SA toughens up on environmental laws

The new punishments are contained in a Bill tabled in Parliament by Marthinus van Schalkwyk, the Environmental Affairs and Tourism Minister, and circulated there on Monday. The National Environmental Laws Amendment Bill updates a whole series of environmental laws including the Atmospheric Pollution Prevention Act of 1965, the penalties set by which have failed to keep up either with the country's inflation - or the seriousness with which such offences are now regarded. Similarly the Environment Conservation Act of 1989 will be updated by the new law which will fine anyone contravening a provision or a direction under the Act or who fails to comply with a permit granted under it five million rand (up from R100 000) and 10 years in jail. A R10m fine and 10 years in jail are to be written into the National Environmental Management Act of 1998, and new offences are also inserted. The Biodiversity Act of 2004 is updated to improve monitoring of unforeseen genetically modified organisms (GMOs), allowing surveillance and reporting on all categories of GMOs by the National Biodiversity Institute. It also gives the minister power to grant exemptions for any restricted activity and it insists on a full environmental impact assessment when GMOs are to be released into the environment. Full report in The Times Bill