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PUB2606 Assignment 2
(COMPLETE GUIDELINE)
Semester 1 2025 - DUE
April 2025
NO PLAGIARISM
[Year]
, CHALLENGES AFFECTING ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT IN SOUTH
AFRICA: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF POLICY, PRACTICE, AND
IMPLEMENTATION GAPS
1 Introduction
Environmental management in South Africa is guided by section 24 of the Constitution, which
guarantees everyone the right to an environment that is not harmful to health or well-being and
obliges the state to prevent pollution, promote conservation and secure sustainable development.
Despite a sophisticated policy and legal architecture, a range of intertwined challenges continues
to undermine the country’s ability to meet this constitutional promise. This essay argues that
South Africa’s environmental management difficulties stem primarily from fragmented
governance, limited capacity, complex legislation, mounting pollution pressures, climate
vulnerability, entrenched inequality, high-impact extractive industries and data gaps. By
examining each theme in turn and drawing on recent empirical evidence, the discussion
illustrates how these factors interact to impair implementation and highlights practical examples
that reveal both the scale of the problem and avenues for reform.
2 Governance and Institutional Fragmentation
South Africa’s “co-operative governance” model distributes environmental competences across
national, provincial and local spheres, but overlapping mandates often impede coherent action.
The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) develops national policy,
yet water quality rests with the Department of Water and Sanitation, and mine rehabilitation sits
with the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy. Such dispersal has produced regulatory
“grey areas” where pollutants escape oversight, as illustrated by the protracted acid-mine-
drainage crisis on the Witwatersrand (van der Linde & Vincent, 2021). Municipalities must
implement national laws but frequently lack fiscal resources, leading to uneven enforcement.
Statistics South Africa’s 2023 Non-Financial Census of Municipalities found that fewer than half
of local authorities could fund routine environmental inspections, a gap that undermines
deterrence (Stats SA, 2023)
Challenges Affecting Environmental Management in South Africa: A Critical Analysis of
Policy, Practice, and Implementation Gaps
South Africa is renowned for its unique biodiversity, varied ecosystems, and natural resources
that are vital to both its ecological integrity and socio-economic development. However, the
country faces persistent challenges in environmental management despite having a relatively
progressive legal and policy framework. This essay critically analyses the major issues affecting
environmental management in South Africa by exploring the gaps between policy design,
PUB2606 Assignment 2
(COMPLETE GUIDELINE)
Semester 1 2025 - DUE
April 2025
NO PLAGIARISM
[Year]
, CHALLENGES AFFECTING ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT IN SOUTH
AFRICA: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF POLICY, PRACTICE, AND
IMPLEMENTATION GAPS
1 Introduction
Environmental management in South Africa is guided by section 24 of the Constitution, which
guarantees everyone the right to an environment that is not harmful to health or well-being and
obliges the state to prevent pollution, promote conservation and secure sustainable development.
Despite a sophisticated policy and legal architecture, a range of intertwined challenges continues
to undermine the country’s ability to meet this constitutional promise. This essay argues that
South Africa’s environmental management difficulties stem primarily from fragmented
governance, limited capacity, complex legislation, mounting pollution pressures, climate
vulnerability, entrenched inequality, high-impact extractive industries and data gaps. By
examining each theme in turn and drawing on recent empirical evidence, the discussion
illustrates how these factors interact to impair implementation and highlights practical examples
that reveal both the scale of the problem and avenues for reform.
2 Governance and Institutional Fragmentation
South Africa’s “co-operative governance” model distributes environmental competences across
national, provincial and local spheres, but overlapping mandates often impede coherent action.
The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) develops national policy,
yet water quality rests with the Department of Water and Sanitation, and mine rehabilitation sits
with the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy. Such dispersal has produced regulatory
“grey areas” where pollutants escape oversight, as illustrated by the protracted acid-mine-
drainage crisis on the Witwatersrand (van der Linde & Vincent, 2021). Municipalities must
implement national laws but frequently lack fiscal resources, leading to uneven enforcement.
Statistics South Africa’s 2023 Non-Financial Census of Municipalities found that fewer than half
of local authorities could fund routine environmental inspections, a gap that undermines
deterrence (Stats SA, 2023)
Challenges Affecting Environmental Management in South Africa: A Critical Analysis of
Policy, Practice, and Implementation Gaps
South Africa is renowned for its unique biodiversity, varied ecosystems, and natural resources
that are vital to both its ecological integrity and socio-economic development. However, the
country faces persistent challenges in environmental management despite having a relatively
progressive legal and policy framework. This essay critically analyses the major issues affecting
environmental management in South Africa by exploring the gaps between policy design,
