VZCZCXRO2733
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHSA #3925/01 3131038
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 091038Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY PRETORIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2641
RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
INFO RUEHTN/AMCONSUL CAPE TOWN 5067
RUEHDU/AMCONSUL DURBAN 9365
RUEHJO/AMCONSUL JOHANNESBURG 7735

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PRETORIA 003925 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR OES/PCI, OES/ENV, AND AF/S 
DEPT PASS EPA/OIA, 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: SENV SOCI ETRD SF
SUBJECT: SOUTH AFRICAN ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY MONTHLY 
BRIEFINGS, OCTOBER 2007 
 
 
PRETORIA 00003925  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (U) Summary:  This is the South African Environment, Science and 
Technology Monthly Briefings newsletter, October 2007, Volume 2, 
Number 7, prepared by the U.S. Embassy Pretoria, South Africa. 
 
Topics of the newsletter: 
 
-- MINISTER POSTPONES BAN ON ABALONE HARVESTING 
-- GREEN SCORPIONS SHUT DOWN ACELORMITTAL DUMP SITE 
-- AFRICA COULD CASH IN ON CARBON CREDITS 
-- LEARNING MATH AND SCIENCE FROM A CELL PHONE 
-- GAUTRAIN PROJECT TO ENCOURAGE STUDENTS TO PURSUE CAREERS IN MATH 
AND SCIENCE 
-- NEDBANK ON GREENING CRUSADE 
-- GM MAIZE LEVELS EXCEED FIFTY PERCENT IN SA 
-- CONVENTION CENTER YIELDS RETURNS FOR CAPE TOWN 
 
 
End Summary. 
 
MINISTER POSTPONES BAN ON ABALONE HARVESTING 
 
¶2. (U) Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) 
Marthinus Van Schalkwyk postponed the cabinet- approved ban on 
commercial harvesting of wild abalone one day before it was to take 
effect.  The ban, which was to commence on November 1, 2007, was 
originally imposed to protect the over-harvested and poached abalone 
stocks.  Abalone has become a prized commodity for both local 
entrepreneurs and organized crime within South Africa.  The number 
of poached abalone confiscated in South Africa has risen from 21, 
000 in 1994 to over one million in 2007.  The biggest market for 
abalone is Asia where it is used for medicinal purposes and is 
considered a seafood delicacy. 
 
¶3. (U) The Congress of South African Trade Union (COSATU) and other 
stakeholders are opposed to the proposed ban.  COSATU attacked the 
government for not consulting with all stakeholders before taking 
such a drastic action.  COSATU warned that over 800 jobs could be 
lost if the ban was not lifted.  Labor movement spokesman Tony 
Ehrenreich agreed that poachers must be eliminated, but maintained 
that abalone fishing was a necessity for the coastal communities 
that have depended upon it for generations.  Head of the 302-member 
South African Abalone Industry Association Scott Russell threatened 
to take legal action against the minister for what he called 
"economically crippling intentions and actions."   Minister Van 
Schalkwyk said stated the ban could still be implemented on February 
1, 2008, but only after a further careful review. 
GREEN SCORPIONS SHUT DOWN ACELORMITTAL DUMP SITE 
¶4. (U) South Africa's environmental management inspectors (EMIs), 
also known as the "Green Scorpions," have shut down AcelorMittal's 
waste operations site in the Vaal in Guateng province.  An earlier 
assessment of the waste site had revealed illegal dumping of 
hazardous waste on prohibited landfill sites, resulting in surface 
and groundwater contamination with iron, oil, fluoride, etc.  EMIs 
had warned AcelorMittal about these illegal activities, but the 
company had not rectified their practices, according to the 
Department of Environment and Tourism Affairs (DEAT) authorities. 
Green Scorpion spokesperson Sizwe Matshikiza said the company 
provided "dissatisfactory submissions about their environmental 
compliance, which prompted the authorities to issue a directive and 
compliance notice against the company."  The notice instructed 
AcelorMittal to stop all operations at the site, and to remove the 
100,000 tons of magnetite it had dumped there.  Matshikiza noted 
that the company had until December 2008 to remove the hazardous 
waste and to rehabilitate the site. 
AFRICA COULD CASH IN ON CARBON CREDITS 
¶5. (U) The South African government's Central Energy Fund (CEF) has 
Q5. (U) The South African government's Central Energy Fund (CEF) has 
launched CEF Carbon, an international carbon trading company.  CEF 
Carbon will assist South African and other African countries to 
develop Clean Development Mechanisms (CDM) projects.  CEF Chief 
Executive Mputumi Ndamane said CEF Carbon should stimulate growth of 
CDM projects.  Ndamane noted that South Africa lags behind other 
countries in creating viable CDM projects, and has only twenty CDM 
projects in the pipeline to date, while China and Latin America have 
over 500 and India has over 600.  South African regulatory law firm 
Weber, Wentzel and Bowens Head of Financial Services and Carbon Unit 
Johann Scholtz said South Africa must start implementing carbon 
reduction mechanisms and transactions now.  He noted that South 
Africa is a carbon-based economy and is likely to incur emission 
reduction obligations by 2012.  He sees "huge opportunities" for CEF 
Carbon to make use of the CDM in South Africa. 
LEARNING MATH AND SCIENCE FROM A CELL PHONE 
¶6. (U) South African math teacher Kumaras Pillay developed the 
MLearner program, which allows school children to access a website 
with math and science content using a basic cell phone.  The program 
includes a world-wide cell phone- compatible forum where school 
children can compare and share notes, ask questions, obtain 
 
PRETORIA 00003925  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
assistance, write online tests and obtain results instantly. 
Burnwood Secondary School principal Nanesh Gokal manages the 
MLearner website (www.mlearner.co.za).  Gokal noted that initial 
difficulties included getting mathematical and scientific symbols to 
match the cell phone keys, and the small screen size of a cell 
phone.  U.S.-based Microsoft has already visited the school in 
Kwa-Zulu Natal province to discuss MLearner with Pillay.  Pillay 
plans to enter the MLearner program in the Microsoft Worldwide 
Innovative Teachers Forum competition in Helsinki.  The MLearner has 
already won the national Innovative Teachers Forum Award in 
Johannesburg in September 2007. 
GAUTRAIN PROJECT TO ENCOURAGE STUDENTS TO PURSUE CAREERS IN MATH AND 
SCIENCE 
¶7. (U) The Gautrain Project has launched an educational website 
encouraging South African school children to pursue engineering, 
math, science and technology careers.  The website introduces high 
school students to the Gautrain project, providing progress reports 
and background information about the skills and careers involved in 
the project.  Gauteng Provincial Minister of Transport Ignatius 
Jacobs said the Gautrain project is a real-life, practical example 
of how different careers are working together to build Africa's 
first rapid rail network project.  Jacobs hoped that South African 
youth would develop the skills to develop and implement massive 
infrastructure projects. Jacobs added that the only way to obtain 
the skills needed for major infrastructural projects is for students 
to study engineering, math and technology.   The Gautrain will run 
between Johannesburg and Pretoria, as well as the O. R. Tambo 
International Airport in Kempton Park.  Gautrain spokesperson 
Barbara Jensen added that the website was also designed to encourage 
teenagers to make use of public transport and to raise awareness 
about issues pertaining to noise and dust pollution. 
NEDBAN ON GREENING CRUSADE 
¶8. (U) Nedbank, one of South Africa's four largest banks, has begun 
emphasizing environmental sustainability in its advertising and new 
products.  Nedbank Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Mike Brown said 
Nedbank now offers environmentally-oriented products including a 
credit card that contributes to the environmental causes based on 
consumer spending.  Nedbank is also investigating its energy 
utilization and carbon footprint.  Nedbank currently has an 
advertisement billboard powered by a solar panel that also generates 
electricity for a local school kitchen in Alexander.  Nedbank is the 
only bank in South Africa that has signed the Equator Principle, 
i.e., a commitment that development projects funded by the bank 
would be environmentally sustainable.   Nedbank also sponsors the 
Green Mining Award which encourages mines to introduce environmental 
sustainability programs.  Brown notes that Nedbank will start 
focusing on climate change and adaptation activities in the near 
future. 
GM MAIZE LEVELS EXCEED FIFTY PERCENT IN SA 
¶9. (U) Monsanto spokesman Bright Breytenbach stated that more than 
half of all the seeds sold to South African farmers for the next 
planting season are genetically modified (GM).  Breytenbach also 
noted that local consumers cannot distinguish between GM and organic 
maize because the two are stored together in grain silos after 
harvesting.  Monsanto biotechnology marketing manager Kobus 
Steenkamp noted that GM maize has been produced for 12 years in 
QSteenkamp noted that GM maize has been produced for 12 years in 
South Africa.  Monsanto believes that GM maize in use will reach 75 
percent levels in South Africa within the next few years. 
Elsewhere, the GM Executive Council allowed Monsanto to conduct an 
event for GM drought resistant corn, which could have a significant 
economic impact on South Africa's corn producing regions. 
CONVENTION CENTER YIELDS RETURNS FOR CAPE TOWN 
¶10. (U) Cape Town's International Convention Center (CTICC), 
established in 2003, contributed over $37 million to GDP in 
2006-2007, according a study conducted jointly by the University of 
Cape Town and independent economic modeler Antony Boting.   The 
center has been used to host international meetings, private, and 
public institutional and organizational gatherings.  CTICC Managing 
Director Dirk Elzinga stated that more than 509 conferences, 
including 46 international conferences, have been held at CTICC, 
bringing over 45,576 international delegates to Cape Town.   The 
report noted that CTICC also promotes "induced" tourism since 
delegates tend to extend their stay after attending conferences. 
These business tourists account for 30 - 40 percent of the center's 
economic impact.  The largest international conference hosted by the 
CTICC was the 19th World Diabetes Congress held in December 2007, 
which attracted over 12,300 delegates.  CTICC employs 3,796 people 
directly and 5,343 indirectly.  The center has generated 
approximately R1 billion ($142.85 million) in foreign exchange, and 
R222 million ($31.7 million) in taxes for 2007. 
Bost