FROM PROMISE TO PRACTICE: SOUTH AFRICA’S LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR MINERAL RESOURCES AND THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

The paper argues that while South Africa possesses the necessary legal tools—primarily through the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) and the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA)—to achieve the targets of SDG 12, practical implementation is hindered by systemic failures. These include a lack of political will, administrative inefficiency within the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR), and poor inter-departmental coordination. The authors highlight a specific governance risk where the DMR acts as both the awarding authority for environmental authorisations and the body responsible for their implementation, which weakens oversight.

• South Africa's legal framework already contains the mechanisms required to achieve the targets of sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources, though the 2030 target date is considered unrealistic due to a lack of specific scientific indicators.
• A significant governance weakness exists because the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) is responsible for both awarding environmental authorisations and implementing them, which reduces the reliability of monitoring and oversight compared to if the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) held decision-making power.
• Current reporting requirements under the MPRDA focus primarily on industry transformation targets, such as employment and the Mining Charter, rather than expressly requiring reports on environmental obligations.
• The implementation of sustainable development goals in South Africa is obstructed by a lack of political will, administrative incapacity, and a failure of different government departments to coordinate effectively.
• The state's role as administrator in the reporting process is problematic due to the high level of discretion it is granted in determining whether legal obligations have been satisfied.

APA

MOSTERT, H., & YOUNG, C. (2018). FROM PROMISE TO PRACTICE: SOUTH AFRICA’S LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR MINERAL RESOURCES AND THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Occasional-Paper-279.pdf

Chicago

MOSTERT, HANRI, and CHERI YOUNG. FROM PROMISE TO PRACTICE: SOUTH AFRICA’S LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR MINERAL RESOURCES AND THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2018. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Occasional-Paper-279.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=MOSTERT |first1=HANRI |last2=YOUNG |first2=CHERI |title=FROM PROMISE TO PRACTICE: SOUTH AFRICA’S LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR MINERAL RESOURCES AND THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=May 2018 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Occasional-Paper-279.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mostert2018from, author = {MOSTERT, HANRI and YOUNG, CHERI}, title = {{FROM PROMISE TO PRACTICE: SOUTH AFRICA’S LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR MINERAL RESOURCES AND THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2018}, month = may, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Occasional-Paper-279.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }