cer-letter-to-minister-shabangu-re-mprda-and-s49-21-sept-2011-85e37a2d219a6aa0.pdf

A letter from the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) to South Africa's Minister of Mineral Resources, Susan Shabangu, dated 21 September 2011, urging the adoption of NEMA standards for mining environmental regulation and the use of Section 49 of the MPRDA to protect biodiversity and hydrological areas.

• The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) argues that the separate environmental regulation system for mining under the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) is inferior to the system provided by the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA), claiming it contravenes the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act, 2000 and fails to meet Constitutional environmental rights under section 24.
• CER asserts that the current regulatory framework causes inter-departmental conflict because the Departments of Environmental Affairs and Water Affairs often receive mining rights as a "done deal," hindering their ability to fulfill legislative mandates.
• The CER is seeking a response to a 1 February 2011 submission requesting the Minister to use section 49 of the MPRDA to prohibit prospecting and mining in specific geographical areas of critical biodiversity and hydrological value.
• The letter references the Outcome 10 Delivery Agreement, which set a timeline for identifying restricted mineral development areas, including a comparison of "environmentally sensitive areas" and "mineral development priority areas" by December 2012 and the gazetting of restricted areas by April 2014.
• CER requests confirmation that the South African Mineral Resources Administration (SAMRAD) online system has incorporated GIS data and BGIS maps from the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) to prevent mining rights from being granted in ecologically sensitive areas.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (n.d.). cer-letter-to-minister-shabangu-re-mprda-and-s49-21-sept-2011-85e37a2d219a6aa0.pdf. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/CER-Letter-to-Minister-Shabangu-re-MPRDA-and-s49-21-Sept-2011.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. cer-letter-to-minister-shabangu-re-mprda-and-s49-21-sept-2011-85e37a2d219a6aa0.pdf. n.d. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/CER-Letter-to-Minister-Shabangu-re-MPRDA-and-s49-21-Sept-2011.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=cer-letter-to-minister-shabangu-re-mprda-and-s49-21-sept-2011-85e37a2d219a6aa0.pdf |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/CER-Letter-to-Minister-Shabangu-re-MPRDA-and-s49-21-Sept-2011.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrightsndcerlettertoministershabanguremprdaands4921sept201185e37a2d219a6aa0pdf, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{cer-letter-to-minister-shabangu-re-mprda-and-s49-21-sept-2011-85e37a2d219a6aa0.pdf}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/CER-Letter-to-Minister-Shabangu-re-MPRDA-and-s49-21-Sept-2011.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }