Speaking to Channel Africa at the opening of the Global Land Degradation Neutrality Inception Workshop in Sandton on Tuesday, South Africa's Deputy Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment, Bernice Swarts, called for an urgent and uncompromising action to protect natural resources.

In a passionate plea, Swarts emphasized that environmental destruction cannot be justified by poverty or unemployment, warning that no amount of money can reverse the damage done to the land caused by deforestation, mining, and unsustainable development.

The workshop, hosted under the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, marks a historic moment as South Africa places desertification, land degradation, and drought at the center of its G20 Presidency priorities.

Channel Africa's reporter Micheal Mbewe compiled this report.