The South African mining industry is viewed as the locomotive of the economic development in South Africa and has been a leading contributor to the economy for more than a century. However, the price paid for economic growth has left South Africa with a "mining legacy" and mining companies now face an upsurge of politically and regulatory induced challenges. Directors of mining companies have to act with a certain level of duty of care, skill and diligence in order for them to navigate through these various challenges. The heightened awareness of environmental degradation caused by mining has seen a rise in stricter mining liability legislation in South Africa, with a specific focus on company and director liability. The result is that directors are now faced with the possibility of personal liability when performing their executive function. According to the business judgment rule, directors will be shielded from liability if they acted with the necessary duty of care. The objective of this dissertation is to examine to what extent the business judgment rule will offer protection to a director of a mining company where the director caused environmental damage. The analysis of this study will be conducted in the context of the environmental damage caused by a mining company due to the decision making and 'governance' of the mining company's director or directors. / Mini Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Public Law / LLM / Unrestricted

This dissertation critically reviews the quality of South African environmental authorisations through the application of a methodology adopted from the Lee and Colley (1999) environmental impact assessment (EIA) report review package. The literature review shows that to date limited research has been conducted on the quality of environmental authorisations nationally. Anecdotal evidence suggests that environmental authorisations are of weak quality; hence the development of guidelines on the compilation of environmental authorisations by the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA). In this dissertation, the quality of the environmental authorisations is critically reviewed against the requirements of the National Environmental Management Act (Act No. 107 of 1998) and departmental guidelines. The research concludes that only 64% of reviewed authorisations are deemed satisfactory, while 36% were unsatisfactory. When the basic assessment report (BAR) and scoping and environmental impact assessment (S&EIA) process authorisations are compared it is concluded that the there is a minimal difference in quality. The BAR achieved a 69% satisfactory rating while the S&EIA process achieved a 61% satisfactory rating. The dissertation concludes by making recommendations to improve the quality of authorisations. / M (Environmental Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

It is common-cause that South Africa can be regarded as a country that is rich in diversity of natural resources. Moreover, it is generally accepted that South Africa has the best legislation with regard to the regulation of the environment in various fields such as water, air, biodiversity and waste management. However, there is to date, no specific legislation regulating renewable energy in South Africa. As a result of the high unemployment rate, poverty and the rural population not having adequate access to electricity, these communities depend heavily on the traditional use of biomass, which refers to the direct combustion of wood, charcoal, leaves, agricultural residue, and animal/human waste for their basic energy needs, which include cooking, drying and charcoal production. The traditional use of biomass results in a host of detrimental side-effects such as environmental degradation and negative social impacts. The latter necessitates that the use of renewable energy sources will need to be regulated in terms of law and policy reflective of section 24 of the Constitution of the Republic of South-Africa, 1996. In terms of section 24 of the Constitution, the State must establish and implement reasonable legislative measures to promote sustainable development and the sustainable use of natural resources while providing for the protection of the environment for the benefit of present and future generations. It is immediately evident that the legislative measures mandated by section 24 of the Constitution should be geared towards the facilitation of environmental protection. Falling within the ambit of such legislative measures is framework legislation. An example of framework legislation is the National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998 (the NEMA). In this dissertation an overview of the concept of framework legislation will be provided with specific reference to the NEMA and its role as such in South African environmental law. This will be followed by an analysis of existing South African renewable energy policy documents, during which norms and/or principles common to these documents will be identified. The question subsequently arises: What should be included in framework legislation aimed at regulating renewable energy in South Africa? These identified norms will be proposed as the general basic norms which should be included in renewable energy framework legislation aimed at regulating the supply of renewable energy in South Africa. / LLM (Environmental Law and Governance), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

This dissertation critically reviews the quality of South African environmental authorisations through the application of a methodology adopted from the Lee and Colley (1999) environmental impact assessment (EIA) report review package. The literature review shows that to date limited research has been conducted on the quality of environmental authorisations nationally. Anecdotal evidence suggests that environmental authorisations are of weak quality; hence the development of guidelines on the compilation of environmental authorisations by the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA). In this dissertation, the quality of the environmental authorisations is critically reviewed against the requirements of the National Environmental Management Act (Act No. 107 of 1998) and departmental guidelines. The research concludes that only 64% of reviewed authorisations are deemed satisfactory, while 36% were unsatisfactory. When the basic assessment report (BAR) and scoping and environmental impact assessment (S&EIA) process authorisations are compared it is concluded that the there is a minimal difference in quality. The BAR achieved a 69% satisfactory rating while the S&EIA process achieved a 61% satisfactory rating. The dissertation concludes by making recommendations to improve the quality of authorisations. / M (Environmental Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

It is common-cause that South Africa can be regarded as a country that is rich in diversity of natural resources. Moreover, it is generally accepted that South Africa has the best legislation with regard to the regulation of the environment in various fields such as water, air, biodiversity and waste management. However, there is to date, no specific legislation regulating renewable energy in South Africa. As a result of the high unemployment rate, poverty and the rural population not having adequate access to electricity, these communities depend heavily on the traditional use of biomass, which refers to the direct combustion of wood, charcoal, leaves, agricultural residue, and animal/human waste for their basic energy needs, which include cooking, drying and charcoal production. The traditional use of biomass results in a host of detrimental side-effects such as environmental degradation and negative social impacts. The latter necessitates that the use of renewable energy sources will need to be regulated in terms of law and policy reflective of section 24 of the Constitution of the Republic of South-Africa, 1996. In terms of section 24 of the Constitution, the State must establish and implement reasonable legislative measures to promote sustainable development and the sustainable use of natural resources while providing for the protection of the environment for the benefit of present and future generations. It is immediately evident that the legislative measures mandated by section 24 of the Constitution should be geared towards the facilitation of environmental protection. Falling within the ambit of such legislative measures is framework legislation. An example of framework legislation is the National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998 (the NEMA). In this dissertation an overview of the concept of framework legislation will be provided with specific reference to the NEMA and its role as such in South African environmental law. This will be followed by an analysis of existing South African renewable energy policy documents, during which norms and/or principles common to these documents will be identified. The question subsequently arises: What should be included in framework legislation aimed at regulating renewable energy in South Africa? These identified norms will be proposed as the general basic norms which should be included in renewable energy framework legislation aimed at regulating the supply of renewable energy in South Africa. / LLM (Environmental Law and Governance), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

On 18 June 2010 new NEMA 2010 EIA Regulations were promulgated and came into effect on 2 August 2010 in order to improve the effectiveness of EIA. The question of effectiveness, therefore still remains. The quality of EIRs under the 1997 regulations in South Africa has been researched, although not as extensively as in other parts of the world. It was concluded that the quality of EIRs in South Africa are generally satisfactory, although a number of problems were identified, e.g. timing of the EIA, the identification of activities which require authorization or not, the consideration of alternatives, the absence of any time limits, the absence of requirements for monitoring and enforcing compliance, and objectivity. The National Environmental Management Act (NEMA), (Act no 107, 1998) was amended and new regulations promulgated in 2006. No research has been published regarding the quality of EIRs produced in South Africa under the 2006 regulations. Since it was the intent of the new regulations to improve EIA effectiveness, it is necessary that the quality of EIRs produced under the new EIA system be investigated. As in the other studies in South Africa, the Lee and Colley review model was used as basis for the comparative analysis of the EIRs before and after 2006. A sample of 26 EIRs, 11 under the 1997 EIA system and 15 under the 2006 EIA system, obtained from the then Impact Assessment Directorate of the National Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) archives in Pretoria were reviewed. The main conclusions were that the majority of the EIRs under the 1997 system were of an acceptable standard and that the overall quality of the EIRs did not improve after the promulgation of the 2006 regulations. The descriptive and presentational parts of the EIRs were more satisfactorily addressed, while the analytical parts such as impact significance were addressed less satisfactorily. EIR quality appears to be on par with international standards, but there are areas of distinct weaknesses. As the 2006 EIRs included some of the first EIRs conducted under the new regulations, there is potential for the quality to improve over time. However, the areas that still need attention are the identification and evaluation of impacts, impact magnitude and monitoring programmes. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Geography and Environmental Management))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

On 18 June 2010 new NEMA 2010 EIA Regulations were promulgated and came into effect on 2 August 2010 in order to improve the effectiveness of EIA. The question of effectiveness, therefore still remains. The quality of EIRs under the 1997 regulations in South Africa has been researched, although not as extensively as in other parts of the world. It was concluded that the quality of EIRs in South Africa are generally satisfactory, although a number of problems were identified, e.g. timing of the EIA, the identification of activities which require authorization or not, the consideration of alternatives, the absence of any time limits, the absence of requirements for monitoring and enforcing compliance, and objectivity. The National Environmental Management Act (NEMA), (Act no 107, 1998) was amended and new regulations promulgated in 2006. No research has been published regarding the quality of EIRs produced in South Africa under the 2006 regulations. Since it was the intent of the new regulations to improve EIA effectiveness, it is necessary that the quality of EIRs produced under the new EIA system be investigated. As in the other studies in South Africa, the Lee and Colley review model was used as basis for the comparative analysis of the EIRs before and after 2006. A sample of 26 EIRs, 11 under the 1997 EIA system and 15 under the 2006 EIA system, obtained from the then Impact Assessment Directorate of the National Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) archives in Pretoria were reviewed. The main conclusions were that the majority of the EIRs under the 1997 system were of an acceptable standard and that the overall quality of the EIRs did not improve after the promulgation of the 2006 regulations. The descriptive and presentational parts of the EIRs were more satisfactorily addressed, while the analytical parts such as impact significance were addressed less satisfactorily. EIR quality appears to be on par with international standards, but there are areas of distinct weaknesses. As the 2006 EIRs included some of the first EIRs conducted under the new regulations, there is potential for the quality to improve over time. However, the areas that still need attention are the identification and evaluation of impacts, impact magnitude and monitoring programmes. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Geography and Environmental Management))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

Waste management is a global challenge due to high waste generation resulting from high industrialization, urbanization and challenges relating to the efficient implementation of waste management policies acts and standards. Although South Africa has established a number of good waste management policies and related acts and standards, most municipalities still find it challenging to efficiently implement waste management strategies. Ekurhuleni Municipality is facing challenges with the implementation of effective waste management strategies and compliance to the National Environmental Management Waste Act (2008), (NEMWA) (Act No 59 of 2008). An evaluation of the gaps that exist between NEMWA and the local implementation in the formal and informal parts of the Ekurhuleni Municipality was undertaken in this study. Data on the waste management scenario as collected through questionnaires, interviews and observations revealed that differences relating to the poor establishment of an integrated approach to waste management exist between NEMWA and the local implementation of the act. This was realized through the fact that there is limited community education on waste management, no waste recycling facilities in some residences, irregular and insufficient collection of waste and non compliance with tariff payments for most informal residents and some formal residents. Differences also exist in the waste management strategies between the formal and informal areas of the municipality primarily due to the fact that the informal settlements are mostly unplanned and considered illegal. According to this study, informal residents are not billed for waste management services and as such most of them do not pay for waste management services. To that end, waste is not efficiently managed due to municipal financial constraints. Waste management challenges in Ekurhuleni Municipality are also attributed to lack of or insufficient knowledge regarding sustainable waste management practices and its benefits amongst the waste generators and some waste management employees. / Environmental Sciences / M.A. (Environmental Management)

Magister Legum - LLM

Magister Legum - LLM / This study provides an overview of the development of environmental assessment legislation in South Africa since the advent of democracy and critically assesses whether an effective regulatory system is in place. Where necessary and appropriate, the study may include aspects of foreign and international law. This study also aims to provide an overview of the law as it stands by highlighting both the good and bad elements of the law in relation to EIAs and IEMs. It is furthermore aimed at exposing potential grey areas in the law and proposing possible recommendations for improvement