It highlights a declining ability to produce sufficient food, the dire consequences of predicted climate change, the poor state of our rivers, the predicted shortage of water, declining life expectancy and our outrageously high per capita CO2 emissions. Perhaps most disturbing of all is that in 2005 South Africa’s Environmental Sustainability Index ranked us only 20th out of the 40 NEPAD member countries, with Gabon, Central African Republic, Namibia and Botswana leading the pack.

On the positive side, however, its surprising candour holds the potential to move South Africans to action. And in that sense South Africa does have in place measures to support that action.