Wilderness areas face serious threats to their integrity and continued existence. The law has a critical role to play in their protection. To be effective, however, the law must be based on sound philosophical and socio-economic considerations. There is increasing recognition, internationally and nationally, of the utilitarian, intrinsic and biocentric values of wilderness and wildlife. There is also an international trend toward recognition and accommodation of tribal cultures and their traditional natural resource harvesting rights within national legal and political systems. Effective protection of the wilderness resource on which South African tribal cultures depend for their continued existence is essential. Communities adjacent to wilderness areas must be allowed to participate in the determination of the boundaries of, the preparation and implementation of the management plans for, and the benefits derived from, such areas. Wilderness management in South Africa must be linked to economic planning and rural development. The values of wilderness to humankind are increasingly being recognised and protected in international treaties and national legal systems. A comparative analysis of relevant events in the United States, in particular, clearly demonstrates that the most effective vehicle for establishment of a national wilderness system is a national wilderness statute. South Africa should acknowledge the international trend towards wilderness preservation, take instruction from the legal initiatives and protective mechanisms adopted in other countries, recognise that its wilderness is a global heritage, and accept ' that it has an obligation to protect what remains of its wild country, not only in the interests of its present and future generations, but also in the interests of the world community. A review of the history and current status of wilderness in South Africa, and of the laws which indirectly or directly provide protection of wilderness areas, wilderness values, or wilderness equivalents, suggests that there is a need for a new legal dispensation for the preservation of the remnants of South African wilderness. At present there is statutory protection of declared wilderness areas in State forests only, in terms of the Forest Act 122 of 1984. There is no direct legislative protection of wilderness on other public lands, and no legal protection of wilderness on private land. Effective and sustainable protection of South African wilderness will best be achieved through the medium of an appropriate national Wilderness Act. / Thesis (LL.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1992.

Land is a non-renewable and finite resource which comprises a variety of ecosystems that support biological diversity and provide food, shelter and raw materials to society. With a multitude of land uses competing for this precious resource, the land is becoming fragmented, altered and transformed. Land transformation has been acknowledged as a key contributor to the degradation of the environment and has serious implications for poverty, food security and biodiversity. This research focuses on land use changes within the uMngeni and Mpofana municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal. The main objectives were to critically review Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) decisions and document those EIAs received and finalised over the period 1999 – 2010, spatially define the location of decided EIAs, determine the types of EIA decisions issued, characterise the type and extent of land uses, describe patterns of land use change and identify the key factors responsible for changes in land use. During the research period a total of 337 EIA applications were received and 332 EIA applications were completed in the uMngeni Municipality and 182 EIA applications were received and 178 completed in the Mpofana Municipality. The types of EIA decisions issued consist of Records of Decisions, Environmental Authorisations, Exemptions, Withdrawals and Commencements. The key classes of land use changes that have occurred in uMngeni Municipality are Agriculture to Residential, whilst within the Mpofana Municipality the predominant land use change occurred within the Agricultural land use category. For both municipalities the Agriculture to Residential land use category experienced the greatest extent in land use change. In authorising EIA applications, the predominant key decision factors were based on the comments from Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife and Amafa aKwaZulu-Natali. In refusing EIA decisions the findings of various specialist studies, incompatible land uses and land use planning initiatives were the predominant key decision factors. The conclusions are that agricultural land is being transformed for use as nonagricultural activities specifically that of residential use. The recommendations include the need for accurate record keeping of data and information pertaining to EIAs and the integration of spatial planning tools and initiatives including Geographical Information Systems in the review of EIAs to improve decision making. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2010.

The Constitution of South Africa I, (the Constitution) envisages in the Bill of Rights that: Everyone has the right -(a) to an environment that is not harmful to their health or well-being; and (b) to have the environment protected. for the benefit of present and future generations, through reasonable legislative and other measures that prevent pollution and ecological degradation; II. promote conservation; and III. secure ecologically sustainable development and use of natural resources while promolingjuslifiable economic and social development.3 There are other statutes that support the Constitution. for example, the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA).4 This Act states in its preamble that : " Whereas many inhabitants of South Africa live in an environment that is not harmful to their health and well being everyone has the right to an environment that is not harmful to his or her health or well being; and everyone has the right to have the environment protected, for the benefit of present and futu re generations, through reasonable legislative and other measures that prevent pollution and ecological degradation ... Both the Constitution and NEMA are not only concerned with the environment but also with the health and well·being of South Africans. The World Health Organization (WHO) has defined health, as ' more than the absence of disease and infirmity, it is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being.' Environmental health in broad term is concerned with factors in the environment associated with health, well-being and disease, including physical, chemical and biological conditions. / Thesis (LL.M)-University of Durban-Westville, 2001.

LL.D. / Due to a democratic policy of transparency, responsibility and accountability, government organisations in the 'new' South Africa will have to properly and thoroughly plan and manage all facets of the national economy. Planning of land rights, - development and environmental conservation is necessary to manage the housing shortage, industrial and agricultural development and the principles of the Development Facilitation Act and the reconstruction and development programme. Town-, regional- and environmental conservation planning (especially managing of natural resources) is of vital importance. The role of the community, public participation, opinions and input is vital and desirable. New legislation in terms of town- and regional planning matters is however not completely in place. Administrative law, particularly the administrative justice stipulation in the constitution, plays an important and integral role in terms of the duties of town planning tribunals, developmental facilitation tribunals, town councils, ministers, provincial premiers and members of executive committees' powers and functions. The relevant legislation in Gauteng Province is the Development Facilitation Act, Town planning and Townships Ordinance (Tvl), the Local Government Transition Act,' the Gauteng Removal of Restrictions Act, 2 town planning schemes and the Environmental Conservation Act. This list is not a numerus clausus and will be discussed further below. The basis and practical area of application of all this legislation is administrative law. The administrative justice stipulation in the Constitution plays a vital and essential role in the implementation and execution of such legislation.

Rand Water contracted UNISA to develop a monetary valuation method for its open spaces and their inherent ecological functions. This study began by reviewing existing contemporary definitions of open space in South Africa and then identifying their key characteristics. The research project then looked at the economic contribution that open spaces make to the economy as a basis for environmental valuation. By determining the economic value of open spaces, decision makers can be informed about the importance of open space provision, preservation and maintenance. The project applied the participatory action research method which requires the active participation of focus groups. The focus groups consisted of Rand Water employees who deal with open spaces in their respective areas of work. During the literature review and problem formulation the various limitations of environmental valuation methods became evident. It became apparent that the development of new valuation methods would not be possible before existing valuation methods had been tested to see if they could feasibly be applied to open space in the Rand Water context. A literature review also determined that open space valuation studies in South Africa are very limited, which made it difficult to formulate a localised context. It was furthermore found that environmental valuers prefer to use the contingent valuation, travel cost and hedonic pricing methods. These methods rely on revealed and stated preferences of open space users to infer an economic value for an open space. Access to Rand Water’s open spaces is largely limited owing to strict access control. The excludability of open space users therefore hampers the generation of sufficient data to apply revealed and stated preference valuation methods. On the basis of this finding, it was decided to eliminate the contingent valuation and travel cost methods from this study. It was decided to apply the constraint composition theory, under the grounded theory model, to study the constraints or moderators which could affect the feasibility of environmental valuation application to Rand Water open spaces. Four moderators were then identified which could influence the outcome of the feasibility assessment. These are the limitations of the methods, the limitations of the legal framework, the limitations of the user and the limitations of the study area. It was found that the limitations of the methods were a moderator owing to their inherent data requirements. The only suitable valuation methods vi were found to be market based as they were not influenced by the excludability factor. These methods include the replacement cost, damage cost avoided, restoration cost and defensive expenditure valuation methods. The focus group was introduced to each method by participating in a method application exercise. Questionnaires regarding each method were completed to test variables. The legal framework was found not to be a moderator since even though there are limited direct provisions in legislation to mandate environmental valuation, there are legal principles which require economic impacts to be measured and damage to the environment to be estimated. These principles in themselves have supported litigation cases and the mere admission of environmental value estimates in court as evidence and support to a case therefore sets the required legal precedence and mandates further application. The user was found not to be a moderator. Feedback from the focus groups as well as an environmental resource economics workshop held at the Gauteng Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment showed that users understood environmental valuation principles, their benefits and limitations. With training, environmental scientists can apply these methods. The study area was found to be a moderator. The limited access for potential open space users, limited harvesting, limited agriculture and limited open space categories result in limited values that can be measured. In conclusion, it was found that not all environmental valuation methods can be applied to Rand Water open space owing to inherent limitations of the methods and the study area. Only market-based methods were found to be suitable for use on Rand Water open space. Notwithstanding the limitations of the methods and study area, which restrict the ability of valuers to obtain a total economic value for Rand Water open space, the available suite of methods can provide an indicator of value for environmental goods and services that flow from the utility’s open spaces. It was concluded that the application of environmental valuation methods to Rand Water open space is feasible within the context of the identified limitations. / Environmental Sciences / M.Sc. (Environmental Management)

Summaries in English and Afrikaans / Titles in English and Afrikaans / Text in Afrikaans / Die Suid-Afrikaanse omgewingsreg kry sy grondslag in velerlei statute, waarvan die Wet op Omgewingsbewaring van 1989 die belangrikste is. Die staat is tans besig om hierdie wet en die Geintegreerde Omgewingsbestuursbeleid in lyn te bring met die - Grondwet van die Republiek van Suid-Afrika van 1996. Dit word onder meer gedoen deur regulasies wat ingevolge die Wet op Omgewingsbewaring afgekondig is, die Witskrif op 'n Omgewingsbeleid vir Suid-Afrika, die Witskrif oor Bewaring en Volhoubare Gebruik van Suid-Afrika se Biologiese Diversiteit, ensovoorts. Hierdie beleidsaanpassing beoog om ontwikkeling op 'n volhoubare wyse te laat geskied, wat ook rekening hou met die ekonomiese werklikhede van Suid-Afrika, soos verwoord in die Heropbou en Ontwikkelingsprogram. Voordeel kan daaruit getrek word deur te kyk na die pad wat volhoubare ontwikkeling in lndie, as 'n ontwikkelende land, gevolg het / South African environmental law derives its foundation from various statutes, of which the Environment Conservation Act of 1989 is the most important. The state is currently in the process of bringing this Act and the Integrated Environmental Management Policy in line with the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996. This is done by, inter a/ia, the regulations which have been promulgated in terms of the Environment Conservation Act, the White Paper on an Environmental Policy for South Africa, the White Paper on Conservation and Sustainable Use of the Biological Diversity of South Africa, et cetera. This adaptation in policy is directed towards sustainable development, which will also take into account the economic realities of South Africa as set out in the Reconstruction and Development Programme. Benefit may be derived from observing the path of sustainable development in India as a developing country. / Law / LL.M.

Thesis (M. Phil.(Environmental law and management))--University of Limpopo, 2009

Thesis (LLM. (Development and Management Law)) -- University of Limpopo, 2012 / This study focuses on the right of “everyone to have access to an environment that is not harmful to their health or well-being; and to have the environment protected, for the benefit of present and future generations, through reasonable legislative and other measures that prevent pollution and ecological degradation, promote conservation and secure ecologically sustainable development and use of natural resources while promoting justifiable economic and social development”. This study discusses the government policies, domestic legislations and international law.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is the systematic identification and evaluation of the potential impacts (effects) of proposed projects, plans, programmes, or legislative actions relative to the biophysical, cultural, and socioeconomic components ofthe natural environment (Canter 1996). The overall purpose ofEIA is to assist in shaping the development process, not to prevent development from taking place and to ensure that the environmental consequences of development proposals are systematically assessed and taken into account . Since the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, there has been a substantial increase in the adoption ofEIA worldwide (Sheate 1996). The main aim of this report is to investigate the role of Ezemvelo Kwazulu-Natal Wildlife (EKZN-Wildlife) with respect to EIAs inside and outside the protected areas in KwaZulu-Natal. It has four objectives. • To establish the role EKZN-Wildlife should play in the EIA process inside and outside protected areas • • • To establish which institutions should manage the EIA process for EKZNWildlife developments To ascertain ifEKZN-Wildlife can be designated as a relevant authority To establish if EKZN-Wildlife should consult professionally in IEM for income generation The research method used to achieve these objectives were qualitative, with respondents purposefully chosen from EKZN-Wildlife, DAEA and environmental consultants. A selfadministered questionnaire method was used to collect data, and both open-ended and closed questions were asked. Techniques such as Likert scale and semantic differential were used to allow respondents to express feelings by ratings with respect to opposing concepts. The data analysis was mainly through reduction and displays in the form of tables and graphs. This report, amongst its fmdings, found that apart from being an lAP, the role ofEKZNWildlife in EIA should be that of providing specialist input in particular to biodiversity related issues during the EIA process. It was also found that appointing EKZN-Wildlife as a relevant authority would be inappropriate and could .have negative consequences. Concerning the scheduled activities that EKZN-Wildlife undertakes, the report found that self-assessments could be considered for small projects but not for big projects. This report also found that an environmental consulting role for EKZN-Wildlife may not be a viable option to generate income. This report recognizes that EIAs incorporate much more than mere consideration of green issues and recommends that EKZN-Wildlife should adopt an interdisciplinary team approach when dealing with EIAs. EKZN-Wildlife should also engage the relevant authority in a constructive dialogue so that its role during the EIA process can be defined explicitly. This report also recommends that EKZN-Wildlife should investigate the nature and the possibility ofproviding the necessary specialist review during the EIA process. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2003.

Rand Water contracted UNISA to develop a monetary valuation method for its open spaces and their inherent ecological functions. This study began by reviewing existing contemporary definitions of open space in South Africa and then identifying their key characteristics. The research project then looked at the economic contribution that open spaces make to the economy as a basis for environmental valuation. By determining the economic value of open spaces, decision makers can be informed about the importance of open space provision, preservation and maintenance. The project applied the participatory action research method which requires the active participation of focus groups. The focus groups consisted of Rand Water employees who deal with open spaces in their respective areas of work. During the literature review and problem formulation the various limitations of environmental valuation methods became evident. It became apparent that the development of new valuation methods would not be possible before existing valuation methods had been tested to see if they could feasibly be applied to open space in the Rand Water context. A literature review also determined that open space valuation studies in South Africa are very limited, which made it difficult to formulate a localised context. It was furthermore found that environmental valuers prefer to use the contingent valuation, travel cost and hedonic pricing methods. These methods rely on revealed and stated preferences of open space users to infer an economic value for an open space. Access to Rand Water’s open spaces is largely limited owing to strict access control. The excludability of open space users therefore hampers the generation of sufficient data to apply revealed and stated preference valuation methods. On the basis of this finding, it was decided to eliminate the contingent valuation and travel cost methods from this study. It was decided to apply the constraint composition theory, under the grounded theory model, to study the constraints or moderators which could affect the feasibility of environmental valuation application to Rand Water open spaces. Four moderators were then identified which could influence the outcome of the feasibility assessment. These are the limitations of the methods, the limitations of the legal framework, the limitations of the user and the limitations of the study area. It was found that the limitations of the methods were a moderator owing to their inherent data requirements. The only suitable valuation methods vi were found to be market based as they were not influenced by the excludability factor. These methods include the replacement cost, damage cost avoided, restoration cost and defensive expenditure valuation methods. The focus group was introduced to each method by participating in a method application exercise. Questionnaires regarding each method were completed to test variables. The legal framework was found not to be a moderator since even though there are limited direct provisions in legislation to mandate environmental valuation, there are legal principles which require economic impacts to be measured and damage to the environment to be estimated. These principles in themselves have supported litigation cases and the mere admission of environmental value estimates in court as evidence and support to a case therefore sets the required legal precedence and mandates further application. The user was found not to be a moderator. Feedback from the focus groups as well as an environmental resource economics workshop held at the Gauteng Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment showed that users understood environmental valuation principles, their benefits and limitations. With training, environmental scientists can apply these methods. The study area was found to be a moderator. The limited access for potential open space users, limited harvesting, limited agriculture and limited open space categories result in limited values that can be measured. In conclusion, it was found that not all environmental valuation methods can be applied to Rand Water open space owing to inherent limitations of the methods and the study area. Only market-based methods were found to be suitable for use on Rand Water open space. Notwithstanding the limitations of the methods and study area, which restrict the ability of valuers to obtain a total economic value for Rand Water open space, the available suite of methods can provide an indicator of value for environmental goods and services that flow from the utility’s open spaces. It was concluded that the application of environmental valuation methods to Rand Water open space is feasible within the context of the identified limitations. / Environmental Sciences / M.Sc. (Environmental Management)