Critical review of the quality of environmental authorizations in South Africa

[摘要] This dissertation critically reviews the quality of South African environmental authorisations throughthe application of a methodology adopted from the Lee and Colley (1999) environmental impactassessment (EIA) report review package. The literature review shows that to date limited researchhas been conducted on the quality of environmental authorisations nationally. Anecdotal evidencesuggests that environmental authorisations are of weak quality; hence the development of guidelineson the compilation of environmental authorisations by the Department of Environmental Affairs(DEA). In this dissertation, the quality of the environmental authorisations is critically reviewedagainst the requirements of the National Environmental Management Act (Act No. 107 of 1998) anddepartmental guidelines. The research concludes that only 64% of reviewed authorisations aredeemed satisfactory, while 36% were unsatisfactory. When the basic assessment report (BAR) andscoping and environmental impact assessment (S&EIA) process authorisations are compared it isconcluded that the there is a minimal difference in quality. The BAR achieved a 69% satisfactoryrating while the S&EIA process achieved a 61% satisfactory rating. The dissertation concludes bymaking recommendations to improve the quality of authorisations.

[发布机构] North-West University