provincial authorities must keep the information relating to rhino horns on the TRAFFIC rhino horn stockpile database and the Department of Environmental Affairs must maintain the national database.

On the management of the hunting of white rhino, all rhino hunts must be strictly controlled by means of an individual Threatened or Protected Species (TOPS) hunting permit issued by the issuing authority to ensure that all rhino horns can be traced to the property where the hunt took place.

If the rhino horns were not already micro-chipped, they would need to be micro-chipped on the property where the hunt took place, immediately after the hunt.

It is also proposed that rhino hunts must take place under the supervision of a conservation official, preferably an environmental management inspector (EMI) from the province concerned, subject to a permit being issued in the name of the hunter.

The official or EMI who attended the hunt must immediately after the hunt provide the Department of Environmental Affairs with information relating to the hunt and the relevant micro-chip numbers.

The CITES export permit for the white rhino trophy, which must be accompanied by a copy of the TOPS hunting permit, must be endorsed by an EMI prior to the export of the trophy.

DNA samples of rhino horns are a proposed new section in the norms and standards. This section states that DNA samples of horns must be collected when live rhino are darted for translocation, treatment and any other management purposes.

DNA samples also have to be collected from detached horns obtained through amongst others natural mortalities, dehorning, or rhino horn trophies, when such horns have to be micro-chipped.

The results of the DNA samples aim to assist enforcement officials to achieve successful prosecutions during criminal proceedings.

DNA samples must be collected by a registered veterinarian responsible for darting of a live rhino, an official from the issuing authority responsible for the micro-chipping, or the conservation official or EMI who supervises the hunt and who has been adequately trained in DNA collection.

The DNA samples must be sent to the Veterinary Genetics Laboratory at Onderstepoort as soon as possible.

Any person who wishes to submit representations or comments in connection with the proposed amendments to the norms and standards is invited to do so within 30 days of the date of the publication of the notice in the Gazette.

Comments must be sent to: By Post to: The Director-General: Environmental Affairs, Attention: Ms Magdel Boshoff, Private Bag X447, Pretoria, 0001 or they can be faxed to: (012) 320 7026 or e-mailed to mboshoff@environment.gov.za. - BuaNews

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Friday, October 7, 2011

Minister Molewa to launch National Marine Week

Minister Molewa to launch National Marine Week and Oceans Monitoring Buoy at Elands Bay Hotel, Western Cape

7 Oct 2011

Water and Environmental Affairs Minister, Edna Molewa, MP, will, on Monday, 10 October 2011, launch the annual National Marine Week awareness campaign under the theme: “Changing Climate, Changing Oceans, Changing People.”

As part of the awareness campaign and government commitment to understanding the impacts of climate change and the threats posed to coastal communities by oceans, Minister Molewa will also launch an oceans processes monitoring buoy system at Elands Bay on the West Coast of the Western Cape.

The buoy will play a significant role in climate research in the ocean environment as it will measure ocean temperatures and currents in order to better understand the effects of climate change on our oceans and therefore enable coastal communities to be better prepared to deal with adverse conditions.

The emerging impacts of climate change and other factors are making South Africa’s coastline more susceptible to natural hazards, such as storm surges and rising sea levels. The coastline is also exposed to and threatened by pollution.

It is therefore important to monitor the marine environment and provide predictions of change. To this end the department’s Oceans & Coasts branch has developed an oceans monitoring buoy system that monitors key oceanographic processes.

Between 2011 and 2012 the department will deploy, along the South African coastline, a range of new equipment on and around the coast of South Africa covering the coastline, shelf waters, the deeper continental slope environment, very deep offshore regions and coastal weather systems.

These will include four locally designed and manufactured real-time coastal monitoring buoys (known as Data Buoy) ― two deployed in KwaZulu-Natal, one in the Tsitsikamma National Park, and one at Elands Bay.

Media is invited. Please confirm attendance by Friday, 7 October 2011.

Details of the event:
Date: 10 October 2011
Time: 10h00
Venue: Elands Bay Hotel, Western Cape

Enquiries:
Zolile Nqayi
Tel: 021 819 2423
Cell: 082 898 6483
E-mail: znqayi@environment.gov.za

Issued by: Department of Environmental Affairs
7 Oct 2011

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Thursday, October 6, 2011

WINNERS OF 2011 NEDBANK CAPITAL GREEN MINING AWARDS ANNOUNCED

 

                                                                                               

                                                                07 October 2011

 

WINNERS OF 2011 NEDBANK CAPITAL GREEN MINING AWARDS ANNOUNCED

 

The winners of the sixth annual Nedbank Capital Green Mining Awards were announced at an awards presentation held at Nedbank's head office in Sandton last night.

 

The Awards were launched in 2006 and aim to recognise and celebrate the important contribution that responsible, sustainable and environmentally aware mining and mineral beneficiation make to the economic development of South Africa and Africa.

 

The winning projects for 2011 are:

 

  • Environmental Category: Anglo American Thermal Coal's Gypsum Housing Project (Joint Winner); BHP Billiton's Turning Employee Benefits Into Company Profits -Ongoye Forest Project (Joint Winner)
  • Socio-Economic Category: Anglo American Thermal Coal's HIV/AIDS Workplace Programme (Joint Winner); Kumba Iron Ore Sishen - Mine's UGM Wellness Clinic (Joint Winner)
  • Sustainability Category: Kumba Iron Ore - Sishen Mine's Rural Research Project.

 

The runners-up in the Socio-Economic Category were First Quantum Minerals -Kansanshi Mining Plc's Conservation Farming Project and Anglo American Thermal Coal's Science, Career Guidance and ICT Resources Centre. No awards were made in the Limited Resources Category.

 

According to the panel of adjudicators, the joint winners in the Environmental Category both demonstrated innovative approaches to addressing different environmental challenges.

 

"The Gypsum Housing project deals with wastes generated directly from mining activities while the Ongoye Forest project tackles existing environmental degradation. Both projects illustrate how real socio-economic benefits can be derived through implementing creative solutions to environmental issues," the judges said.

 

In the Socio Economic Category, the judges said the joint winners demonstrated excellence around technical planning, care of people, recognition of parties' interests to solve problems collectively, depth of partnerships and the positive contribution mining can make to address HIV/AIDS prevalence in South Africa.

 

"The projects both provide excellent illustrations of how the mining industry can rise to the HIV/AIDS challenge," said the judges.

 

Commenting on the winning entry in the Sustainability Category, the judges said it was an outstanding example of how a mine's long-term needs have been fully aligned with development planning needs at a national, provincial and local level.

 

"Environmental responsibility, socio-economic development and sustainability are absolutely core to the ongoing success and positive impact of the mining industry in South Africa and throughout Africa," said Peter van Kerckhoven, joint head of Resources Finance at Nedbank Capital, stressing that Nedbank promotes environmental, cultural, social and economic sustainability throughout its operations and activities.

 

"By taking steps to minimise their environment footprint, uplift communities in the area where they operate, and place a major emphasis on sustainability, many mining companies are taking their corporate responsibility outcomes to a higher level than ever before."

 

Nedbank was the first African Bank to sign the Equator Principles (an international standard on responsible lending), and became South Africa and Africa's first carbon neutral financial organisation in 2009. It renewed its carbon neutral status in 2010. The bank is continually driving its position as South Africa's caring bank through its commitment to climate change and  sustainability initiatives. This will be reiterated through their support of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 17) to be held in Durban from 28 November - 9 December 2011.

 

 

Ends

 

 

 

 

Issued on behalf of:      Nedbank

                                     Sizwekazi Jekwa

                                     Senior Communications Manager

                                     011294 1306

                                     Sizwekazij@nedbank.co.za