Invasive alien species include organisms, animals and plants which are foreign to a region or ecosystem. Invasive alien species may have a negative effect on human health and on the environment, which may lead to a negative effect on the economy. Furthermore, they have an...

The Polyphagous Shot Hole Borer (PSHB) needs to be further studied to ascertain the extent to which South Africa have been infested (Paap, De Beer, Migliorini, Nel & Wingfield, 2018) as there is not enough known about the crisis. According to Dick, Rous, Nguyen &...

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Regulations of 2014 (amended in 2017) as promulgated in terms of the National Environmental Management Act, 1998 (Act 107 of 1998) (NEMA) requires compliance auditing of Environmental Authorisations (EA), Record of Decision’s (RoD), Environmental Management Programmes (EMPr’s) and Closure Plans...

I recently spoke with a local resident who has been staying in the same home for over 20 years. As the years progressed, development occurred in the area surrounding their home. This included a small shopping centre serving the local community. Due to electricity demands...

Generally, in terms of environmental management, continuous improvement and enforcement of approved authorisations as completed in an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process have been slow and in most cases completely inexistent. To improve on this aspect, the appointment of on-site Environmental Control Officers (ECOs) have...

On 5 July 2019, the Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries signed a notice of requirement for all applications submitted as per Regulation 16(1)(b)(v) of the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations, 2014, as amended.   This notice requires a screening report as generated by the National Web Based...

The Higher Education Act, (Act 101 of 1997) (referred to as the HEA) is applicable to all educational institutions in South Africa and makes provision for the registration of higher education intuitions and for the annual review of compliance with the requirements of the various...

As a result of the large-scale degradation and loss of wetlands throughout Africa, the focus on wetland rehabilitation and management has grown substantially (Kotze et al., 2009). With legislation and policy at both the national and provincial level providing clear support and direction for rehabilitation...

In July 2019, the Centre of Environmental Rights (CER) released a report: Full Disclosure. The Truth about Mpumalanga Coal Mines Failure to Comply with their Water Use Licences (can be found on the CER’s website by following the link). The report outlines the dismal picture...