National Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Report 2015/16

The National Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Report 2015/16, published by the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA), provides a comprehensive overview of environmental law enforcement activities in South Africa. It details the capacity of the Environmental Management Inspectorate (EMI), national compliance statistics, provincial performance, and specific case studies regarding industrial pollution and biodiversity crimes, particularly rhino poaching.

• The Environmental Management Inspectorate (EMI) consists of 2,647 designated inspectors across South Africa, including 2,411 national and provincial EMIs and 236 municipal EMIs. Grade 5 EMIs, who serve as field rangers in national and provincial parks, make up the majority at 1,639 (67%) of the national and provincial register.
• National enforcement statistics for 2015/16 show a 0.8% increase in registered criminal dockets (1,261) compared to 2014/15 (1,250). However, convictions decreased by 20%, falling from 65 in 2014/15 to 52 in 2015/16, and arrests by EMIs decreased to 939 from 1,259 the previous year.
• Compliance monitoring saw a significant increase in activity, with 3,687 facilities inspected in 2015/16. Proactive inspections increased by 98.7% to 2,474, and reactive inspections rose by 178% to 1,224. The majority of inspections (55.1%) targeted 'brown' issues (pollution, waste, and EIA), followed by 'green' (biodiversity) at 32.4% and 'blue' (coastal/marine) at 12.5%.
• Rhino poaching remains a critical focus; 1,175 rhinos were poached in 2015, a slight decrease from 1,215 in 2014. Enforcement efforts resulted in significant prison sentences, such as a 20-year sentence for one accused in Limpopo and 30 years for two others in Mpumalanga.
• The report identifies a worrying trend where major environmental polluters enter Business Rescue Proceedings, creating uncertainty about how environmental risks will be funded. A specific example is Evraz Highveld Steel & Vanadium (EHSV) in Mpumalanga, which faced gross non-compliances regarding air quality and water use licenses before entering business rescue.
• Administrative enforcement notices have demonstrated tangible environmental improvements in specific cases. Examples include the refurbishment of a medical waste facility in Johannesburg to achieve a 100% pathogen kill rate, and the remediation of a land degradation site in Knysna costing R4.1 million.
• National complaints and emergency incidents reported through the hotline increased by 2.6% to 819 in 2015/16. Section 30 NEMA incidents (sudden releases of hazardous substances) totaled 239, with the power generator sector accounting for 43% (103) and rail transport for 25% (60) of these reports.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2016). National Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Report 2015/16. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/necer2016.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. National Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Report 2015/16. 2016. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/necer2016.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=National Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Report 2015/16 |date=2016 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/necer2016.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centreforenvironmentalrights2016national, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{National Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Report 2015/16}}, institution = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2016}, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/necer2016.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }