Eco Minute 13:30

BULLETIN 12 April  1:30 pm

Good afternoon, here is your Eco Minute:

# Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Barbara Creecy, has initiated a virtual stakeholder engagement meeting to refine South Africa’s stance on plastic pollution. This comes ahead of the Fourth Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee in Ottawa, Canada, from 23 to 29 April. The consultation aims to solidify the nation’s position on ending plastic pollution and managing the plastic lifecycle. The committee is mandated to develop an international legally binding instrument to end marine litter, address the full plastic lifecycle, and set out a series of provisions to be developed.

# Water and Sanitation minister Senzo Mchunu is meeting with Gauteng and Free State municipalities today regarding the pollution in the Vaal River. The river has been suffering from high levels of invasive plants due to untreated wastewater discharge. This follows a summit earlier this year in response to reports indicating poor water quality and increased risk in municipal wastewater treatment systems. The department’s spokesperson, Wisane Mavasa, says Mchunu will engage municipalities to devise strategies to improve water quality and halt pollution:

# And, salmon fishing will be banned off the coast of California in the United States for a second consecutive year. Authorities cited lower fish stocks impacted by drought and wildfires as the reason. The heavy blow for the state’s salmon sector, which one industry group says supports 23-thousand jobs, comes as salmon have struggled to successfully reproduce in low or warm waterways. It is hoped the ban, announced by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, will help the state’s Chinook salmon stock recover.

Stay tuned for more news………….