Deputy Minister Bernice Swarts: Forestry, Fisheries And The Environment Dept Budget Vote 2026/27

Deputy Minister Bernice Swarts’ Budget Vote (Vote 32) Speech For Forestry, Fisheries And The Environment

Honourable House Chairperson,
Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Willie Aucamp;
Deputy Minister Narend Singh;
Honourable Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Ms Nqabisa Gantsho, and Committee Members;
Members of Parliament;
Chairpersons, Board Members and CEOs of our Entities;
Director-General, Ms Nomfundo Tshabalala;
Team Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment;
Ladies and gentlemen;
Fellow South Africans,

Good afternoon
House Chairperson, allow me to pay tribute to all women for their environmental stewardship, change agents in ensuring sustainable natural resources management. Women have endured the effects of climate change, environmental degradation and managed to build resilient communities.

Our government has created an enabling environment for women to actively participate in policy development, and decision making in the environment governance structures. Our department remains committed in ensuring that women have access to economic and leadership opportunities within the environment sector. Women have established their own businesses in the waste circular economy, biodiversity economy through support from the department.

"Wathint’ abafazi, wathint’ imbokodo.” "Wathint’ imbokodo, wathint’ abafazi.”

ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN IN THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE FORESTRY SECTOR
Honourable Members, the transformation of the Forestry sector remains one of the key strategic priorities of the department. Through the Forestry Sector Master Plan and the Community Forestry Agreement Model, we are increasing equitable access and unlock meaningful socio-economic opportunities, particularly for women, youth and people living with disabilities. In the 2025/26 financial year, 8 Community Forestry Agreements were concluded in the Eastern Cape, covering Hamburg, Manina Block H&J, Manina Block K, Mthintloni, Ngcobo, Nkobongo, Xhorana and Zikhova. In the 2026/27 financial year, a further 8 plantations will be transferred to communities.

We are confident that these community-owned plantations will create jobs, stimulate small businesses and strengthen rural livelihoods, especially for women and youth, as we remain resolute to ensure an inclusive program, and broadening participation. The Department is also mobilising private sector partners to provide financial support for this important programme. Through our outreach programmes, we will continue to raise awareness of these opportunities among women and promote forestry careers in our schools.

NATIONAL GREENING PROGRAMME
I am proud to announce that South Africans planted 1,3 million trees on the 24 September 2025 at no cost to government, exceeding our target of 1 million trees. South Africans donated the trees and planted them themselves. This achievement demonstrated the power of collective action and the willingness of South Africans to answer the call to protect our environment and combat climate change. I dedicate this historical and remarkable milestone to all stakeholders who made this dream come true through donations and time for planting of the trees.

Honorable members allow me to extend my appreciation to all partners – Public Entities, Provincial Government, Local Government, Traditional Councils, Private Sector, Embassies, Public Servants, Communities, Churches, Schools, for their unwavering support. On 11 May 2026, I proudly relaunched the Presidential One Billion Trees Programme, under the theme: “My Tree, My Oxygen. Plant Yours Today.”    

Our target for this year is to plant ten million indigenous trees on 24 September 2026. Today, I am making a clarion call once more to all Members of Parliament, Provincial Legislatures, Municipal Councils, SALGA, Traditional Leaders, Church Leaders, Communities, Public Servants, Non-Governmental Organizations to partner with us by donating and planting of in safe spaces across, including schools, clinics, hospitals, colleges, police stations, churches,  parks including private homes across all nine provinces. Since South Africa is a water scarce country, we will be planting indigenous trees that do not use a lot of water and contribute to land restoration.

Through collaboration with our public entities such as SAFCOL, restoration and rehabilitation of community nurseries will be strengthened. this will support renewable energy projects such as sustainable tourism and biodiversity conservation initiatives supported; jobs creation in forestry operations; ecotourism ventures, and wood processing industries.

INTEGRATED FIRE MANAGEMENT
Honourable Members, In response to the Climate Change challenges, the department is decisively strengthening the national fire management capacity by ensuring that that Forestry Protection Associations (FPA’s) have capacity and resources to deal with frequent occurrence of veld fires. I am pleased to announce that the Department completed the functionality assessment of FPA’s, clearly identifying their functional and operational status and support needs A support strategy will be implemented to enhance their effectiveness during this financial year.

Collaboration between the FPA’s, Working on Fire and Disaster Management Centers was also strengthened to enable a more coordinated and responsive approach to firefighting across the country.  
Honourable Members, In the 2026/27 financial year, the Department will create more than 4 000 EPWP work opportunities through the Working on Fire Programme.

CHEMICALS AND WASTE MANAGEMENT
House Chair, The department is responding to the scourge of pollution caused by mismanagement of waste in the country, by strengthening our Local Government Support Programme in partnership with SALGA. We continue to implement municipal greening campaigns as one of the interventions aimed at reducing pollution, removing waste from public spaces, promoting environmental awareness and supporting separation, and recycling initiatives.

We have raised South Africa’s ambition to phase out chemicals that harm the ozone layer, enabling our communities to enjoy the health benefits associated with ozone layer’s absorption of harmful UV radiation while ecosystems and food supply are safeguarded. This financial year, our aim is to reduce the consumption of these harmful chemicals by 97,5%.

To address non-compliant municipal landfill sites, we have advocated for the amendment of the Municipal Infrastructure Grant policy to make it compulsory for municipalities with non-compliance notices and/or directives to ring fence at least 5% of their MIG allocation to address non-compliance issues. We are also strengthening waste diversion interventions from the landfill sites.

The Department is strengthening compliance and regulatory measures while promoting a policy mix that includes economic instruments. We have already seen improvements in the collection of electrical and electronic waste through Extended Producer Responsibility fees, Making the “polluter pays principle”,  a reality. There is growing accountability among producers of prioritised products, with Producer Responsibility Organisations playing a central role in implementing EPR systems across South Africa. These organisations are responsible for developing and managing systems to collect, recycle and responsibly manage waste generated by products placed on the market.

Electronic waste, commonly referred to as e waste, is the fastest growing waste stream globally. The increasing use of electrical and electronic equipment has resulted in large volumes of discarded devices, many of which contain hazardous substances that pose serious risks to human health and the environment if not managed well. South Africa generates more than 360,000 tonnes of e waste annually, yet only a small proportion is formally recycled. The prohibition of e waste disposal to landfill, together with the introduction of Extended Producer Responsibility Regulations, reflects government’s clear intent to divert this waste stream towards increasing reuse, recycling and recovery.

In the past two financial years, the Department launched and implemented the e-waste programme, we hosted Izimbizo (community engagements) aimed at creating awareness about e-waste, health risk posed by electronic waste,  in partnership with PRO’s who purchased e-waste items from the communities. These e-waste Izimbizo were held in Mpumalanga Province, in Bushbuckridge and Nkomazi Local Municipalities respectively. This work continued in Rustenburg and Madibeng Local Municipalities in the North-West Province under Bojanala District Municipality followed by the Cities of Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni in Gauteng Province, Ga-Segonyana Local Municipality in Northern Cape under John Taolo Gaetsewe District Municipality, Kind Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape under OR Tambo District Municipality. Through these e-waste Izimbizo, the Producer Responsibility Organisations were able to collect more than 86 000 kilograms (86 tons) of e-waste with more than R267 700.00 paid as incentives to the communities. This is a clear demonstration of the success of this partnership and the gains to the environment and to public health. Honourable Members, as part of these Izimbizo, I hosted Traditional Leaders Stakeholder Engagements to get a better understanding of waste management challenges in their areas of jurisdiction, indeed we learnt a lot from and we noted their recommendations to address these challenges.

I am proud to announce that a remarkable progress has been achieved in the rollout of EPR schemes, including: 
•    Increased industry participation and registration;
•    Investment in collection, sorting and recycling infrastructure;
•    Partnerships that drive job creation and support the circular economy;
•    Continued support for waste pickers; and
•    Advancing circular economy implementation.

Honourable Members, the Waste Management Bureau, as a specialist implementing arm of the Department, is driving waste minimisation, recycling and recovery, while addressing systemic weaknesses in the waste management system. The Bureau is strengthening its operational role, particularly in overseeing the national waste tyre management system.

The Department in consultation with National Treasury is addressing challenges faced by the Waste Management Bureau. We are advancing the work required to formally operationalize the Bureau as a fit-for-purpose institution, supported by a sustainable funding framework.

We will continue to implement interventions to address structural weaknesses, including supporting the shift towards cost-reflective pricing for landfill disposal. In close collaboration with National Treasury and metropolitan municipalities through the Metro Trading Services Reform Programme, we aim to strengthen governance, accountability and financial sustainability in municipal waste services.

LAND DEGRADATION AND DESERTIFICATION
Honourable Members, during the 2025/26 financial year, the Department added 320 328.7692 hectares of land to the conservation estate. South Africa faces increasing threats to food production due to the impacts of climate change-linked meteorological hazards such as floods and droughts, as well as loss of productive land due to land degradation processes such as soil erosion. Approximately 80% of the land in South Africa is used for agriculture and subsistence livelihoods. Approximately six million people in our country depend on agriculture for their livelihoods with the smallholder agricultural sector providing employment for 1,3 million households.

Despite the importance of land and its ecosystems, South Africa is prone to desertification, land degradation, and the impacts of drought. The condition of land affects everyone and, therefore, caring for it is our shared responsibility. Thus the National Action Programme to combat desertification, land degradation and drought (DLDD) spearheaded by the Department under the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) unites diverse stakeholders, namely governments, scientists, farmers, the private sector, and local communities to support targeted initiatives that protect and restore the health of the land and productivity. Using collaborative and evidence-based approaches, the Convention, supports countries with the knowledge and tools needed to increase drought resilience, prevent future disasters, and enact more responsible land governance policies that empower women, youth, indigenous people, and local communities.

This year, the Department will host the commemoration of Desertification Land Degradation and Drought Day under the theme “Rangelands: Recognise. Respect. Restore in the Northern Cape at the Dawid Kruiper Local Municipality under the ZF Mgcawu District Municipality on 17 June 2026. During this event, the Department will launch and handover of two boreholes in Rietfontein and Philanderebron as part of the GEF7 Sustainable Land Management (SLM) Project. The event will also highlight the importance of tree planting and promote collaboration and partnerships as key mechanisms for addressing DLDD, as well as broader environmental and biodiversity challenges. It will be preceded by public awareness programme activities including tree planting initiatives.

The Department is facilitating the development of an Integrated Restoration Programme (IRP) aimed at consolidating all interventions and efforts relating to land and wetlands restoration/rehabilitation, clearing of alien invasive species, clean-up campaigns, tree planting, catchment restoration and other related programmes. This programme will strengthen our landscape approach to avoid duplication of efforts and ensure effective collaboration and resources utilisation. It will also enhance our delivery on national landscape approach and efforts on resource mobilisation, restoration interventions, job creation, awareness or clean up campaigns, capacity building etc and also address the delivery of different commitments set on different agreements and conventions i.e. delivery of the Land Degradation Neutrality targets, AFR100, Great Green Wall Initiative, target 2 of the Global Biodiversity Framework, National Determined Contributions. Restoration programme cuts across the mandates of various government departments, institutions and entities. This will require collaboration and coordination among several key role players i.e. Department of Water and Sanitation, Department of Agriculture, Department of Land Reform and Rural Development, Public entities, Civil Society Organizations and all stakeholders.

SOUTH AFRICAN WEATHER SERVICE 
The South African Weather Service (SAWS) is a strategic national institution whose work contributes to the protection of lives, property, critical infrastructure and economic activities against the impacts of adverse weather and climate-related hazards. As climate change intensifies, South Africa is increasingly exposed to floods, droughts, heat waves, wildfires, storm surges, and severe storms. The tragic floods experienced in Mthatha in June 2025, as well as other provinces such as Mpumalanga and Limpopo in January 2026, Eastern Cape and Western Cape in May 2026, demonstrate that weather and climate-related disasters are no longer future risks, but current realities that require urgent preparedness, adaptation, and coordinated national response systems.

It is within this context that South Africa is advancing the implementation of the United Nations Early Warnings for All (EW4ALL) initiative, through SAWS aims to ensure that every person on earth is protected by effective early warning systems by 2027. During the G20 Working Group on Disaster Risk Reduction, South Africa launched its National Early Warning Roadmap, becoming the first G20 member state to launch such initiative which reflects the country’s commitment to strengthening disaster risk reduction, climate resilience, and public safety.

Early warning systems are not simply about weather forecasting, but are national protective systems that help save lives, reduce damage to property and infrastructure, support disaster preparedness, and minimise economic loss associated with severe weather events.
Every accurate and timely warning issued ahead of severe weather events provides communities, municipalities and disaster management authorities with critical time to prepare and respond, as was recently the case in the Western Cape when a decision was made to close schools during the May 2026 floods.

In addition to weather forecasting and warning services, SAWS plays a critical role in supporting safety of life at sea and safe marine navigation. More recently, the SAWS launched a Rip Current Hazard Model aimed at reducing drowning incidents along South Africa’s coastline. Global statistics indicate that more than 60% of drowning incidents are associated with rip currents. Furthermore, SAWS has launched an Open Drift Model which assists in forecasting how objects may drift at sea. This capability supports more effective search and rescue operations, environmental response planning, and maritime emergency management.  

SAFCOL
Honourable Speaker, the South African Forestry Company SOC Limited continues to demonstrate the important role that a state-owned enterprise can play when it is both commercially disciplined and developmentally responsive. SAFCOL remains committed to delivering on its dual mandate by sustaining its commercial operations while advancing socio-economic development in the communities where it operates through job creation, skills development, enterprise support and broader community upliftment initiatives. The company has also maintained its Forest Stewardship Council (FSC®) certification for the 29th consecutive year, reaffirming its commitment to responsible and sustainable forest management aligned with international best practice.

We are further encouraged by SAFCOL’s continued progress in governance and financial management. The company has achieved unqualified audit outcomes for five consecutive years, reflecting strengthened internal controls, improved accountability and enhanced institutional discipline. In parallel, SAFCOL has implemented prudent cost-containment and cash preservation measures aimed at improving liquidity and reinforcing the long-term sustainability of the organisation.
This progress is being driven through the implementation of Strategy ’29: Sustainability for Improved Livelihoods. Through this strategic framework, SAFCOL is focused on stabilising the business, strengthening operational resilience and positioning the company for sustainable long-term growth. These priorities are underpinned by responsible forestry practices, climate change resilience and inclusive economic development, particularly within rural communities that rely on the forestry value chain for economic participation and livelihoods.

A further positive development is SAFCOL’s investment in modern systems and technology to strengthen governance and operational performance. The company has implemented a new Enterprise Resource Planning system to enhance data integrity, improve financial reporting and strengthen cybersecurity capabilities. This transition represents a significant move away from a high-risk legacy platform and establishes a stronger foundation for reliable decision-making, operational efficiency and improved governance oversight.

At the same time, Honourable Members, we must acknowledge the challenges that continue to confront SAFCOL. Ageing infrastructure and outdated production technology continue to place pressure on operational efficiency, competitiveness and revenue generation. In response, the company is implementing a phased replacement programme for critical revenue-generating equipment, utilising available cash resources responsibly while also engaging financial institutions to unlock additional funding for capital renewal initiatives. In parallel, the phased upgrade of the Timbadola Sawmill will be undertaken to improve processing capacity, product recovery and overall operational efficiency.
Another significant challenge facing both SAFCOL and the broader forestry sector is the ongoing threat of timber theft. This criminal activity undermines revenue generation, threatens employment opportunities and weakens the long-term sustainability of the sector. In response, SAFCOL is strengthening collaboration with law enforcement agencies, Forestry South Africa and local communities to enhance prevention, monitoring and enforcement interventions. The company is also intensifying security and surveillance measures as part of broader efforts to safeguard forestry assets and support lawful economic activity within the sector.

Taken together, these interventions demonstrate that SAFCOL is responding proactively to its challenges through practical and targeted measures. The company continues to strengthen governance, modernise systems and invest in operational improvements while maintaining its commitment to community development and inclusive growth.

CONCLUSION
House Chairperson…Honourable Members, climate change, pollution, land degradation and biodiversity loss demand strong leadership, decisive action and collective responsibility. As the department, we remain committed to working together with all South Africans to tackle these challenges. I call upon all South Africans to work with us to protect and conserve our environment for the benefit of current and future generation.

Thank you.

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