announcements, tablings and committee reports - Parliament of ...

4894 [Tuesday, 29 October 20136. Report of the Portfolio Committee on Water and EnvironmentalAffairs on the Annex VI to the Protocol on the EnvironmentalProtection to the Antarctic Treaty, dated 29 October 2013.The Portfolio Committee on Water and Environmental Affairs (the PortfolioCommittee), having considered the request for approval by Parliament ofthe Annex VI to the Protocol on the Environmental Protection to theAntarctic Treaty (Annex VI), referred to the Portfolio Committee,recommends that the House, in terms of section 231 (2) of the Constitutionof the Republic of South Africa of 1996, approve the said Annex VI.The Portfolio Committee further notes that Annex VI creates a frameworkfor Parties to require operators in the Antarctic Treaty area to develop andimplement contingency plans and preventative measures to reduce the riskof environmental emergencies and to respond to environmental incidentswhen they occur. In addition, if an operator does not respond to a particularenvironmental emergency, any party is encouraged to take action andcreates a mechanism for that party to recover the costs of response actioneither from the operator or an international fund which will be established.The Portfolio Committee also notes the requirement to amend the AntarcticTreaties Act, 1996 (No.60 of 1996), to accommodate Annex VI, in order forit to become part of South African domestic law. The Portfolio Committee,however, expressed concern as to the structure of the Act and theimportance of only incorporating the operative and relevant aspects of theTreaty and the Annex into the Act, as opposed to the entire text of theTreaty, as the present Act reads. The Portfolio Committee, therefore,resolves to recommend that after ratification of Annex VI by Parliament, theDepartment of Environmental Affairs (the Department) will amend theAntarctic Treaties Act, draft appropriate Regulations to the Act and processthese amendments through Parliament accordingly. The Department mustreport to Parliament on progress in this matter by the end of January 2014.Report to be considered.ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS NO 147─2013