The early moon landings were much, much more than a triumph of science and technology. Much more than a race between two super powers, or a triumph over gravity and space. What they did was give us the first opportunity to view our world from the outside.
Aleksei Leonov, the first man to walk in space, forty years ago, described it thus:
The Earth was small, light blue, and so touchingly alone, our home that must be defended like a holy relic. The Earth was absolutely round. I believe I never knew what the word round meant until I saw Earth from space.
Another Cosmonaut, Sigmund Jähn, described his experience in these words:
Before I flew I was already aware of how small and vulnerable our planet is; but only when I saw it from space, in all its ineffable beauty and fragility, did I realize that human kind's most urgent task is to cherish and preserve it for future generations.
The mysteries the first space travellers revealed and the spiritual understanding they awakened in the world of human beings presaged a deepened sense of our planet and the life it gives to its people. The impetus that propelled the astronauts and cosmonauts into space was man-made. The message they brought back was universal: our world is beautiful and fragile. We neglect and abuse it at our own risk.
This seems to suggest that the focus on the global and the preservation of the local are not two separate things ? but should be seen as a seamless way of integrating the lives of human beings and the well-being of the human environment within the context of the planet we all share.
It seems, indeed, to give us a point of departure for what we mean when we talk about sustainable development ? as development that makes the very best use of what our environment has to offer, without depleting or damaging that environment. Without destroying the very thing that gives us life.
This important conference will, I hope, take the discussion of how we do this to a new dimension in our province. It will help us move forward together towards development solutions that focus on the local ? while collectively considering the future of our province and our country in a broader global context.
It will also underline, I believe, our imperative of creating a Home for All in the Western Cape ? because it is only in a Home for All that we can develop and sustain the human settlements that will bring us all to shared prosperity.
This means that we need to see sustainable development as the very bedrock of all our efforts and endeavours in the Western Cape. It means that we must see it as a holistic enterprise - a moebius loop that links our communities, our government, our business sector (all our social partners) in a continuous process of renewal and sustained growth. We must understand, to borrow the phrase of the labour movement, that 'an injury to one is an injury to all' and, in the words of the poet John Donne, that 'no man is an island, sufficient unto himself'. For better or for worse, our future depends on our ability to work collectively for the benefit of all.
In practical terms, this means that we need to base our socio-economic systems on sustainable ecosystem services.
In the Western Cape, this means that we need to look carefully at our strategies for creating livelihoods in agriculture, mariculture and tourism. It means that we need to face the challenges of poverty and unemployment. That we must find and develop sustainable strategies to deal with health and welfare, education, job creation and housing. That we must confront and abolish the inequities and divisions that are the historical legacy of our province.
As you will know, we have already put in place a number of overarching governance and policy frameworks. These include the Western Cape Growth and Development Strategy, the iKapa elihlumayo plan and the Integrated Development Planning process. Our national frameworks are also in place, including our commitment in the Constitution that " ? everyone has the right to an environment that is not harmful to their health and well-being".
And since, the World Summit on Sustainable Development, we are members of a regional network which (and I quote) "promotes understanding, collaboration and partnerships in sustainable development and seeks greater international recognition of the importance of the contributions which regions make to sustainable development."
Finally, we are all, of course, guided by the Millennium Development Goals which provide the overall framework for collaboration on our planet.
All this implies that ? if we are to survive and thrive as a province, as a nation, as a region and as a world ? we need to cooperate and collaborate on every level. We need to agree on the folly of short-term and greedy solutions to problems that ultimately affect us all, and find ways to extend our strategies for survival and for the sustainable public good of our people and the environment in which they exist.
One of the things we have to do over the next few days is ask ourselves who benefits from the investments we make. In other words, are our financial deposits matched by deposits in social and human capital?
Who do we benefit when we abandon our native architecture for the mirage of the gated Tuscan village? We might indeed ask the Tuscan Minister of the Environment (who joins us on Wednesday) how he would feel if Florentines began building clusters of Cape Dutch houses in the suburbs of Florence.
Our Western Cape environment is unique. Born of the natural environment, shaped by our history and imaginations, and expressed in individual ways. So why do we import Italian marble instead of using our own materials? Why do we adopt unsustainable ways of building and fail to draw on the traditional skills of our craftsmen. This doesn't mean that we shouldn't absorb what is best in the world ? it means simply that we must train our people to produce excellence without losing our local flair.
The same philosophy must guide our approach to the natural environment. We have one of the most diverse and interesting floral kingdoms in the world. It must become our pride, our joy and the focus of our efforts to sustain our environment.
Again, we need to consider what contribution our own skills and traditions can make to our economic development. As we work towards linking the first and second economies, let us think about how we can use the flair and talent of our people as craftsmen and women. How we can apply our own skills and imagination to furniture making and the fashion industry. How we can tend and nurture the spirit of enterprise and enthusiasm that will bring our province to flower ? after years of blight and deprivation.
While we do so, we need to look at the lessons we have learnt about the conservation of our energy sources. About how to avoid the fatal effects of using up our non-renewable resources, and making use of the technologies that are less energy intensive, more efficient, and use less water and more people.
It is clear from what I am saying that we have a long way to go in helping our people and communities to understand these concepts and apply them to their daily lives and work. The IDP hearings identified many of these gaps and failings, and we need to act to educate and teach people of the value of sustainable development in their own lives and ecosystems.
We need, also, to take on board the concept of what we mean by growth. To revisit the concept of 'trickle down' growth and consider, instead, the notion that sustainable development must underpin everything we do ? and inform all our decisions as we seek to develop our economy in ways that promote shared endeavours and shared growth.
Our efforts towards 2010, for example, must be towards incorporating sustainable development in the way we prepare for our involvement in this important international event.
Finally, I would like to stress the enormous importance of partnership ? the intrinsic value of working together as social partners in the Western Cape. Let us look at the international models! Let us draw from what is good in the world and discard what is bad! Let us collaborate with our partners and work collectively for solutions!
But let us do so in ways that acknowledge and recognise the needs, the genius and the uniqueness of who we are and where we live! And let us do so in ways that will lead to the shared growth and prosperity to which we have already committed ourselves.
In other words, the Western Cape must become 'A Home for All'. It must belong to all who live in it, and it must benefit its present and future generations.
Because it is fragile, it must be nurtured and cherished. Because it is vulnerable, it must be defended and strengthened.
Because, like the planet Cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov saw from space, it is a "home that must be defended like a holy relic".
