joint-cer-lac-submissions-on-nemlab_18-july-2012-7c50b551ffe4190f.pdf

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) and the Legal Resources Centre (LRC) provided joint submissions on 18 July 2012 regarding the National Environmental Management Laws Amendment Bill, 2012. The document offers a detailed critique of proposed amendments to the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA), the Biodiversity Act, and the Air Quality Act, focusing on environmental governance, criminal liability, and the rights of traditional communities.

• The CER and LRC support the inclusion of the National Environment Management: Integrated Coastal Management Act, 2008, the National Environmental Management: Waste Act, 2008, and the World Heritage Convention Act in the definition of "specific environmental management Act" (SEMA), but argue that Schedule 3(a) of NEMA must also be amended to ensure section 34 of NEMA applies to these statutes.
• The authors express strong concern over section 24G of NEMA, stating it has become a "monster" that creates perverse incentives by allowing violators to effectively "buy themselves out of criminal prosecution" through administrative fines, and they suggest it should be urgently amended or scrapped.
• The submission argues that the proposed amendment to section 85 of the Biodiversity Act regarding the Bioprospecting Trust Fund violates constitutional principles of equality and self-determination, as well as international law on free, prior and informed consent (FPIC), by mandating that benefit-sharing funds be paid to traditional councils.
• The document highlights a lack of financial accountability and oversight for funds paid to traditional councils, noting that only the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces explicitly require such funds to be managed according to the Public Finance Management Act, 1999.
• The CER and LRC support the introduction of criminal liability for organs of state under the proposed amendment to section 48 of NEMA, asserting that this is essential for ensuring that state entities and their employees are held accountable for unlawful activities.
• The submission identifies several priority areas for further law reform, including the need for integrated permitting across the National Water Act and Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, the introduction of administrative penalties to improve compliance, and amendments to the Protected Areas Act.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (n.d.). joint-cer-lac-submissions-on-nemlab_18-july-2012-7c50b551ffe4190f.pdf. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/JOINT-CER-LAC-SUBMISSIONS-ON-NEMLAB_18-JULY-2012.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. joint-cer-lac-submissions-on-nemlab_18-july-2012-7c50b551ffe4190f.pdf. n.d. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/JOINT-CER-LAC-SUBMISSIONS-ON-NEMLAB_18-JULY-2012.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=joint-cer-lac-submissions-on-nemlab_18-july-2012-7c50b551ffe4190f.pdf |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/JOINT-CER-LAC-SUBMISSIONS-ON-NEMLAB_18-JULY-2012.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrightsndjointcerlacsubmissionsonnemlab18july20127c50b551ffe4190fpdf, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{joint-cer-lac-submissions-on-nemlab\_18-july-2012-7c50b551ffe4190f.pdf}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/JOINT-CER-LAC-SUBMISSIONS-ON-NEMLAB_18-JULY-2012.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }