First report on testing the CSD list of indicators
This report outlines the results of the first year of testing the indicators proposed by the CSD. More information on the CSD indicator initiative is available at
http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/isd.htm
Part 1 ; Economic Indicators; Social indicators; Environmental indicators; Institutional indicators

Proceedings of an expert workshop on national indicators of environmental sustainable development.
The CSD list of proposed indicators contains 53 environmental indicators. At a workshop on 20-21 October 1998, the usefulness and applicability of these indicators were discussed. The proceedings of the workshop contains the major conclusions reached at this workshop.

We are busy to convert the proceedings of the workshop into PDF format. Until such time as the PDF file becomes available, the proceedings can be downloaded in MSWord or WordPerfect format. To download the file click on either MSWord or WordPerfect.

Final report on testing the CSD list of indicators in South Africa
This is the final report to the CSD on testing the proposed indicators of sustainable development in South Africa.
Full report

Final reports on the development of a core set of environmental indicators for state of the environment reporting in South Africa
The reports from Phases 1-3 as well as a draft implementation strategy are now available for download.
Go to list of reports

Environmental Performance Indicators
Final report on a proposed core set of environmental performance indicators.
Full report

Environmental Headline Indicators
A selection of environmental indicators presented within the framework of environmental sustainability. In preparation.
Full report

State of the Environment

National state of the environment report - overview
This document contains an overview of the state of the environment in South Africa. It summarises the National State of the Environment Report published on the Internet in 1999. More information on the State of the Environment Report on the Internet is available here...
Introduction; Drivers; Pressures; State; Impact; Response; Conclusion

State of the Environment Cookbook
This handy booklet on SoE reporting was developed by Grid/Arendal. It contains a wealth of information on how to report on the state of the environment.
This booklet is made available on this site with the kind permission of UNEP Grid-Arendal
Cookbook

Midrand State of Environment Report
The Midrand Metropolitan Local Council (MMLC) in partnership with the Danish Corporation for Environment and Development (DANCED), the local business community and residents in Midrand initiated a Midrand Green City Project. In the implementation of the Green City Project the State of Environment Report (SoER) was prepared to provide a useful tool to identify the key environmental issues and priorities in Midrand. More ....

Full report ; Part 1: 188K; Part 2: 319K; Part 3: 106K; Part 4: 1306K

State of South African Estuaries
The South African 3 000 km coastline has approximately 370 outlets to the sea ranging from small coastal streams to large permanently open tidal estuaries. The current state of scientific information on the vast majority of these systems, however, is virtually nil. As part of a national program to assess the state of South Africa's estuarine environment, basic surveys were conducted on these systems during the period 1992 to 1999. The results of this study provide a useful summary of the status of South Africa's estuaries.
Chapter 1: Introduction ( 32K)
Chapter 2: Geomorphology (379K)
Chapter 3a: Ichthyofauna (123K)
Chapter 3b: Ichthyofauna continued.. (124K)
Chapter 4: Water Quality (81K)
Chapter 5: Aesthetics (34K)
Chapter 6: General summary & recommendations (66K)
References (22K)
Appendix 1: Strip-maps Alexander Bay to Goda estuary ( 996K)
Appendix 1 Strip maps: Goda to Kosi Bay (1088K)

State of the environment for schools
This booklet aims to help the teacher and the learner explore the state of South Africa's environment. The booklet uses the same reporting framework as the official State of the Environment (SoE) report. The booklet is only a starting point with facts and figures and it refers the learner to other sources of environmental information and tools for exploring issues more fully. The resource materials mentioned in the booklet can be ordered seperately.The booklet can be ordered from the Department. An on-line version is available here.

The HTML document is also available in zipped format. To download, click here

Guideline for state of the environment reporting
An guideline document on how to do a state of the environment report is available on-line. To go to the guide, click here

North West province state of the environment report . To go to the report, click here

Limpopo state of the environment report
To go to the full report, click here. The overview report is available here.

Sedibeng state of the environment report
To go to the report, click here

Mangaung state of the environment report
To go to the full report, click here

Mpumalanga state of the environment report
Full report, ; Key issues, Indicators

Mogale City state of the environment report
To go to the report, click here ... 13MB

Mbombela state of the environment report
Full report; Issues report; Indicator report

Gauteng state of the environment report
The PDF version of the Gauteng state of the environment report is available on-line. To go to sections of the report, click here.

Eastern Cape state of the environment report
The PDF version of the Eastern Cape state of the environment report is available on the Eastern Cape SoER website. To go to the website, click here

Ekurhuleni state of the environment report
Full report ; Summary report

Johannesburg state of the environment report
To go to the report, click here

Northern Cape state of the environment report
The PDF version of the Northern Cape state of the environment report is available on the Eastern Cape SoER website. To go to the website, click here

Guidelines for Municipalities
The PDF version of the Guidelines for Municipalities , click here

LA SOE z-fold
The PDF version of the LA SOE z-fold , click here

Letaba and Luvuvhu rivers . To go to the report, click here

uMngeni river . To go to the report, click here

Hartenbos and Klein Brak rivers . To go to the report, click here

Free State region river systems . To go to the report, click here

Diep, Hout Bay, Lourens and Palmiet river systems . To go to the report, click here

Buffalo river . To go to the report, click here

Vegetation of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland
The Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, on request by the National Botanical Institute and the South African Association of Botanists, sponsored the compilation of a new vegetation map for South Africa. The work started in 1991 and culminated in the publication of a full colour map and a companion booklet in 1995. The booklet has now been updated and is available through the bookstores of the National Botanical Institute. In an effort to make the valuable information contained in the booklet available to a wider audience, we have decided to release a copy of the document on the Internet. The maps have been improved from previous versions. To link to the Internet version, click here.

The HTML document is also available in zipped format. To download, click here