Integrated Environmental Management



Integrated Environmental Management in South Africa

Definition

The Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism defines integrated environmental management (IEM) as a comprehensive philosophical framework for assessing and managing each phase of any action at any level (i.e. plan, policy, programme or project) that that affects or interacts (based on the ISO 140001 specifications) with the environment (defined as the human context of existence explicitly considering the biophysical, institutional and socioeconomic parts) which is universally applicable in society (DEAT 2004a).[1]

The non-mathematical definitions of the word ‘integrate’ in the South African Concise Oxford Dictionary (The Dictionary Unit for South African English 2002)[2] are: “combine or be combined to form a whole” and “bring or come into equal participation in an institution or body.” Integrated environmental management (IEM) incorporates both these definitions of integrated: by the first definition of ‘integrate’, it attempts to combine existing environmental legislation effectively and to combine information from multiple disciplines effectively and to combine stakeholders into an effective team (DEAT 2004a)[1] and by the second it attempts (I believe unsuccessfully) to give environmental legislation equal standing in government (Republic of South Africa 1998)[3] and to give the environment equal consideration in the full life cycle of a given activity at any level (DEAT 2004a).[1]

The South African Concise Oxford Dictionary (The Dictionary Unit for South African English 2002)[2] defines ‘environment’ (excluding the computing definition) as either “the surroundings or conditions in which a person, animal, or plant lives or operates” or “the natural world, especially as affected by human activity.” Only the context of humans is considered in IEM (the first definition of environment). It is worth noting that in the text of DEAT (2004a),[1] the environment is defined as the context of a human or other organism while in the glossary the definition is solely anthropocentric. The National Envirmental Management Act (NEMA Act No. 107 of 1998) has a solely anthropocentric, though very comprehensive, definition of the term ‘environment’ (Republic of South Africa 1998).[3] The use of an anthropocentric definition denies the right of other organisms to existence and explicitly ignores the second definition of the word ‘environment’ which in effect undermines the purpose of IEM. I suspect that achieving sustainability (see below) is impossible with an anthropocentric definition of the environment. That said, while there is the pitfall that using monetary/human benefit terms to protect the environment may devalue it as just another commodity, such use may be successful in achieving conservation that would not otherwise have been possible. Applying the anthropocentric definition of the environment as a tool to achieve community acceptance of conservation could also save considerable hassle for conservation organisations.

The relevant definition of ‘management’ in the South African Concise Oxford Dictionary (The Dictionary Unit for South African English 2002)[2] is “the process of managing,” where ‘managing’ is the adverb of ‘manage’ for which the relevant definitions are “administer and regulate (resources under one’s control;” “maintain control or influence over (a person or animal)” and “control the use or exploitation of (land)” (The Dictionary Unit for South African English 2002)[2] All these definitions of ‘manage’ are applicable to IEM.

Purpose

IEM aims to encourage the intergration of environment management principles into decisions with the potential to significantly affect the environment by including public participation in identifying and evaluating potential impacts on cultural heritage, the environment or socioeconomic conditions and identifying and evaluating the effects and risks of alternative mitigation measures to develop the optimum environmental management so as to minimise negative impacts and maximise benefits (Republic of South Africa 1998).[3]

All these objectives contribute to the overall aim of IEM: achieving sustainable development (DEAT 2004a).[2]

Sustainabililty, in this context, refers to the improvement and maintenance of all forms of resources (economic, environmental and social) to fulfil the requirements of current and future generations (DEAT and CSIR 2000, DEAT 2004a).[1, ?] This requires that the use of renewable environmental resources (both source and sink resources) should not be used beyond their capacity for renewal and that non-renewable environmental resource use should be minimised (DEAT and CSIR 2000).[] Goodstein (2002)[] indicates that sustainability with regard to non-renewable environmental resources may be achieved by replacing such resources with created capital though he indicates that this is unlikely to be achieved without strong government action. On the social front, sustainability requires that the needs of individuals be met so as to maintain or develop a cohesive society that works towards shared goals. Economic sustainability requires that the actions required to achieve environmental and social sustainability are financially feasible (DEAT and CSIR 2000).[]

Sustainable development is thus development that maintains the sustainability of all resources by considering them in planning, decision-making and implementation so that the development serves not only the current but also future generations (Republic of South Africa 1998).[3]

I am sceptical about sustainable development. I think the term provides an excuse for exploitation and degradation of natural resources that would not otherwise be condoned. I do not believe that sustainable development is impossible but rather that it is highly improbable.

Benefits

The benefits of IEM include: improved communication between all parties involved, integration of knowledge from multiple specialist disciplines allowing better informed decisions, improved public confidence in decisions owing to participation, improved environmental quality and increased efficiency in implementation because potential problems are dealt with in planning (Margerum 1999, DEAT ).

Drawbacks

Involving stakeholders requires time. Goodstein (2002)[] notes that nature of bureaucratic processes may lead to “paralysis by analysis” i.e. excessive time spent on procedural issues. This is likely to annoy those seeking economic gain and make them less supportive of IEM.

Examples of IEM Tools

I have elected to look at strategic environmental assessment (SEA), environmental impact assessment (EIA) and the environemental management plan (EMP) as examples of IEM tools.

It should be noted that the ‘tools’ may themselves be processes that make use of other IEM tools e.g. SEA and EIA make use of stakeholder engagement which is listed in DEAT (2004a)[2] as a separate tool (DEAT 2004b).[4]

For a list (not comprehensive) of IEM tools, see DEAT (2004a)[2] More tools are being developed and existing tools are acquiring new applications as IEM develops. IEM tools may also be used in other planning and policy processes (DEAT 2004a).[2]

Strategic Environmental Assessment

SEA does not have a universal definition. Definitions tend to focus on either an extension of EIA to the planning level or the incorporation of sustainability into decision-making (DEAT and CSIR 2000, DEAT 2004b).[4, 5] The South African Government Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism promotes the definition focused on sustainability (DEAT and CSIR 2000, DEAT 2004b).[4, 5]

DEAT and CSIR (2000)[5] define SEA as a process that integrates the principles of sustainability into decision-making. This means that SEA is used at the level of plans, policies and programmes (DEAT and CSIR 2000, DEAT 2004b).[4, 5]

SEA is particularly important because subtle legal restrictions may make IEM difficult or impossible at lower levels (Margerum 1999).[6]

Environmental Impact Assessment

EIA is a public process aimed at identifying and acquiring information on the potential environmental impacts of a proposed project for decision-making (DEAT 2004a).[1]

Environmental Management Plan

An EMP is a plan for the project proponent linking the EIA report and the project implementation and operation by containing the environmental goals and the mitigation measures required to minimise negative impacts from the project. It should be updated for each phase of the project life cycle: construction, operation and decommissioning. An EMP is an assurance for stakeholders that the proponent will abide by the EIA report’s requirements (DEAT 2004c).[7]

My cynical reaction is that the EMP definition begs the question of what legal follow up there is to ensure that the proponent actually follows his/her EMP.

Concluding Remarks

IEM has great potential but I think the dogleg is evidence that IEM has a long way to go before it achieves sustainability. This is probably the result of the strongly anthropocentric focus of IEM.

References

DEAT. 2004a. Overview of Integrated Environmental Management. Integrated Environmental Management, Information Series 0. Pretoria: Department

of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT). 20 p.0-9584728-1-5 ISBN. Available from:

The Dictionary Unit for South African English (editors). 2002. South African Concise Oxford Dictionary. Cape Town: Oxford University Press. 1368 p. 0-19-571804-6 ISBN.

Republic of South Africa. 1998 Nov. 27. National Environmental Management Act (Act No. 107 of 1998). Republic of South Africa, Government Gazette; Vol. 401 No. 19519 (entire issue). Available from:

DEAT. 2004b. Strategic Environmental Assessment. Integrated Environmental Management, Information Series 10. Pretoria: Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT). 16 p. 0-9584728-6-6 ISBN. Available from:

DEAT and CSIR. 2000. Strategic Environmental Assessment

in South Africa: Guideline Document. Pretoria: Department of

Environmental Affairs and Tourism. 36 p. 0-621-29925-1 ISBN. Available from:

Margerum RD. 1999. Profile: Integrated Environmental Management: The Foundations for Successful Practice. Environmental Management 24 (2): 151—166.

DEAT. 2004c Environmental Management Plans. Integrated Environmental Management, Information Series 12. Pretoria: Department of Environmental

Affairs and Tourism (DEAT). 16 p. 0-9584728-3-1 ISBN. Available from:

Goodstein ES. 2002. Economics and the Environment. 3rd ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons. 545p. 0-471-39998-1 ISBN

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