.South African environmental law describes the legal rules in South Africa relating to the social, economic, philosophical and jurisprudential issues raised by attempts to protect and conserve the environment in South Africa. South African environmental law encompasses natural resource conservation and utilization, as well as land-use planning and development. Issues of enforcement are also considered, together with the international dimension, which has shaped much of the direction of in South Africa. The role of the country's, crucial to any understanding of the application of environmental law, also is examined. The (NEMA) provides the underlying framework for environmental law. Contents.The concept of the 'environment' The National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) defines 'environment' as the surroundings within which humans exist. These are made up of:.
Sustainable Development in South Africa Introduction to Basic Concepts What is Economic Development and Growth? Economic development is a continuous increase in the economic standard of living of a country's population. It is normally accomplished by doing things to improve the.
the land, the water and the atmosphere of the earth;. micro-organisms, plant and animal life;. any part or combination of the first two items on this list, and the interrelationships among and between them; and.
the physical, chemical, aesthetic and cultural properties and conditions of the foregoing that influence human health and well-being.In addition, the Environment Conservation Act defines the environment as 'the aggregate of surrounding objects, conditions and influences that influence the life and habits of man or any other organism or collection of organisms.' Scope of environmental law Jan Glazewski claims environmental law encompasses the following three 'distinct but inter-related areas of general concern.' They are:. land-use planning and development;. resource conservation and utilisation; and. waste management and pollution control.Legal norms and standards 'Not every legal norm relating to the environment,' observes Rabie, 'is regarded as constituting environmental law. Environmental law presupposes that the norm in question is aimed at or is used for environmental conservation.'
'Environmental conservation' describes the conservation of natural resources and control of environmental pollution. This is done through a process known as 'environmental management.' Environmental-law norms relate to the management of the environment.Emerging international norms and concepts A few of the emerging international norms and concepts in environmental law are noted below, together in some cases with a discussion of their application in South Africa.Sustainable development. Main article:Sustainable development seeks to combat the idea that, while moving away from traditional sources of energy, civilisation would be forced to sacrifice growth, innovation, and progress. The 1983 World Commission on Environment and Development, convened by UN General Assembly, provided the most-cited definition of the concept: 'development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.' This aspiration contains within it two key concepts:.
'the concept of needs, in particular the essential needs of the world's poor, to which overriding priority must be given;' and. 'the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organisation on the environment's ability to meet present and future needs.' The concept encompasses more than merely the environment, so for present purposes the focus should be on environmental sustainability: the goal of utilising the environment in a way which both meets human needs and ensures the environment's indefinite preservation.NEMA defines 'sustainable development' as 'the integration of social, economic and environmental factors into planning, implementation and decision-making so as to ensure that development serves present and future generations.' Main article:NEMA provides that 'environmental justice must be pursued so that adverse environmental impacts shall not be distributed in such a manner as to unfairly discriminate against any person, particularly vulnerable and disadvantaged persons.' Main article:Principle 15 of the Rio Declaration provides as follows:Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation.As noted above, NEMA requires 'that a risk-averse and cautious approach be applied, which takes into account the limits of current knowledge about the consequences of decisions and actions.'
Preventive principle Underlying this principle is the idea that only to be reacting to crises, when they happen, is far more expensive (and in more than just the pecuniary sense) than forestalling or preventing them before they happen. This is the fundamental notion behind laws regulating the generation, transportation, treatment, storage and disposal of hazardous waste, and laws regulating the use of pesticides. It is also the foundation of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal (1989), which sought to minimise the production of hazardous waste and to combat illegal dumping. The preventive principle was an important element, too, of the European Community's Third Environmental Action Programme, adopted in 1983.In South Africa, NEMA requires 'that pollution and degradation of the environment are avoided, or, where they cannot be altogether avoided, are minimised and remedied.' Polluter-pays principle. Main article:This principle, widely understood to be commonsensical and intuitively fair, is analogous to the slogan 'you break, you pay.'
It makes the party responsible for producing the pollution responsible for paying for the damage done to the natural environment. It has attained the status of a regional custom, because of the strong support it has received in most OECD and EC countries. See also: Pre-1994 First three centuries For the first three centuries of South African law, the most prominent environmental issues were. the control of drinking water;. pollution; and.
the conservation of wild animals. This last became increasingly important in the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth Century, when the first conservation areas were established.1940–1969 In the three decades from 1940 to 1969, environmental concern intensified. Several important pieces of legislation were passed, including the Water Act and the Atmospheric Pollution Prevention Act.The legislature, however, only responded to environmental concerns on an ad hoc basis, leading to a piece-meal effort.1970–1994 The 1970s heralded an environmental watershed worldwide, with the publication of Rachel Carson's in 1962, the of 1967, and in 1970.In South Africa, a variety of new laws were passed, and several novel concepts were introduced. Several important Acts were also updated, including the Environment Conservation Act. Post-1994 In 1996, section 24 of the Constitution enshrined basic environmental rights. A strong theme in the current legal order is that of equitable access to resources.In the late 1990s, South Africa ratified several international conventions relating to the environment.
It also enacted the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA), which supplemented but did not entirely repeal the provisions of the, some of which are still in force.Other important recent legislation includes. the National Water Act;. the National Forests Act;. the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act;. the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act; and. the Marine Living Resources Act.International environmental law.
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Main article:International law is made up of:. international conventions (or treaties);. international custom, as evidence of a general practice accepted as law;. general principles of law as recognised by civilised nations; and. judicial decisions and the writings of the most highly qualified publicists.Most of this is applicable to South African environmental law, and is binding in South Africa.Impact on South African law International environmental law has had a considerable influence on South African environmental law. The former is usually incorporated into the latter in one of three ways:. by incorporation of the provisions of the treaty into an Act of Parliament;.
by including the treaty as a schedule to a statute; and. by proclamation by the executive in the Government Gazette, under the authorisation of a particular Act, giving the executive the power to bring the treaty into effect.Constitution See Chapter 14 of the Constitution and Chapter 6 of NEMA.Constitution. See also: Co-operative governance Government in South Africa, as in most modern states, is divided broadly into three branches:.
the legislative;. the executive; and.
the judicial.The Constitution sets the framework for these three branches.Of particular practical importance for the administration of environmental laws are the respective powers of the national, provincial and local levels of government. 'Co-operative governance' refers to and regulates the interrelationship between these levels.Chapter 3 of the Constitution, entitled 'Co-operative government,' reflects a 'fundamental departure from the past,' in that the three levels of government are 'no longer regarded as hierarchical tiers with the national government at the helm,' but rather, in the words of the Constitution, as 'distinctive, interdependent and interrelated.' Co-operative relationships between all spheres of government play a central role in the development of an integrated environmental management framework for South Africa.Section 41 of the Constitution sets out the principles of co-operative governance and intergovernmental relations. Act 107 of 1998. Act 107 of 1998. s 1. Act 73 of 1989.
s 1. 9. Rabie, Andre. Nature and Scope. P. 92. s 1(1)(xxix). s 2(4)(a).
s 2(4)(c). South African Government.