South Africa is better prepared to protect its citizens from the climate crisis and conserve its extraordinary biodiversity now than it was five years ago, when Barbara Creecy stepped up to become the minister of forestry, fisheries and the environment.
As the DA’s Dion George picks up the portfolio as minister, with Narend Singh and Bernice Swarts as his deputies, conservationists commended Creecy for her achievements, though criticisms were raised by activists. She has been appointed minister of transport in the new cabinet.
The Endangered Wildlife Trust on Tuesday praised Creecy for the tabling of the Climate Change Bill, which will soon become law, and convening the High Level Panel into elephant, lion, leopard and rhinoceros management, breeding, hunting, trade and handling.
“This has resulted in a number of groundbreaking developments. This includes the planned closure of the lion breeding industry and the proposed end to the commercial breeding of rhino,” EWT CEO Yolan Friedmann said on Tuesday.
“As a result of the work of this panel, the draft policy position on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of South Africa's biodiversity, and draft policy position on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Elephant, Lion, Leopard and Rhinoceros are being finalised,” she said.
She was instrumental in mobilising the global community to support South Africa's climate transition.
— Presidential Climate Commission executive director Crispian Olver
The African Climate Alliance described Creecy’s legacy as a mixed bag. “She passed the landmark Climate Change Bill, championed nature-based solutions, and strengthened global partnerships,” said Lisakhanya Mathiso of the African Climate Alliance.
“However, Creecy failed to fully engage with the public, address funding concerns, and clarify department capacity and resource issues,” she said.
On funding, exemplary programmes, such as Working for Water and Working for Wetlands, have been throttled over the past two years as has the funding for biological control. Working for Water protects freshwater sources by clearing invasive aliens and has provided thousands of jobs, yet its work in most provinces has ground to a halt, according to a reliable source.
Communities, such as fishing communities along the West Coast, have felt their concerns about issues including quotas or coastal mining were not satisfactorily heard or resolved.
Overall Creecy has lived up to undertakings she made in a Sunday Times interview in 2019, for example, collaborating with partners outside government and inviting scientists to contribute to policymaking.
She said then that facts not sentiment would set her agenda. “You have to be guided by science and make evidence-based decisions because otherwise one is tempted to make personal decisions.”
In that interview, Creecy noted that the environmental sector was “replete with a lot of NGOs, with amazing people giving amazing amounts of time and a lot of private sector social responsibility” and added she intended to listen to and collaborate with them.
Friedmann thanked Creecy for “her support and willingness to work with stakeholders and NGOs during her tenure”, and this gratitude was echoed by other role players.
Executive director of the Presidential Climate Commission (PCC), Crispian Olver, said the commission owed her a huge debt for being instrumental in establishing the independent, multi-stakeholder advisory body.
“One of the PCC's first tasks was to develop the Just Transition Framework, which the minister took through cabinet. She led the process of developing the Climate Change Bill, and getting it passed by both houses of parliament,” he said.
Her efforts extended beyond South Africa's borders, according to Olver. “She was instrumental in mobilising the global community to support the country's climate transition, and championed the Just Energy Transition Partnership and associated investment plan.”
Creecy often walked a tightrope, for example, supporting the development of a just energy transition plan while South Africa was racked by load-shedding. Another challenge was advancing the framework for a sustainable biodiverse economy while also protecting the country's threatened species and vulnerable habitats.
Under her leadership, South Africa committed to international goals including 30x30 — conserving 30% of the land and 30% of the oceans and freshwater by 2030 — and goals under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change including net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
“Business is the single biggest impactor of the environment, and the silos of business, government, and biodiversity need to urgently come together,” said Friedmann, supporting the 2023 launch of a project to bring business and government together in dialogue, on how South African companies can support the government in meeting Global Biodiversity Framework’s targets.
“Conserving the environment, and supporting sustainable development for our people’s, requires active engagement with business and finance and the appointment of Dr George is, hopefully, catalytic,” said Friedmann.
Mathiso, of the African Climate Alliance, said of Creecy: “A complex and multifaceted leader, her achievements are tempered by challenges and criticisms. As she steps down, her effect will be evaluated, and her legacy will be remembered as marking a significant milestone in South Africa's climate change response.”
