VZCZCXRO9517
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHSA #0570/01 0841441
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 251441Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY PRETORIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7811
RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
INFO RUEHTN/AMCONSUL CAPE TOWN 6674
RUEHDU/AMCONSUL DURBAN 0796
RUEHJO/AMCONSUL JOHANNESBURG 9017

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 PRETORIA 000570 
 
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, FEBRUARY 2009 
 
PRETORIA 00000570  001.2 OF 004 
 
 
¶1. (U) Summary:  This is the South African Environment, Science and 
Technology Monthly Briefings Newsletter, February 2009, Volume 4, 
Number 2, prepared by the U.S. Embassy Pretoria, South Africa. 
 
Topics of the newsletter: 
 
-- DEBATE CONTINUES OVER QULALITY OF DRINKING WATER IN SMALL TOWNS 
 
-- DUCK DERBY DROWNED IN SEWAGE 
 
-- STUDENTS FLOCK TO US-SPONSORED SCIENCE READING ROOM 
 
-- FINACCE MINSTER PROPOSES INCENTIVES FOR ENERGY-EFFICIENT 
INVESTMENTS 
 
-- UN TO DONATE $11 MILLION FOR GREENING OF 2010 FIFA WORLD CUP 
 
-- MINISTER CAUGHT OUT IN THE COLD 
 
-- CARBON TRADE FACILITATOR ESTABLISHED 
 
 
-- SOUTH AFRICA HOSTS NANOAFRICA2009 
 
-- SOUTH AFRICA LEADS THE WAY IN SAVING ALBATROSS 
 
-- VULTURES AT RISK FROM LEAD POISONING 
 
-- SMILE - YOU'REON CANDID FLAMINGO 
 
-- MONTHLY FACTOID 
 
 
 
 
-------------------------------- 
Debate Continues Over Quality of 
Drinking Water in Small Towns 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) Deputy 
Director General of National Water Resources and Infrastructure 
Cornelius Ruiters warned delegates attending the Implementing Water 
Allocation Conference that not all drinking water in South Africa is 
fit to drink.  Ruiters said, "There's about an 80 percent chance 
that most of the water in small towns is still drinkable. 
Obviously, it would be advisable to know which smaller towns." 
Ruiters noted that places with "water challenges" included 
municipalities in the Free State, Limpopo, Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga 
and North West provinces.  One day later DWAF issued a press release 
reassuring South Africans that 94 percent of 3,000 samples tested 
from South Africa's water supply systems complied with national 
health standards.  DWAF acknowledged that some drinking water might 
"at times not meet required technical standards."  DWAF added that 
this does not mean that water in these towns is not safe for human 
consumption.  DWAF Head of Drinking Water Quality Leonardo Manus 
said, "Dr. Ruiters' statistics on the compliance of drinking water 
quality are unfortunately incorrect."  He added that DWAF did have 
"lower confidence" in the way drinking water is managed in some 
smaller towns, but not in all of them.  He noted that DWAF was 
expanding its monitoring programs and would monitor "more 
vigorously" in the coming year.  The South African National 
Consumers Union said Ruiters' statement was a "confirmation that 
some towns have substandard water."  Manus agreed that some 
municipalities had problems with skills capacity and deterioration 
of their infrastructure. 
 
 
---------------------------- 
Duck Derby Drowned in Sewage 
---------------------------- 
 
¶3. (U) Edenvale Rotary had to cancel its annual charity duck derby 
due to raw sewage pouring into the local Modderfontein Dam.  The 
Duck Derby involves launching 1500 numbered plastic ducks into the 
Modderfontein River in a race to the finish.  Rotary Club Public 
Relations Officer Bev Frieslich said, "The river is so full of 
sewage that we had to cancel.  We didn't want to put anyone's life 
in danger.  People have to go into the water to get the ducks and 
children stand near the water to watch." 
Local Modderfontein resident Nigel Woodward claimed sewage has been 
flowing into the river for over six months.  Woodward added that 
local residents had been trying to get answers from Johannesburg 
Water but no one responded to them.  Johannesburg Water Spokesman 
QWater but no one responded to them.  Johannesburg Water Spokesman 
Baldwin Matsimela claims the utility only heard about the problem 
the day before the cancellation of the race.  He advised that they 
 
PRETORIA 00000570  002.4 OF 004 
 
 
would send technicians to investigate the cause of the spillage. 
 
-------------------------------- 
Students Flock to U.S.-sponsored 
Science Reading Room 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) Sixty Grade 12 biology students and their teachers from three 
schools in Mamelodi packed the auditorium in the Mae Jemison U.S. 
Science Reading Room to hear a presentation on human evolution by 
Pretoria Girls' High senior biology teacher Mrs. Eugenia Russell. 
Using a PowerPoint slide show and various primate skulls to 
illustrate her lecture, Mrs. Russell kept her audience engaged for 
over an hour.  Teachers and students downloaded articles from the 
Science Reference Center database, and took home copies of recent 
IIP publications.  All participating students enrolled as members of 
the Reading Room, adding to the growing number of local school 
children using the books, magazines and Internet resources available 
at the U.S.-sponsored Mae Jemison Reading Room. 
 
---------------------------------------- 
Finance Minister Proposes Incentives for 
Energy-Efficient Investments 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) Finance Minister Trevor Manuel proposed incentives for 
investments in energy-efficient equipment during his February 11, 
2009 budget speech.  Manuel said these incentives could include 
supplementary depreciation allowances.  Manuel encouraged South 
African companies to take advantage of the Kyoto Protocols Clean 
Development Mechanism (CDM), and said the National Treasury would 
introduce a favorable tax treatment for income from the sale of 
emission reductions through the CDM.  The Minister also noted that 
the tax on plastic shopping bags would be increased from three to 
four cents. 
 
---------------------------------------- 
UN to Donate $11 Million for Greening of 
2010 FIFA World Cup 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (U) United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon announced that 
the United Nations would donate R110 million ($11 million) to South 
Africa to reduce greenhouse gases during the FIFA World Cup 
Tournament in 2010.  The Secretary General said there would be more 
vehicles ferrying people and goods around the country, and effective 
mitigation mechanisms would be needed. 
------------------------------- 
Minister Caught Out in the Cold 
------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (U) Bad weather trapped Science and Technology Minister Mosibudi 
Mangena in Antarctica at the South Africa Research Camp where he was 
attending the opening of a German research station.  Mangena visited 
with the South African National Antarctic Expedition 4, which 
includes 80 scientists studying geology, weather forecasting, 
climate change and marine life.  He noted that although he had 
wanted to visit Antarctica for a long time, there are no South 
African flights.  He said, "If you want to go, you have to piggyback 
and there's always competition for space-even for a minister." 
Mangena described his visit as "wonderful" despite the minus 30 
degree C weather.  He said, "At the South African base, you find 
people wearing Springbok shirts and speaking Afrikaans, Xhosa and 
Zulu.  Our station is well-supplied with electricity generators, 
vehicles, engineers, doctors and even chefs.  I ate the best meal 
ever - a huge meal of lamb chops, chicken, fish, rice and 
vegetables." 
 
------------------------------------ 
Carbon Trade Facilitator Established 
QCarbon Trade Facilitator Established 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶8. (U) The South African Central Energy Fund (CEF) will launch a new 
hub called CarbonStream Africa (CSA), designed to boost clean energy 
projects in Africa.  CSA, a joint venture with Norway's GreenStream 
Network, will serve as an advisory company, and will assist 
international project developers in securing CDM revenue.  CSA will 
facilitate projects such as hydro-to-solar, and wind energy and 
intends to manage these projects from conception to carbon credit 
issuance.   Africa accounts for a little more than two percent of 
the estimated US $120 billion global carbon market.  CSA CEO Devan 
Pillay said, "Although lagging behind, African nations are in a 
position to benefit from the rapid expansion of the global carbon 
markets and the increasing demand for Carbon Emission Reductions". 
 
 
 
PRETORIA 00000570  003.4 OF 004 
 
 
--------------------------------- 
South Africa Hosts NanoAfrica2009 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶9. (U) South Africa hosted the third NanoAfrica conference in 
February 2009.  NanoAfrica2009 focused on the latest developments 
and future trends in nano-science and nanotechnology.  The South 
African National Nanotechnology Strategy identified six "focus 
areas" for nanotechnology research in South Africa: chemicals and 
bioprocessing; energy; health; materials and manufacturing; mining 
and minerals; and water.  Minister of Science and Technology Mangena 
said he was "satisfied" with South Africa's "relatively early" 
adoption and progress on nanotechnology. 
 
----------------------------- 
South Africa Leads the Way in 
Saving Albatross 
----------------------------- 
 
¶10. (U) South Africa Albatross Task Force (SAATF) member Meridad 
Goren met with the U.K.'s Prince Charles in London to discuss South 
Africa's measures to protect albatross.  The South African Task 
Force, an initiative led by Birdlife International and the Royal 
Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), was the first 
international scheme to place specialized instructors in fishing 
vessels.  When the initiative was launched, approximately 20,000 
albatross per year were dying in South African waters after becoming 
entangled in fishing lines or hooked by fishing gear.  RSPB 
Conservation Spokesman Grahame Madge said the problem had been 
exacerbated by the industrialization of fisheries, new technology 
and the rise of trawler fishing. 
 
¶11. (U) Regulations sponsored by the SAATF were introduced in 2008 
limiting sea bird catch to 25 birds per longline vessel in local 
waters.  Goren noted that 85 percent of the albatross were now being 
saved.  Goren added that compliance with regulations has "improved 
dramatically" with 95 percent of the fishing vessels complying with 
seabird regulations.  South Africa Tuna Longline Association 
Chairman Don Lucas said, "There is greater awareness among fishers 
about the seabirds, but more research is needed on mitigation 
measures."  He noted: "Birds target the bait on the hooks, which 
means fishers cannot catch the targeted fish"  He added, "We need to 
ensure the targeted fish are caught so that operations can be 
profitable, but the fishery needs to be developed without causing 
the unintended death of these beautiful birds." 
 
------------------------------------ 
Vultures at Risk from Lead Poisoning 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶12. (U) The WWF-sponsored Vulture Evaluation Project has issued a 
landmark study indicating that South Africa's vultures are at risk 
from lead poisoning from ingesting the bullets farmers use to kill 
livestock found in "vulture restaurants."  The De Wildt Cheetah and 
Wildlife Trust defines a vulture restaurant "as a specific site 
where animal carcasses are provided as an artificial source for 
vultures to provide a feeding haven for vultures."  Vultures are 
quite specific about what they eat, dining only on dead animals, 
which means livestock must be a slaughtered (or already) dead before 
being placed in the "restaurant."   The purpose of the study, 
conducted on 150 captive and wild vultures, was to determine whether 
or not lead is in the vultures' food chain.  Veterinary 
pharmacologist Vinny Naidoo noted that some wild birds had levels 
high enough to be classified as chronically exposured, i.e., having 
Qhigh enough to be classified as chronically exposured, i.e., having 
long term exposure to higher-than-normal lead levels.  Naidoo says 
the findings reveal that farmers and restaurant managers will have 
to be "advised on the importance of removing bullets before placing 
dead animals on the menu at the restaurant." 
 
--------------------------------- 
Smile - You're on Candid Flamingo 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶13. (U) A new webcam allows the world to watch breeding antics of 
the 20,000 lesser flamingos located on Kamfers Dam's artificial 
flamingo breeding island.  The equipment tilts, pans and zooms, 
allowing close up shots of chicks hatching and parents feeding them. 
 Infra red lights permit viewing 24 hours a day.  The artificial 
breeding island is the first such structure in the world and was 
funded and constructed by Kapa Mining in 2006.  Lesser flamingos 
produced 9000 chicks on the island in 2008 and more chicks are 
anticipated in 2009.  Birdlife South Africa Executive Director Mark 
Ander says that Kamfers Dam is the only breeding locality for lesser 
flamingos in South Africa and one of only four in all Africa.  The 
website can be found at www.africam.com. 
 
 
PRETORIA 00000570  004.4 OF 004 
 
 
--------------- 
Monthly Factoid 
--------------- 
 
¶14. (U) 220 000 years ago a meteorite struck South Africa, forming 
the Tswaing Crater northwest of Pretoria. This is one of the most 
accessible and best-preserved meteorite impact craters in the world. 
 
 
La Lime