Green Scorpions\' sting being felt

Part of their efforts included a focus on compliance monitoring and enforcement activities at the Lanseria and OR Tambo International Airports, specifically to detect environmental contraband. The EMIs at the OR Tambo International Airport detected CITES-listed coral species being imported illegally into the country from Ghana through the cargo section of the airport, according to a BuaNews report. And, the unit arrested two Vietnamese nationals at the airport who were in possession of four rhino horns. At Durban harbour recently, the Green Scorpions used sniffer dogs from the South African Revenue Service (SARS) to find rhino horn, ivory, perlemoen (abalone), crayfish and other illegal products, according to the Daily News. DEAT spokesperson Mava Scott said the operation set the scene for closer co-operation between the Green Scorpions and revenue service customs officials. Full BuaNews report Full Daily News report

A national database of contraband seized is not yet up and running, according to a report in the Sunday Tribune. Last year, DEAT recognised the need for such a record. For the first time last week, environmental management inspectors and other environmental enforcement officials, particularly Fishery Control, collaborated to report enforcement statistics at a national level. Globally, the illegal trade in wildlife is worth more than R50bn yearly – second only to the international drugs trade. Full Sunday Tribune report

And, property developers have been identified as some of the culprits who break environmental laws in their bid to make a profit, reports The Star. The Green Scorpions are being sent to areas currently under development to investigate whether developers are ‘overstepping the boundaries’. This failure to abide by the procedures was found to be the cause of power failures, waste generation, air pollution, problems with sanitation, as well as harm to endangered species in particular areas. In some instances, several developers have been refused environmental certification and told to alter their plans after Green Scorpions found that the planned development would be harmful to the environment. Full report in The Star

The Gauteng Green Scorpions are also taking part in Operation Ferro, a national campaign that began in May to enforce compliance with environmental laws by the iron, steel and ferroalloy industry, particularly in the Vaal Triangle – an area Environment Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk has identified a priority. Compliance reviews are being conducted of Mittal Steel\'s Vereeniging and Vanderbijlpark sites, as well as those owned by Scaw Metals and Samancor, according to Business Day. The department says the industrial activities at these sites have the potential to adversely affect the province\'s water, air and soil. The compliance review for the Mittal Steel Vereeniging plant should be handed to the steel-maker soon, according to Frances Craigie of the Gauteng Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment (GDACE). GDACE chief director of compliance and enforcement Thabo Ndlovu said that the plant had transgressed regulations and would be hit for non-compliance, reports Engineering News. Steps that will follow include a non-compliance notice, directives or instituting criminal procedures. Current legislation allows for up to R5m in penalties, Ndlovu noted. Thirty-eight sites in the ferro alloys industry would be inspected in the next two to three years. Full Business Day report Full Engineering News report