Environmental Impact Assessments ("EIA") have been regulated for the last 12 years in South Africa, initially through the Environment Conservation Act 1989, and since 2006 through the National Environmental Management Act 1998 ("NEMA"). The former applied the standard of "substantial detrimental effect" to the environment in determining whether an authorisation should be granted. NEMA requires the authority to take into account environmental management principles. These principles inter alia require that development must be socially, environmentally and economically sustainable. This is also known as sustainable development ("SD"). Administrative officials tasked with considering EIAs have been given legislative direction with respect to the environmental issues which need to be assessed. They have been given no direction on how to assess socioeconomic issues. Notwithstanding this there have been an increasing number of decisions based on socio-economic factors, notwithstanding that the environmental impacts have been determined to be acceptable. In Fuel Retailers Association of South Africa v Director-General: Environmental Management, Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment, Mpumalanga Province and Others the Constitutional court held that SD must be applied by environmental authorities when they consider applications for EIA authorisation. However a careful analysis of NEMA and the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, highlight that our administrators and courts have adopted a one dimensional and ultimately inaccurate interpretation of the application of SD. This is prejudicing the fulfilment of the objective of EIA, namely the determination of the acceptability of a project's environmental impacts. Whilst SD does have a role to play in the EIA process it is more defined, and does not take the central role the Constitutional Court has indicated. The aim of is to determine whether there are adverse impacts associated with a project. If there are, then ordinarily authorisation should be refused. However the authorities are enjoined to go a step further. They must determine whether the identified adverse impacts can be satisfactorily mitigated, and whether any positive socio-economic factors would accrue Page (iii) should the project be authorised. If both are answered in the affirmative, then a positive decision is appropriate. This is the balance which NEMA calls for, and this is the correct application of SD in an EIA. The broader application of SD espoused by the Constitutional Court is achieved not through the environmental authorities in the EIA process alone, but through the constitutional principle of cooperative governance. All authorities with an interest in a particular project must apply the principle of SD within the scope of their administrative functions. The environmental authorities consider the environmental impacts, the planning authorities consider the socio-economic impacts, the agricultural authorities determine the project's impacts on agricultural land, etc. The outcome of their individual decisions can then collectively be assessed to determine whether a project is sustainable or not. There are various measures which can be employed to address the interpretational deficiency which has now manifested. These include improving cooperative governance principles and practices in decisionmaking; undertaking strategic environmental assessments; and a dedicated Sustainable Development Act. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Centre for Human Rights / unrestricted

Public participation is an integral part of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process, as it provides opportunities for interested and affected parties (I&APs) to participate in the decision making process. The objective of public participation is to accomplish social and environmental justice and to promote informed decision making. Concern however exists that public participation is seen and implemented as a rigid “one size fits all” process and that the inputs by I&APs are limited to the pre-authorisation phases i.e. the I&APs are not involved in the environmental management of the full life cycle of the activity. The problem appears to stem from the fact that the implementation of the public participation process is associated with a number of shortcomings and may be seen as a paper exercise to satisfy the requirements of the National Environmental Management Act. The aim of the research is to determine the effectiveness of public participation in EIA processes, using a group of selected South African case studies. A structured, survey-based research study was conducted with I&APs, environmental assessment practitioners (EAPs) and officials from relevant decision making bodies (competent authorities). The main aim of the research has been achieved and all research objectives answered. The study concludes that public participation in EIA processes is not purely a paper exercise, but does in fact enhance decision making. However, there are widespread concerns regarding the selection of alternatives and the alignment of public participation processes in other environmental assessments. / M (Environmental Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Public participation is an integral part of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process, as it provides opportunities for interested and affected parties (I&APs) to participate in the decision making process. The objective of public participation is to accomplish social and environmental justice and to promote informed decision making. Concern however exists that public participation is seen and implemented as a rigid “one size fits all” process and that the inputs by I&APs are limited to the pre-authorisation phases i.e. the I&APs are not involved in the environmental management of the full life cycle of the activity. The problem appears to stem from the fact that the implementation of the public participation process is associated with a number of shortcomings and may be seen as a paper exercise to satisfy the requirements of the National Environmental Management Act. The aim of the research is to determine the effectiveness of public participation in EIA processes, using a group of selected South African case studies. A structured, survey-based research study was conducted with I&APs, environmental assessment practitioners (EAPs) and officials from relevant decision making bodies (competent authorities). The main aim of the research has been achieved and all research objectives answered. The study concludes that public participation in EIA processes is not purely a paper exercise, but does in fact enhance decision making. However, there are widespread concerns regarding the selection of alternatives and the alignment of public participation processes in other environmental assessments. / M (Environmental Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Thesis (M. Environmental Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

We live in the Anthropocene – an age where humans dominate natural systems – and there is ample evidence that our current practices degrade the capacity of natural systems to provide us with natural resources. How we, as humans, organize and learn, in communities and among state and other societal actors, constitute a decisive factor for both local management of natural resources and the functioning of the planet Earth. In other words, the outcome of learning has become a matter of governance across multiple levels. This thesis studies the role of social learning in governance of natural resources, asking the following three overarching questions: i) What are the institutional barriers limiting better environmental governance at different scales? ii) Is there a causal connection between social learning and better environmental governance? iii) What are the normative challenges with better environmental governance or social-ecological resilience being linked to the adaptive capacity of actors to learn socially? The primary method is semi-structured in-depth interviews. Papers provide results on institutional barriers such as competency traps and show how customs and current practices and collaborations limit better environmental governance. It is found that social learning might, and might not, lead to better environmental governance, and the causal connection between social learning and better environmental governance is found to be rather weak, with both variables depending on other factors. Enabling policy, a mandate to make broad assessments, or an engaged leader facilitating social learning, are examples of factors that explain the existence of both social learning and outcomes in terms of better environmental governance. It is concluded that since conditions for, and facilitation of, social learning are so important, research should focus more on what initiates social learning and how social learning can be mainstreamed across multiple levels of governance / At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 3: Submitted: Paper 4: Submitted; Paper 5: Submitted.

In the pursuit of sustainable development, Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) are acknowledged globally as a tool designed to assist governing authorities by providing the information required to make an informed decision regarding development proposals. South Africa has entrenched this EIA requirement in the presiding environmental legislation: the National Environmental Management Act (Act 107 of 1 998). In the effort to manage the negative impact of development on the rocky ridges of Johannesburg, the Gauteng Department of Agriculture, conservation, Environment and Land Affairs (GDACEL) has introduced a buffer zone requirement in the procedure of the EIA. The Red Data Plant Policy for Environmental Impact Evaluations for GDACEL described a buffer zone as a collar of land that filters out inappropriate influences from surrounding activities. As a tool in the EIA, a buffer zone is a worthwhile concept. However, the determination of the dimension of the buffer zone on rocky ridges, is non-discriminatory between sites, and thus, presents potential contention between decision-making authorities and developers. There is a need for further research to establish a scientifically acceptable method of determining site-specific buffer zones for individual EIA applications. The key objective of this paper is to suggest the possibility of determining a buffer zone that accommodates the unique environmental aspects of each site. This is achieved by determining the distance between the edge of existing developments and the point at which the successional climax community within the adjacent natural vegetation is established. Three suitable study sites, consisting of developed residential estates on ridges adjacent to nature reserves, were identified within the greater Johannesburg metropolis. The three study sites identified for this assessment include Kloofendal (west), Morning Hill (east) and Kliprivier (south). Within each study site field surveys were conducted along transects starting 5m from the development edge and ending 75m within the nature reserve adjacent to each site. Quantitative (species density) and qualitative (Braun-Blanquet cover-abundance values) data analysis was employed to describe and evaluate the identified plant communities. The data in this study provides clear indication that a 25-35m buffer zone would suffice for these specific plant communities to maintain a climax successional status if impacted on by residential development. This paper thus makes a case for permitting the determining of variable buffers zones, based on a gradient analysis of a plant community, as a potential panacea to the problem of resistance and reluctance to accept present standard buffer zones. / Thesis (M. Environmental Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

In the pursuit of sustainable development, Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) are acknowledged globally as a tool designed to assist governing authorities by providing the information required to make an informed decision regarding development proposals. South Africa has entrenched this EIA requirement in the presiding environmental legislation: the National Environmental Management Act (Act 107 of 1 998). In the effort to manage the negative impact of development on the rocky ridges of Johannesburg, the Gauteng Department of Agriculture, conservation, Environment and Land Affairs (GDACEL) has introduced a buffer zone requirement in the procedure of the EIA. The Red Data Plant Policy for Environmental Impact Evaluations for GDACEL described a buffer zone as a collar of land that filters out inappropriate influences from surrounding activities. As a tool in the EIA, a buffer zone is a worthwhile concept. However, the determination of the dimension of the buffer zone on rocky ridges, is non-discriminatory between sites, and thus, presents potential contention between decision-making authorities and developers. There is a need for further research to establish a scientifically acceptable method of determining site-specific buffer zones for individual EIA applications. The key objective of this paper is to suggest the possibility of determining a buffer zone that accommodates the unique environmental aspects of each site. This is achieved by determining the distance between the edge of existing developments and the point at which the successional climax community within the adjacent natural vegetation is established. Three suitable study sites, consisting of developed residential estates on ridges adjacent to nature reserves, were identified within the greater Johannesburg metropolis. The three study sites identified for this assessment include Kloofendal (west), Morning Hill (east) and Kliprivier (south). Within each study site field surveys were conducted along transects starting 5m from the development edge and ending 75m within the nature reserve adjacent to each site. Quantitative (species density) and qualitative (Braun-Blanquet cover-abundance values) data analysis was employed to describe and evaluate the identified plant communities. The data in this study provides clear indication that a 25-35m buffer zone would suffice for these specific plant communities to maintain a climax successional status if impacted on by residential development. This paper thus makes a case for permitting the determining of variable buffers zones, based on a gradient analysis of a plant community, as a potential panacea to the problem of resistance and reluctance to accept present standard buffer zones. / Thesis (M. Environmental Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

Abstract Sanitation coverage in the Republic of Panama is 5 to 10 percent below the Millennium Development Goals targets set for the country. Population growth, urbanization, unplanned development and waste mismanagement have resulted in improvised trash sites and waste discharges into river systems that are important components of the biologically diverse natural environment of Panama. The study sought to investigate and estimate the burden of waste from domestic and agricultural sources in three regions of the Chilibre corrigimiento (district). It was hypothesized that the water quality and land cover data would reflect that the most populated region in the study sample (Region 2) would have more water quality violations than the adjacent background and attenuation regions (Region 1 and Region 3) in the study sample. The results supported that Region 2 had the most water quality violations -- particularly at the CHIL 3 monitoring station. Based on the results the most appropriate best management practices (BMPs) were recommended for the household, community, watershed, and regional level waste management in the study region. Future research will look determine the effectiveness of microfinance programs in bolstering sanitation-based entrepreneurship in Chilibre and across Panama.

This article describes and analyzes the national standard established for the prior consultation proceedings in mining and its relationship with environmental law. These procedures have been created in order to comply with the liability contracted by the Peruvian State in 1995, after the ratification of ILO Convention 169. The article reviews the main elements of Peruvian prior consulting process, including key aspects such as the identification of indigenous peoples, as well as defining the moment at which consulting should be made in the mining area. Finally, the author stresses the no consultations in mining projects at the time and the implications of that fact. / El presente artículo busca describir y analizar el estándar nacional establecido para el desarrollo de procesos de consulta previa en el ámbito de la minería y su relación con la legislación ambiental. Estos procedimientos han sido establecidos con el objeto de cumplir con la obligación que el Estado Peruano asumió en el año 1995, tras la ratificación del Convenio 169 de la OIT. Se pasa revista a los principales componentes del proceso de consulta peruano, incluyendo aspectos cruciales como la identificación de los pueblos indígenas, de las medidas de consultar así como la definición del momento en el cual realizar la consulta en el ámbito minero. Finalmente se destaca la no realización de consultas en los proyectos mineros hasta la fecha y las implicancias de dicho hecho.

The Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (CCOFTA) came into force in August 2011 amidst concerns that the provisions protecting Canadian investment in Colombia could exacerbate the precarious human rights situation. The Agreement concerning Annual Reports on Human Rights and Free Trade between Canada and Colombia was negotiated to address such concerns by enshrining the first ever human rights impact assessment (HRIA) of a free trade and investment agreement (TIA) in an internationally binding instrument. This thesis builds on a growing body of international legal scholarship that has considered the duty of home states of private investors to regulate their activity in the host state so as to prevent them from causing or contributing to human rights and environmental harm. It examines state obligations found in human rights, environmental and general principles of international law to propose that while an obligation might exist for the home state to exercise unilateral regulation of its investors, in the presence of a TIA that could cause or enable private human rights or environmental harm, investor regulation through the TIA can be seen as duty for both the home and host states. In view of the absence of such regulation in the CCOFTA, this thesis will consider if the annual HRIA mechanism is an alternative for preventing human rights and environmental harm caused or enabled by the TIA. It is submitted that while HRIAs of TIAs are a novel concept for which little international practice exists, this mechanism has the capacity to provide concrete evidence of human rights or environmental harm caused or enabled by the TIA, but only if based on a methodological model that uses existing state international human rights law obligations as indicators to measure a change in the human rights situation, draws unequivocal causal links between the investment protection provisions and human rights indicators, and allows for broad public participation, especially from the most marginalized and underrepresented groups in the host state to validate its methodology and findings. While under international law all investment-exporting states might have a duty to conduct HRIA on the effects of a proposed TIA as part of the due diligence to prevent transnational harm, the enshrinement of such assessments in an internationally binding instrument triggers a duty for the home state to, on one hand use the HRIA mechanism to prevent transnational human rights or environmental harm and, on the other hand, structure its annual assessments according to the described model in order to give effect to the duty to prevent. Broad and inclusive participation of the local affected communities from the host state in the HRIA becomes an integral component of the home state duty to prevent that can be expected to reveal any negative effects on the human rights situation from the TIA provisions, as well as the type of action required from both states parties to address them.