Table of Contents - SRK Consulting

Limpopo West Mine: Biodiversity and Impact Assessment National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, 2004: ThreatenedEcosystems (recent); National Environmental Management Air Quality Act, 2004 (Act 39 of 2004);National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act National Water Act, 1998 (Act 36 of 1998); National Forests Act, 1998 (Act 84 of 1998), specifically with reference toProtected Tree species National Heritage Resources Act, 1999 (Act 25 of 1999) Conservation of Agricultural Resources Act, 1983 (Act 43 of 1983) National Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act Environmental Conservation Act, 1989 (ECA), (Act no. 73 of 1989)The Convention on Biological Diversity is the first global, comprehensive agreementto address all aspects of biological diversity (genetic resources, species, andecosystems) and recognises that the conservation of biological diversity is "acommon concern of humankind" and an integral part of the development process.South Africa signed in 1998, showing further commitment to the conservation ofbiodiversity. Further to this and discussed in more detail below, South Africa's policyand legislative framework for biodiversity is now well developed, providing a strongbasis for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.According to South Africa’s Constitution, South African citizens have the right to havethe environment protected for the benefit of present and future generations. Theestablishment of acts such as the National Environmental Management Act, 1998(Act 107 of 1998) or NEMA was to make provisions for cooperative environmentalgovernance by establishing principles for decision making on matters affecting theenvironment, i.e. taking environmental aspects into consideration before activitieswere carried out. From this South Africa needed an Act that would provide for themanagement and conservation of biodiversity within the framework of NEMA. SouthAfrica is now one of the few countries in the world to have a Biodiversity Act and aNational Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). The National Environmental Management:Biodiversity Act, 2004 (Act 10 of 2004) has been assented by the South AfricanPresident and was published in the Government Gazette in June 2004 (Vol. 467; No.26426).4.4. Provincial and Municipal LevelIn addition to national legislation, some of South Africa's nine provinces have theirown provincial biodiversity legislation, as nature conservation is a concurrent functionof national and provincial government in terms of the Constitution (Act 108 of 1996).4.4.1. Limpopo Environmental Management Act, 2003 (Act No. 7 of 2003).This Act repealed the former Lebowa, Gazankulu, Venda and Northern Province Actsand the Nature Conservation Ordinance (ordinance 12 of 1983). It provides the listsfor protected and specially protected species under Schedule 2, 3 and 12 as well asthe stipulation for permit applications to remove these species. In addition it gives9