sustainable development

1 123 TWENTY YEAR REVIEW sustainable development 6124 sustainable development WHAT DEMOCRATIC SOUTH AFRICA INHERITED IN 1994 The apartheid government largely ignored issues of sustainability during its time in power, building the country s economy around energy - and resource-intensive sectors, such as mining and agriculture. The era before 1994 was characterised by exclusionary, fragmented environmental legislation and policies that failed to promote sustainable apartheid government did little to regulate issues like pollution, enforce land rehabilitation or manage limited resources like water in an egalitarian, sustainable fashion. Economic development was pursued at the expense of the environment, with fossil-based sectors shielded from stringent regulation. As a result, democratic South Africa inherited an energy -intensive economy, with most of the country s energy derived from coal-fired power stations.

2 The country s coal deposits present a relatively cheap and reliable source of energy , but coal is carbon-intensive. Consequently, according to the Department of Environmental Affairs, South Africa today is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases on the African continent, and carbon dioxide emission per capita is almost twice the global average. The burning of fossil coal for energy led to high levels of air pollution with health consequences for the poor. energy legislation during the apartheid years was largely geared towards regulating the electricity industry. Renewable energy and energy efficiency in energy investments, guaranteeing security of supply and reducing carbon emissions were not priorities. Before 1994, the mining industry was shielded from environmental regulation and was not required to rehabilitate land after closure.

3 As a result, dust blowing from mine dumps and the toxic residues of open-mine stockpiles are now negatively affecting the health of people in nearby settlements. The Witwatersrand is also at risk from rising acid mine water , which has negative effects on the environment and, potentially, human health. The cost of rehabilitating derelict and ownerless mines, treating acid mine water and dealing with silicon pollution1 is falling to the democratic government. Environmental legacies of the apartheid government that contribute to a poor state of the quality of the environment have been carried into the democratic order. The new government in 1994 inherited a country in which the white minority controlled the majority of limited natural resources. Not only had the black majority been confined to 13 percent of South Africa s surface area, placing tremendous strain on the natural resources in those regions, but 98 percent of the country s water resources had been allocated.

4 That left the new government only 2 percent to allocate to the previously marginalised majority. The white-dominated agricultural sector consumed 60 percent of the country s land that had been allocated to blacks during apartheid was mostly in far-flung areas with limited economic opportunities. Black settlements in urban areas were often near industrial areas that exposed the inhabitants to pollution. Limited access to electricity in these settlements resulted in the burning of fossil fuels (especially poor-quality coal with a high sulphur and ash content), further affecting air quality, while a lack of infrastructure and services like stormwater drains, sewerage systems and waste-removal services contributed to high levels of littering, general environmental degradation and poor human health.

5 Waste was not viewed as a resource and levels of recycling were low. The high pollution levels to which the black community was subjected contributes to the state s heavy health burden today. In terms of conservation, despite the fact that large tracts of land were under state protection, the seven biomes (fynbos, savannah, grassland, Nama-Karoo, succulent Karoo, desert and forest) were not adequately protected2. Legislation to manage land, air, water and mineral resources was meant to protect narrow minority and government interests in these economic sectors, and environmental policies and services were formulated within a framework that perpetuated social inequality by benefiting the white minority, and generally disregarded the environment and DEVELOPMENTS SINCE 1994 The democratic government needed to redress past imbalances, address the competing needs for land use, and ensure that economic growth, industrial development , infrastructure development and poverty-reduction objectives could be achieved, while simultaneously ensuring the long-term sustainability of natural systems and the environment.

6 As important as it was to address poverty, unemployment and inequality, this could not be done without also breaking the links between economic activity, environmental degradation and carbon-intensive energy consumption. Environmental legislation and regulation The Constitution of South Africa states that all citizens have the right to an environment that is not harmful to their health and wellbeing, and to an environment protected for the benefit of present and future generations, through reasonable legislative and other measures. The past 20 years have seen a dramatic and sustained process of forming environmental guiding principles, institution-building and restructuring, legislation and policy development and domestic and international engagement all with the intention of addressing the historical legacy of inequality, international isolation and the fragmented structures of environmental YEAR REVIEWThe country s first development policy, the RDP, advocated for a sustainable and environmentally friendly growth and development path.

7 This was followed by the passing of the National water Act in 1996, the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) in 1998 and other legislation that provide a legislative framework based on cooperative governance to promote the right to a clean and healthy environment. NEMA has laid the basis for sectoral legislation, policies and introduced a regulatory framework for environmental impact assessment in 1997 and enhanced it in 2006. Environmental impact assessments require decision-makers to take into account environmental values when planning and implementing projects. This regulatory framework, along with government-developed tools such as environmental management plans and environmental implementation plans, has helped make environmental sustainability a priority across government and society.

8 The last 20 years have witnessed the growth of the profession of environmental impact assessment practitioners, resulting in a new sector of professionals capable of providing independent advice to companies and government undertaking development . To date, environmental impact assessments have yielded mixed results in terms of promoting sustainable integrated environmental licensing system has also been developed recently. This is being used to streamline the environmental licensing processes for the infrastructure-building programme and provide a simplified assessment process for small and micro-enterprises, and communities that require support. A National Framework for sustainable development was adopted in 2008 and was followed by the adoption of the National Strategy for sustainable development (NSSD) in 2011.

9 It states that, if the country s long-term economic performance is to avoid breaching key ecological thresholds, it should develop new technologies and processes to increase productivity, while using less energy , fewer resources and reducing waste. The framework also asserts that efforts to eradicate poverty could be undermined if scarce resources continue to be used unsustainably. The NSSD and, more recently, the New Growth Path and the NDP, have emphasised the green economy as a key area of environmental sector has, over the years, made significant and direct contributions to job creation and poverty alleviation though programmes such as Working for water , Working on Fire, Working for Wetlands, People and Parks and the Green development The law-enforcement capacity of the Department of Environmental Affairs and water Affairs has been enhanced by the development of capacity in the form of Green and Blue Scorpions.

10 The protection of South Africa s ocean resources has been further enhanced with the purchase of a fleet of environmental vessels since 2006. Another highlight was the enactment of the Integrated Coastal Management Act of 2008, which, among other things, seeks to rationalise the management, protection and development of the country s coastline. In addition, dedicated capacity for addressing wildlife crime was established in 2012, in the form of the National Wildlife Information Management 1994, government has introduced measures to monitor and track environmental change. The Department of Environmental Affairs produces the State of the Environment Report every five years to track trends in environmental change, while the Department of water Affairs produces the State of the Rivers Report to track river health, and the Green and Blue Drop Status Report to track the quality of drinking and waste water .