Green laws must be tougher DA
The DA has called on the government to strengthen the National Environment Management Act to prevent further deterioration of the environment.
DAs spokesperson on environmental affairs, Gareth Morgan, said the State of the Environment Report, released last week, showed a general decline in the countrys environment. The report notes among other things that increasing pollution and declining air quality are harming peoples health and that natural resources are being exploited in an unsustainable way threatening the functioning of ecosystems, he said, according to a report on The Citizen site. Morgan said these indicators could not be taken lightly as the success of the countrys economy required a healthy environment. He added that proposed amendments to the Act, including giving the Minister and MECs power to grant exemptions from environmental impact assessments, as well as provisions of the Act that deal with environmental authorisations, were of great concern. Full report on The Citizen site Amendments on Environmental Affairs site