State of the Political Environment

This section provides a review of the state of current environmental policy in South Africa, national and international expenditure on environmental issues, and an assessment of the capacity in South Africa to effectively promote sustainable development.

Review of Policy:   

During the early 1990s, a number of environmental policy processes were initiated, including:

• President's Council Report on a National Environmental Management System (1991);
• Environmental Reconstruction and Development in the New South Africa (1994);
• Lorimer Report on the Council for the Environment (1995);
• Integrated Pollution Control.

The most recent activity, referred to as the Consultative Environmental Policy Process (CONNEPP) culminated in the release of a draft White Paper on National Environmental Management Policy. The policy platform developed:

• a more democratic and participatory system of policy formulation;
• a paradigm shift from the concept of environment being narrowly regarded as relating only to conservation, to the broader concept of sustainable development;
• a wider recognition that environmental degradation is a function of poverty, and market and institutional failures;
• linkages between social, economic and environmental factors, building in an holistic, integrated and coordinated fashion toward sustainable development, where resources are used efficiently and effectively.

The White Paper sets out the overarching framework and vision, including:

• principals such as accountability, capacity building and demand management;
• environmental justice, full-cost accounting, international responsibilities, open information, and precautionary approach;
• strategic goals and objectives such as a national environmental strategy and action plans, setting time-frames and targets, fast-tracking urgent needs, sustainable resource use, integrated planning, participation, empowerment, and education;
• an effective institutional framework, legislation and regulatory approaches in governance, based on cooperation and coordination of functions;
• informing both the public and government about the achievement of these objectives.

Plain Language Version of the White paper on Environmental Management Policy

The White Paper has been debated by the National Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs and Tourism and the National Council of Provinces and has been approved by Cabinet. The Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism have translated the White Paper into the National Environmental Management Act (Act 107 of 1998) and is in the process of formulating National Environmental Strategy and Action Plans (NES&AP) and new legislation to implement the policy.

The National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) provides for co-operative environmental governance by establishing principles for decision-making on matters affecting the environment, institutions that will promote co-operative governance and procedures for co-ordinating environmental functions exercised by organs of state. More specifically

• it provides a framework for integrating good environmental management into all development activities;
• establishes principles guiding the exercise of functions affecting the environment;
• establishes procedures and institutions to facilitate and promote co-operative government and intergovernmental relations;
• establishes procedures and institutions to facilitate and promote public participation in environmental governance;
• facilitates the enforcement of environmental laws by civil society.

As mentioned above, the DEA&T has produced a number of policies on environmental management, tourism and marine resource management since 1994. This process of policy reform has given rise to a process of law reform. Towards the end of 1998, a decision was taken to incorporate the different law reform projects in the department in a single programme that covers the entire spectrum of legislation under the Department’s jurisdiction. The law reform programme attempts to address the constitutional and policy imperatives in respect of environment, tourism and marine resources management in the form of concrete deliverables. The law reform programme is a departmental priority project that extends over a three year project from 1999 to 2001. The purpose of the law reform programme is to:

• give effect to Constitutional obligations;
• translate adopted policies into relevant legislation;
• give effect to the National Environmental Management Act;
• eliminate, as far as practical, fragmentation of legislation and achieve integration - with particular emphasis on fragmentation in environmental legislation;
• ensure that DEA&T legislation promotes sustainable development;
• coordinate sectoral and subordinate law reform priorities and time frames;
• give effect to international obligations;
• ensure synchronisation of sectoral laws within the NEMA; and
• cost and initiate the process of developing strategies for the implementation of new legislation

The three major components of the law reform programme are Environmental Law Reform, Tourism Law reform and Marine and Coastal Law Reform. Environmental Law reform constitutes the biggest and most complex component of the law reform programme. It ranges from the recently promulgated umbrella framework legislation in the form of the National Environmental Management Act to a wide range of sectoral and subordinate legislation. Sectoral law reform projects that fit under the framework of the NEMA include biodiversity and heritage, environmental quality and protection, and the NEMA implementation. The DEA&T Law Reform Programme will be managed as one integrated process under a programme manager, partly funded with donor funding.

The table below, briefly describes policies developed since 1994, and their key principles.

Current Environmental Policies:   

Table 7.3, briefly describes policies developed since 1994 which impact on natural resources and environmental processes.

Expenditure:   

Government expenditure on environmental issues has increased steadily over the last decade. The budget allocation for the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism is reflected in Figure 7.1.

Figure 7.1 Budget Allocation: Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism

As the graph indicates there has been a progressive increase in the overall budget of the DEA&T (in actual Rands, not adjusted for inflation). During 1993/1994 a tourism component was established in the Department and a significant proportion of the total budget was allocated to this new function. During 1996/97 the Chief Directorate Pollution Control was established and some new funding was provided for this function. Compared to other government programs, the environmental budget is still low at about 1-2% of total government expenditure.

It should be emphasised that different sectoral Departments at the national level also have environmental budgets. However it is not always possible to separate what has been allocated for environmental purposes from the rest of the departmental budget.

Foreign donor presence in South Africa increased significantly after 1994. Official Development Assistance (ODA) has assisted South Africa in meeting the incremental costs associated with the implementation of Agenda 21 and re-ordering priorities among the social, economic and environmental components of sustainable development. Many of the new policy developments and implementation programs would not have been possible without foreign donor funding. Examples include the National Waste Management Strategy, the Coastal Management Policy Programme, Phases I-IV of the Sea Fisheries Policy and the development of the White paper on Biological Diversity.

ODA normally comprises grants or loans of a financial nature. In addition to funds, technical cooperation is often included. In the last few years, strong emphasis was also placed on capacity building within the three tiers of government through, for example, the USA - SA Binational Commission and the establishment of a capacity building unit in DEA&T with assistance from DANCED.

Figure 7.2 Programmes funded by Donor Agencies (Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, National Botanical Institute & South African National Parks). The above currency is in Rand.

Most of ODA funding for the Department is channeled to the South African National Parks and the National Botanical Institute (56%), and for projects related to pollution, waste management and environmental management (40%), see Figure 7.2. The Weather Bureau and Sea Fisheries receive only a small proportion of donor funding made available to the DEA&T.

ODA assistance of some R286 629 201 has been made available to the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism since 1994. It must be stressed that ODA assistance is also provided to other departments for environmental projects such as the Working for Water project, funded in part from Norway. Figure 7.3, below does not represent all ODA assistance received for environmentally related projects.

Donor funding however, while being important is not the solution for the long-term as much of the funding was provided to support South Africa’s transition to democracy.

Figure 7.3 Programmes funded by Donor Agencies )(only amounts > R5 000 000 shown)

This means that as South Africa becomes more stable politically, and as it is not really seen as a developing country, it is anticipated that foreign assistance will be reduced. (South African-Danish Country Program for Environmental Assistance, 1998-2002)

Institutional arrangements:   

The DEA&T evolved mainly organically over the years as specialist fields of interest came to the fore or external demands such as international involvement became more prominent.

Prior to the 1994 elections, the focus within the field of environmental management was biased towards conservation (i.e. protection of natural resources in areas set aside for this purpose, with little or no utilisation other than tourism and recreation, which restricted access to most of the population) (green issues). Environment is now being seen within the broader perspective of sustainable development. Brown issues urgently need to be addressed through effective policies and implementation agencies. Up till 1994 brown issues were the responsibility of the national DEA&T whereas provincial departments dealt mainly with green issues. Environment is now a concurrent function and Provincial Governments have an important role and responsibility with regard to environmental management. Provinces now also have to deal with brown issues. While provinces in general have excellent track records in nature conservation and management, there is currently limited capacity in the area of environmental management. The case of KwaZulu-Natal is a good example, where some 45 vacancies exist which cannot be filled due to budgetary constraints.

South African society has moved into the realm of cooperative governance which calls for new partnerships within government, and between government and the private sector - the so-called public-private partnerships. These new relationships call for new ways of management within government.

Being accepted back into the global context after 1994 placed new demands on the country, especially within the field of environmental management and tourism. We are increasingly participating in international fora, have signed many new international agreements and conventions which demand new ways of handling financial and human resources and handling information to support and implement these.

The NEMA requires new skills to give effect to cooperative governance, coordination and information management. The Constitution also allocated concurrent functions in respect of the environment but it does not indicate what this implies and how functions and powers should be allocated. The DEA&T is, through organisational transformation, responding to these new demands, new paradigms, partnerships and responsibilities.

A radical and all-encompassing restructuring process of the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism was initiated in 1998. The end result of this process will be a fully restructured organisation, providing user friendly environmental information services to the full spectrum of stakeholders, provincial and local, agencies, NGOs, CBOs and relevant environmental institutions. Key elements of restructuring include:

• compliance to service delivery of the highest standards linked to quality improvement;
• the establishment of synergies between tourism, conservation and heritage development;
• the linking of marine and coastal management;
• much greater use of information management systems, tools and techniques;
• the rationalisation of knowledge management with greater cooperation and agreements with research organisations, universities, business and other institutions;
• effective coordination of functions.

Figure 7.4 Restructured Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism

In the new DEA&T structure, seven Chief Directorates have been established. These Chief Directorates and their roles are:

• Tourism: To lead and ensure development of responsible tourism for the benefit of the people of South Africa.
• Biodiversity and Heritage: To promote and conserve biological diversity and cultural heritage and ensure the sustainable utilisation of resources for the benefit of the people of South Africa.
• Marine and Coastal Management: To guide the development of and conservation of the coastal and marine environment and ensure the sustainable utilisation of coastal and marine resources.
• Corporate Services: Provide quality professional and strategic support services to internal and external clients and to promote efficiency, effectiveness and propriety of the Department.
• Environmental Quality and Protection: To protect the environment in the interests of the health and well-being of the people of South Africa, through preventing pollution and environmental degradation.
• Environmental coordination and communication: To provide environmental information and coordination in support of effective environmental management and public participation in environmental governance.
• Weather Bureau: To render a meteorological service.

Full implementation of the above structure and establishing a new organisational culture and new ways of management will take time.

At the time of writing this section, co-ordination is still weak and needs considerable strengthening if more effective and coherent measures are to be taken.

The enforcement of policy and law can still be considered weak. This can be attributed to the lack of appointed officials to carry out these responsibilities. In the case of air pollution control, there are only 7 Pollution Control Officers for the 9 provinces. The DEA&T is also working with 145 local authorities to deal mainly with smoke, dust and motor vehicle emissions. As far as monitoring industries go, DEA&T has a registry and works closely with provincial and local government in enforcing air pollution measures and particularly with industrial plants that are involved in incineration. However, the approach to air pollution control is far from comprehensive, and reducing air pollution, especially in informal settlements, has not been effective.

On a provincial level implementation is hampered by lack of resources. For examples, in the case of KwaZulu-Natal, budget constraints and a freeze on hiring staff are inhibiting the filling of some 45 posts.

Non-Governmental Organisations:   

Environmental Mangement Systems: An EMS is the part of the overall management system that includes organisational structure, planning activities, responsibilities, practices, procedures, processes and resources for developing, impelementing, achieving, reviewing and maintaining the environmental policy.

The implementation of various environmental objectives in the private sector is influenced by the Industrial Environmental Forum (IEF). The IEF was established in 1991, and represents the interest of 30 leading corporations in South Africa (IEF Environmental Report, 1999). The IEF in many ways serves as an important barometer of environmental trends and practices within industry and business. While national policy is an important factor of influence, international trends such as changing consumer preferences, trade agreements, and environmental conventions have also impacted on the private sector. The nature of these influences varies, but tend to be mainly focused on the introduction of Environmental Management Systems (EMSs) such as the ISO 14000 standards and cleaner production technologies. The IEF report indicates an increased environmental awareness in the corporate sector.

However, how far companies have actually implemented these measures is still open to question. Recently, an assessment of the status of Environmental Management Strategies in South Africa (Sunday Times, April 18, 1999) reviewed 83 local and foreign organizations operating in South Africa. The study showed that South African companies still lag about five years behind their counterparts in terms of Environmental Management Strategy implementation.

There are numerous NGOs involved in environmental policy research, advocacy and implementation. The largest NGO is the Environmental Justice Networking Forum which has a membership of some 500 institutions. The interests of NGOs involved in environmental issues is broad, ranging from pure conservation issues, to dealing with toxic waste and other environmental hazards. The predominant sources of funding for the NGO sector are foreign donor assistance, the corporate sector, private foundations, government grants and membership fees.

>     Political Environment : Impacts

There is also information about the Political Environment in the following reports:
Metropolitan reports:
	Cape Metropolitan Council (1998 edition)		Durban Pilot Study
	Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan Council (1999 edition)		Greater Pretoria Metropolitan Council (1999 edition)