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COMMENTS ON THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS’ DRAFT AIR QUALITY OFFSET POLICY
The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), acting for several environmental justice organisations, submitted comments on the Department of Environmental Affairs' (DEA) Draft Air Quality Offset Policy. The CER and its clients oppose the use of offsets in principle, arguing they serve as a "cheap option to avoid compliance" with emission standards and could undermine the constitutional right to a healthy environment. The submission highlights significant gaps in the draft policy, including a lack of clear criteria for determining offsets, poor institutional capacity for monitoring and enforcement, and failure to address equity and distributional effects.
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Document type: Statement
Nakba environnementale
This report by Friends of the Earth International details ecological injustices and environmental violations committed by Israeli occupants in Palestine, specifically within the West Bank. The authors argue that environmental destruction—including water theft, toxic waste dumping, and the misuse of nature reserves—is an integral part of a broader project of colonization and ethnic cleansing, which they term an "ecological Nakba."
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Document type: Report
WHEN MINES BREAK ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS: HOW TO USE CRIMINAL PROSECUTION TO ENFORCE ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS
This guide, published by the Centre for Environmental Rights in January 2013, provides detailed schedules of criminal offences and their corresponding penalties under various South African laws applicable to the mining sector. It serves as a reference for enforcing environmental rights by outlining the legal consequences for violating acts related to mineral resources, environmental management, water use, air quality, protected areas, biodiversity, waste, and mine health and safety.
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Document type: Guide
DECLARATION OF THE WATERBERG NATIONAL PRIORITY AREA
The document is a formal declaration by the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs designating the Waterberg National Priority Area under the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act, 2004, due to concerns over ambient air quality and trans-boundary pollution.
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Document type: Statement
‘Troubled Waters’ Sustaining Uganda’s Lake Victoria Nile Perch Fishery
This research paper examines the governance challenges facing Uganda's Nile perch fishery in Lake Victoria, highlighting a significant gap between regional policies and local implementation. While the fishery is a critical economic resource and foreign-exchange earner, it is threatened by overfishing, illegal gear, and corruption. The author argues that the sustainability of the resource depends on passing stalled legislation, improving funding models, and strengthening community-based management units.
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Document type: Research paper
A framework training manual for law enforcement agencies
This 2010 training manual by the Institute for Security Studies provides a comprehensive framework for law enforcement agencies in Eastern and Southern Africa to identify, investigate, and prosecute environmental crimes. It covers the foundations of environmental law, the technical processes of inspection and evidence gathering, and the legal requirements for criminal prosecution, emphasizing a participant-centered learning approach for police, customs officials, and prosecutors.
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Document type: Guide
Assessing Sustainable Development Impacts of Investment Incentives
This guide provides a comprehensive checklist for governments and stakeholders to evaluate the sustainable development impacts of investment incentives. It emphasizes a multi-level analysis covering individual projects, general incentive policy design, and the influence of international agreements, arguing that economic growth alone is an insufficient measure of success.
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Document type: Guide
ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME STATUS IN TANZANIA
This report documents a validation workshop held on October 21, 2008, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, regarding the status of environmental crime in the country. The workshop was part of the Environmental Crime Project (ECP), implemented by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in partnership with the Eastern Africa Police Chiefs Cooperation Organization (EAPCCO). The document outlines the current environmental legal framework, identifies critical gaps in existing research, details specific types of environmental crimes affecting Tanzania, and provides recommendations for improving enforcement and inter-agency coordination.
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Document type: Report
IPEN Dubai Declaration for a Toxics-Free Future
The IPEN Dubai Declaration for a Toxics-Free Future is a 2006 statement by the International POPs Elimination Network (IPEN) outlining a commitment to achieve a 'Toxics-Free Future' by 2020. The declaration calls for the phase-out of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), the adoption of the precautionary principle in chemical safety, and the implementation of 'polluter pays' and 'no data, no market' principles globally.
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Document type: Statement
VAN ECK v CLYDE BRICKFIELDS (PTY) LTD 2006 JDR 0312 (T)
This case study examines the legal dispute between Van Eck and Clyde Brickfields (Pty) Ltd, focusing on the application of neighbour law and the principles of nuisance in a mining-related context. The court dismissed the applicants' request for interdicts to limit noise pollution, citing a lack of objective evidence and the fact that the applicants had 'come to the nuisance' in an area with established industrial use since 1972.
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Document type: Case study
The Joint Implementation Pilot Phase: A Call for Independent Evaluation
The provided text consists solely of a list of keywords and phrases related to climate change, energy, and environmental finance, without any narrative content or analysis.
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Document type: Report
Plastics, additives, human health and taking action on chemicals of concern
This briefing from the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment and Environmental Defence urges the Government of Canada to prioritize human health by regulating plastic additives and precursors. It advocates for a class-based approach to managing chemicals like phthalates and bisphenols, strengthening the Plastics Registry, and supporting legally-binding provisions in a global treaty to phase out chemicals of concern.
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Document type: Briefing
Modernizing the Canadian Environmental Protection Act — Canada’s pollution and toxics law
This briefing note from the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment and other health and environmental groups calls for the rapid reintroduction and strengthening of Bill C-28 to modernize the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA), 1999. The document argues that the current law is outdated and fails to address contemporary health threats, such as PFAS and BPA, which disproportionately affect marginalized populations and vulnerable groups.
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Document type: Briefing
00206BB9DB98190509101147
The Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) of South Africa responded to a request from the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) to develop regulations for the implementation of the Highveld Priority Area (HPA) Air Quality Management Plan (AQMP). The DEA declined this request, stating that the AQMP is a collaborative plan rather than a regulation and that existing air quality management tools are sufficient. The document also provides a detailed response to the 'Broken Promises' report, outlining progress in air quality governance, monitoring, and intergovernmental cooperation within the HPA.
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Document type: Statement
2011-cope-koornhof-q1277-departmental-steps-to-rectify-the-environmental-impacts-pertaining-to-pollution-levels-of-the-loskop-dam-olifants-river-and-the-knp-cfffb4553ae45939.pdf
This document is a draft written reply from the South African Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs to a National Assembly question (No. 1277) posed by Mr N JJ van R Koornhof. The reply outlines the Department's response to pollution in the Loskop Dam, the Olifants River, and the Kruger National Park, detailing ongoing research and enforcement strategies.
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Document type: Briefing
2011-da-ellis-q260-eutrophiccation-of-the-blaaubankspruit-resulting-in-fish-kills-79542ae0ef900a59.pdf
A draft reply from the South African Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs regarding fish kills in the Blaaubankspruit in January 2011, attributing the event to sewage effluent rather than acid mine drainage.
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Document type: Briefing
APPEAL TO THE MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS AND TOURISM
The Vaal Environmental Justice Alliance (VEJA) and groundWork have appealed a decision by the National Air Quality Officer (NAQO) to grant ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) postponements and alternative emission limits for Hydrogen Sulphide (H2S) at its Vanderbijlpark facility. The appellants argue that the granted limits are unlawfully weaker than existing plant standards and that AMSA's history of environmental non-compliance makes it unfit to receive such leniency.
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Document type: Statement
SKM_C750i25112015310
This document is a confirmatory affidavit deposed to by Brandon Alexander Abdinor, an attorney at the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), regarding a legal review application involving the Vaal Environmental Justice Alliance and GroundWork Trust against the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, the National Air Quality Officer, and ArcelorMittal South Africa (Pty Ltd). The affidavit explains that a delay in launching the review application resulted from a "bona fide misunderstanding" concerning the deadline, which the responsible attorney believed was 14 August 2023.
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Document type: Statement
00206BBA2C25190805091506
This document is a formal response from the South African Department of Environmental Affairs to a notice issued by the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) under Section 28(12) of the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA), 1998. The CER had requested that the Department direct ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) to address pollution and environmental degradation at its Vanderbijlpark operations. The Department declined to issue a new directive, arguing that existing measures—including a Remediation Order, waste management licenses, and compliance notices—are sufficient to address the concerns.
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Document type: Statement
RESPONDENT’S HEADS OF ARGUMENT
This document contains the Respondent's Heads of Argument filed by the Centre for Environmental Rights on behalf of the Vaal Environmental Justice Alliance (VEJA) in the Supreme Court of Appeal. The case concerns an appeal by ArcelorMittal South Africa Limited (AMSA) against a High Court judgment that ordered AMSA to provide VEJA with environmental records—specifically an Environmental Master Plan for its Vanderbijlpark site and records regarding the closure and rehabilitation of its Vaal Disposal site in Vereeniging—under the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (PAIA).
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Document type: Briefing