South Africa must act now on climate change: Molewa

Water Affairs Minister Edna Molewa says South Africa need to act now to prevent irreversible damage to the environment.

"I imagine an Mpumalanga without the Kruger National Park, or a Sabie without trout fishing... and wish that as humanity we could find the wisdom to act today," Molewa said in a speech prepared for delivery in Nelspruit.

She was speaking at a climate change summit in the run-up to the 17th United Nations Conference of Parties (COP17) to be held in Durban in November.

During the COP17 meetings, South Africa would seek a pro-poor resolutions in line with Africa's development agenda, she said.

Molewa said South Africans needed to be mobilised to "save tomorrow today".

The country's environmental position was due to 150 years of reliance on fossil fuels and the harvesting of wood from forests.

"The latest scientific reports tell us that our country will become drier in the west and wetter in the east, accompanied by an increase in the frequency of severe weather events [if climate change continued on its present trajectory]," she said.

This study -- the Long Term Mitigation Scenarios study -- also identified areas in which emissions could be reduced, but these should be balanced with economic development objectives.

The vision of a Sabie River without trout should serve as a warning and a reminder about the importance of respecting the environment, Molewa said.