The extent and status of environmental management frameworks (EMFs) in South Africa, 2006-2015

Abstract

An environmental management framework (EMF) is a uniquely South African environmental management tool legislated since 2006. Although the tool has been widely applied there has been no empirical research on the overall extent and status of EMF practice. The aim of this paper is to describe the extent and status of EMF practice between 2006 and 2015 through a combination of survey methods. The ‘extent’ of practice is described against the number of EMFs, the lead agents, spatial distribution, scale, time frames and accessibility of information, while the ‘status’ is discussed in relation to the legal mandate of EMF and the number of adopted and gazetted EMFs. The research results show that 53 EMF projects were initiated between 2006 and 2015 and that practice varies significantly in terms of lead agents, spatial distribution, scale and time frames. Moreover the research shows that just over half of the EMFs have been gazetted and that access to information in the public domain is limited. Finally, recommendations are made for future research around the quality and effectiveness of EMF