PER: 2006 Volume 9 No 3
Contents
31 December 2006
Articles
- Finding Nema: The National Environmental Management Act, the De Hoop Dam, Conflict Resolution and Alternative Dispute Resolution in Environmental Disputes / Couzens, E & Dent, M
- Compliance Notices – A New Tool in Environmental Enforcement / Feris, LA
- Greening the Judiciary / Kidd, M
- Human Rights Commission Et Al: What is the role of South Africa's Chapter 9 Institutions? / Paterson, AR
Book review
- Pruning the Money-Tree to Ensure Sustainable Growth: Facilitating Sustainable Development Through Market-Based Instruments / Du Plessis, A
Editorial
Issues of environmental law in the South African context once more characterise this final issue of 2006.
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Couzens and Dent, both from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, extensively discuss shortcomings that occurred in the process of authorization of the building of a dam that will have implications for some ecosystems in the Kruger National Park. Alternative dispute resolution, as provided for in the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) emerges as a likely means for the resolution of the difficulties and under the creative title "Finding NEMA", the authors express the hope that much will in future be learnt from the errors that occurred in this case.
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Paterson from the University of Cape Town explores the possibilities of the employment of market-based instruments (such as taxes, levies and charges) for the purposes of environmental management in South Africa, and concludes that such mechanisms hold promise, although they are difficult to balance and are not to be used as sole mechanism. The author recommends that South Africa should draw on foreign experience in this regard.
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Professor Feris of the University of Pretoria examines the newly created administrative remedy of compliance notices that may be issued by environmental management inspectors for the purposes of the enforcement of environmental laws. She concludes that this is a mechanism that may play an important role in future and expresses the hope that it will eventually be utilized broadly.
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Professor Kidd of the University of KwaZulu-Natal points out various weaknesses in environmental adjudication in South Africa, partly due to the newness of much of the applicable legislation and argues that the development of a coherent and robust South African environmental jurisprudence depends on a sound understanding by lawyers and judges of the scientific dimensions of environmental protection.
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Finally, Anél du Plessis (Potchefstroom) reviews Bernard Bekink's recently published book Principles of South African Local Government Law.
Editor: Professor Francois Venter / Guest editor: Professor Louis Kotzé
Recent Submissions
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Pruning the money-tree to ensure sustainable growth: facilitating sustainable development through market-based instruments
(2006)South Africa’s pristine landscapes and natural resources are under significant threat. This is not subject to debate, but what is, is how to implement a regulatory regime to deal effectively with these environmental ... -
Greening the judiciary
(2006)Much of South Africa’s environmental law is relatively new. Most of South Africa’s judges received their formal legal educations before promulgation of the major part of our environmental law and almost certainly ... -
Compliance notices - a new tool in environmental enforcement
(2006)This note examines compliance notices, a new administrative remedy that has been created to assist in compliance and enforcement of environmental laws. The note considers the aim and scope of compliance and the process ... -
Finding NEMA: the National Environmental Management Act, the De Hoop dam, conflict resolution and alternative dispute resolution in environmental disputes
(2006)This article considers the proposed De Hoop Dam on the Olifants River, Water Management Agencies, conflict between government departments and other organs of state, the involvement of NGOs and conflict-breaching ...