NEWSLETTER (December 2010)

Dear ELA Member

Meet the Newly Elected ELA Chair and Executive Committee

After having lead the ELA for almost three years Richard Summers resigned as chairperson of the ELA in June this year. Due to growing commitments some other Executive Committee members also had to resign after years of unselfish ELA service. These individuals each contributed significantly to the growth of the ELA over the past couple of years. The ELA as organisation is grateful towards Richard, Sandy Paterson, Justine Sweet, Andrew Muir and Louis Kotzé for their dedication to environmental law development in South Africa and to the ELA as frontline organisation in the field.

The Secretariat wishes to thank all ELA members who participated in the online voting process as well as Daleen Wessels who acted as Electoral Officer. No problems were encountered with the online voting system and we saved paper in the process!

We are very excited about the new team of ELA leaders who will officially start their term January 2011. You can have a look at the profiles of the new Chairperson and Executive Committee members (regional representatives and portfolio positions) on the ELA website. The Chairperson will share his strategic vision for the ELA in the first newsletter of 2011. In the meantime: congratulations to each of the newly elected office bearers! [read more…]

ELA Regional Activities – what’s happening?

A couple of regional events took place in 2010. The most recent of which has been a joint seminar organized by the North-West and Gauteng regions. On 1 October 2010 a group of ELA members joined at Imbewu’s Offices in Johannesburg for a seminar on the new (2010) EIA Regulations and the latest developments under the latest developments under the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act 39 of 2004. Have a look at the programme and some of the pictures that were taken! [read more…]

We would like to encourage members to contact their regional representatives should you have an idea for a regional get-together in your area. The Secretariat financially supports such activities upon receipt of a proposal and budget.

ELA Climate Change Seminar & IAIAsa Law Session Report-back

One of the ELA highlights of 2010 has been the Climate Change Seminar that took place on 22 May 2010 at Salt Rock in Kwazulu-Natal. The seminar coincided with the annual meeting of the Governing Council of the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law and attracted several esteemed international scholars. The presentations were all very topical and certainly contributed to a seminar of high standard. Of course, time has been set aside for networking and fun too! Subsequent to the event Richard Summers drafted a report for the WWF which is accessible to all. We added some self-explanatory pictures too. [read more ..]

The ELA is grateful that it could once again join the discourse and fun generated by the annual IAIAsa Conference that was held from 23-25 August 2010 at the CSIR Convention Centre in Pretoria. The dedicated environmental law session was co-organized by Richard Summers and Willemien du Plessis. Richard’s presentation is attached for a taste of the issues that were discussed. The ELA would like to use this opportunity to thank the IAIAsa team for its continued collaboration and support . [read more ..]

NEMA EIA Regulations

The long-awaited new Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations (“EIA Regulations”) promulgated under section 24 of the National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998 came into force on 2 August 2010 (by virtue of GN R660-665 in Government Gazette 33411) after an extensive consultation process which commenced in May 2007. That process saw the publication of several iterations of draft Regulations for public comment (three sets of draft Regulations were published for public comment) and ultimately culminated in the promulgation of the 2010 EIA Regulations, which replace the 2006 EIA Regulations (GN R385-387 in GG 28753 of 21 April 2006, as amended). Note also that recently the DEA released its Protocol for the Administration of EIA Applications during the Festive Season 2010/2011. [read more ……]

Recent Environmental Law Developments in South Africa

Interesting legislative changes in South Africa’s environmental law occurred the last two years. In the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law eJournal 2010(1), Prof Michael Kidd reflects on some of the most important legislative changes during 2009. [read more …..]

The courts similarly had to deal with a couple of interesting cases the past couple of months. An updated list of cases of interest will soon appear on the ELA website. Also visit the website of the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) website at www.cer.org.za for daily updates on environmental law developments.

Recent Publications in the Field

Some recent publications covering an array of environmental law topics in South Africa and abroad came to our attention. We are however aware that there must be several more interesting books, articles and reports out there – please forward them to the ELA Secretariat! We would like to draw ELA members’ attention to:

• The 2nd edition of the "Compendium of South African Environmental Legislation" edited by Van der Linde & Feris and published by PULP is now available. The Compendium introduces and reproduces the main legislative provisions dealing with the environment in South Africa. An electronic copy can be downloaded from PULP’s website at http://www.pulp.up.ac.za/cat_2010_01.html
• South Africa’s Millennium Development Goals Country Report 2010 available at http://www.statssa.gov.za/news_archive/Docs/MDGR_2010.pdf
• South Africa’s National Climate Change Response Green Paper 2010 [read more …..]

An updated list of recent environmental law journal articles will soon be available on the ELA website.

Environmental Law Publication Opportunities

One of the benefits of being an ELA member is that you are eligible to receive a copy of each edition of the South African Journal for Environmental Law and Policy (SAJELP) fresh from the press. In order for the journal to appear regularly it is necessary for ELA members, among others, to submit articles and notes for consideration to the chief editor, Prof Michael Kidd (Kidd@ukzn.ac.za). We would like to encourage all members to support the journal and to encourage colleagues and students to strongly consider this accredited publication forum.
[read more …..]

The Journal of Human Rights and the Environment, an international law journal has fairly recently been established under the editorial hands of Anna Grear (Anna.Grear@uwe.ac.uk) from the University of New England and Prof Karen Morrow (K.Morrow@swansea.ac.uk) from the University of Swansea, UK. ELA members are invited to submit articles for consideration to the editors. [read more ….]

Upcoming Events: 2011 – save the date(s)!

With the 2010 World Cup as major event being behind us, we know that several interesting environmental law events are going to take place in South Africa in 2011. At this point we would like to alert all members of the fact that the 9th IUCN Academy of Environmental Law’s Colloquium will for the first time be held in South Africa from 3 to 7 July 2010. [read more ….]

The 2011 COP (Session 17) is also going to be hosted in Durban from 28 November to 9 December. The ELA will as far as possible try to create an opportunity for ELA members to engage in the general discourse generated by this international get-together – probably through an activity arranged by the ELA KZN Region. Ideas from the side of members are welcomed!

ELA Membership Fees 2011 and update of info

The ELA Membership Fees remain unchanged for 2011. All members must please see to the prompt payment of their annual membership fees and updating of their information as early as possible in 2011. Daleen Wessels will send out reminders in January. Please note that it is your responsibility to ensure that the Secretariat has your most recent contact details – we cannot otherwise ensure that you stay abreast of ELA activities and environmental law developments, generally. [read more ….]

Copies of SAJELP available

The Secretariat has a limited number of extra copies of SAJELP (Volumes dated 2007, 2008 & 2009) available. If you are interested in a copy of any of these volumes, please send an email with your postal address to Daleen Wessels at daleen.wessels@nwu.ac.za .

Happy Festive Season!

The Secretariat wishes every ELA member a blessed and happy Festive Season!