South Africa is a maritime nation with jurisdiction over one of the largest exclusive economic zones in the world. Our ocean space is a resource-rich and relatively pristine environment. The ocean represents a significant asset for current and future generations of South Africans. The use of various marine resources in our ocean space has increased over time and there remains significant potential for the unlocking of further economic development opportunities. South Africa needs to continuously balance the economic opportunities which our ocean space affords us with maintaining its environmental integrity. The challenge is how to find the best way to encourage research, investment and use of our ocean resources to contribute to job creation and economic upliftment while protecting the ocean asset for present and future generations.

This information is in the executive summary of the Department of Environmental Affairs’ (DEA’s) 25-page White Paper on National Environmental Management of the Ocean (Nemo), which was gazetted for implementation on May 29. In December 2013, Cabinet directed the Minister of Environmental Affairs, supported by key Ministries and the National Planning Commission, to develop an integrated approach to ocean governance, including management plans for ocean areas, environmental variables, conflict scenarios and trade-offs, as was recommended in the White Paper.

The White Paper seeks a modern and integrated approach to ocean environmental management. The policy’s objectives encourage and support the sustainable development of South Africa’s ocean environment and focuses on methods which contribute to habitat and biodiversity conservation, marine ecosystem management, as well as maintaining earth system integrity. Further, the policy encourages the unlocking of economic potential presented by the living and nonliving resources of South Africa’s ocean space.

The DEA, relevant organs of State and institutions are tasked with achieving the following strategic objectives: coordinating and supporting the implementation of the relevant statutory and institutional frameworks, establishing mechanisms for intersectorial data collection and sharing, creating and maintaining a shared national knowledge base on the human use, status and functioning of the ocean, establishing integrated ocean sustainable development and conservation ocean plans by undertaking strategic environmental-impact assessments and the use of spatial planning tools, enhancing national human and technical capacity to better understand and use ocean resources and opportunities, and pursuing regional and international cooperation and governance mechanisms.

The development and implementation of the White Paper recommends an approach whereby South Africa can, in the short term, increasingly accommodate coordinated sectorial management within the existing statutory framework. It also envisages the simultaneous preparation of ocean environment legislation aimed at improving the regulation and coordination of the management and development of South Africa’s ocean. Since South Africa’s ocean space comprises rich resources, biodiversity and a relatively pristine environment, there is need to balance economic opportunities and environment integrity.

Rules of the Custom and Excise Act
On June 9, the South African Revenue Service (Sars) published the combined version of the Customs and Excise Rules, 1995 (as amended), including amendments effected to May 2, 2014, consisting of 724 pages, as well as the 22-page combined version of the Schedule of the Customs and Excise Rules, 1995 (excluding the forms).

According to Sars, the rules to the Act have been added for ease of information and must be read together with the rule amendments notices published in the Government Gazette. Sars also published the rule amendments for each year from 2000 to 2014.

As a consequence of the publication, there is now free access to the Act, the rules of the Act and the schedules of the Act. Now we only await the publication of the customs and excise forms. While some of the forms are available, it would be great if all forms were available on the Sars website.

Impact of Trade on People’s Lives
On June 11, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) announced that it was launching a worldwide ‘Why trade matters to everyone?’ survey to gather people’s thoughts about international trade and whether they thought it affected the day-to-day lives of citizens worldwide and how they were affected. The results of the survey will be released at a public forum to be held from October 1 to 3 and on the WTO website

Trade Facilitation Agreement
WTO director-general Roberto Azevêdo told the trade facilitation workshop on June 10 that the WTO would be working to ensure “timely, effective and specific support” for developing countries in implementing the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). He said: “We have done all the hard work of building the bridge; now it’s time for us to cross it.”

According to Azevêdo, Bali was a first for the WTO – not just because it represented the first multilaterally negotiated outcomes or that it was first real step towards the conclusion of the DDA. It was also a first because the TFA broke new ground for developing countries in the way it is to be implemented. For the first time in WTO history, implementation of an agreement is directly linked to the capacity of the country to do so. Previously, it was mostly about specifying a certain number of years. So, developed countries implement an agreement immediately and least-developed and developing countries just get a few more years. The director-general added that nobody ever talked about whether, when the deadline came, those countries would have the capacity to implement the provisions that were agreed on. Under the TFA, a country has to have not only the capacity before being required to implement the provisions, but also the assistance and support to be provided to help the country achieve that capacity. Those two things have to be there for the obligation to click into place. The TFA represents a huge amount of time and energy, as do the other decisions taken in Bali.

Taxation Papers
The National Treasury released the Carbon Offsets Paper on April 29 and the Review of the Taxation of Alcoholic Beverages in South Africa on May 5. Comment on these documents is due by June 30.

Vat Vendors Registration
On May 16, Sars published draft regulations for registration as a value-added-tax (Vat) vendor. Comment is due by June 30.

Professional Foreign Hunters
On May 5, Sars published a draft interpretation note on the supply of goods and services by professional foreign hunters. The note explains the Vat treatment of various supplies to foreign hunters, including hunting services, taxidermy services, the supply of a trophy as well as the subsequent export of the trophy. Comment is due by June 30.