National Environmental Compliance & Enforcement Report 2011-12

The National Environmental Compliance & Enforcement Report 2011-12 details the activities of South Africa's Environmental Management Inspectorate (EMI). Key trends include a 30% increase in registered EMIs, a significant rise in Section 24G administrative fines, and a focus on combating rhino poaching. The report provides detailed statistics on criminal dockets, convictions, and industrial inspections, while highlighting landmark court cases and capacity-building efforts for inspectors and prosecutors.

• The total number of Environmental Management Inspectors (EMIs) on the national register increased by 30%, rising from 1,076 in 2010/11 to 1,399 in 2011/12. Grade 5 EMI field rangers accounted for 60% of the total register (841 inspectors).
• Criminal enforcement statistics show a 9.5% increase in registered criminal dockets and J534s (2,577 total), though the number of arrests by EMIs declined to 1,339 in 2011/12 from 1,988 in 2010/11. Convictions slightly increased from 72 in 2010/11 to 82 in 2011/12.
• There was a dramatic increase in the total value of section 24G administrative fines paid, rising from R 8,364,870.00 in 2010/11 to R 17,627,233 in 2011/12, with Vele Colliery contributing over half of this amount (R 9,250,000).
• Compliance monitoring saw a 12% decline in facilities inspected (1,724 in 2011/12). Proactive inspections dropped by 45% (from 2,196 to 1,215), while the number of detected non-compliances increased by 122% from 1,116 in 2010/11 to 2,482 in 2011/12.
• Rhino poaching remains a critical issue, with 448 rhinoceros illegally hunted in South Africa in 2011. The Kruger National Park was the most affected area with 254 rhinos killed. 232 suspected poachers were arrested during the period.
• Emergency incidents reported under section 30 of NEMA increased dramatically from 42 in 2010/11 to 144 in 2011/12, with the petroleum and transport sectors accounting for 22% (31 incidents) of the total.
• South Africa faces a severe cycad conservation crisis, with a risk of losing 70% of its species. Currently, 32% are Critically Endangered, 11% are Endangered, and 27% are Vulnerable, primarily due to illegal wild collection.
• Eskom is identified as the organ of state with the highest rate of non-compliance. Despite paying over R2 million in section 24G fines across four cases, the report suggests these fines are not deterring the company from contravening the law.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2011). National Environmental Compliance & Enforcement Report 2011-12. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/NECER-2011-12.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. National Environmental Compliance & Enforcement Report 2011-12. 2011. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/NECER-2011-12.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=National Environmental Compliance & Enforcement Report 2011-12 |date=December 2011 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/NECER-2011-12.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centreforenvironmentalrights2011national, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{National Environmental Compliance \& Enforcement Report 2011-12}}, institution = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2011}, month = dec, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/NECER-2011-12.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }