Investing in biodiversity a boon for job creation, says Creecy
Environmental Affairs Minister Barbara Creecy says investing in biodiversity not only benefits the environment, but the economy too.
She was officiating the iSimangaliso Wetlands Park Investment Summit at Sibaya Casino in Durban on Friday.
She says SA's biodiversity economy has created hundreds of thousands of direct jobs over the years.
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"In a country like ours the long term socio-economic development is the key objective. We must put in place investments that safeguard nature and critical ecosystem services and at the same time uplift our rural communities.
"According to the national biodiversity assessment on the country by our scientific entities saying in 2018, our biodiversity economy has 480 000 direct jobs. This compares very favourably with mining."
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