Green Scopions

What is the role of Environmental Management Inspectors?

The Constitution of South Africa guarantees every person the right to an environment that is not harmful to his or her health and well-being. It also says that government must act reasonably in order to protect the environment by preventing pollution, promoting conservation and sustainable development, while building the economy and society.

The role of Environmental Management Inspectors (EMIs) is to safeguard this right by making sure that environmental legislation aimed at protecting the environment is followed and enforced. The EMI's are authorized to enforce a range of legislation, including:

• The National Environment Management Act, 107 of 1998;
• The National Environment Management Act, Biodiversity Act of 2004;
• The National Environment Management Act, Protected Areas Act of 2004;
• The National Environment Management Act, Air Quality Act of 2004.

• Inspections - entering premises to ascertain whether legislation is being followed, and seize evidence of criminal activity;
• Investigations - question witnesses, copy documents, inspect and remove articles or substances, take photographs, etc;
• Enforcement - search premises, seize evidence, establish roadblocks and make arrests; and
• Issuing of administrative tools - compliance notices, admission of guilt fines, etc.

• Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism;
• Provincial environmental departments and other provincial organs of the state; or
• Municipalities and other organs of the state. The official must also successfully complete an Environmental Management Inspectorate training course in order to qualify.

The mandate of Environmental Compliance Officers (ECOs) is the same as the EMI's but they can only enforce provincial legislation, namely, the Limpopo Environmental Management Act, Act 7 of 2003. EMI's also have to successfully complete an Environmental Management Inspector course and be officially designated by the MEC, however, this is not applicable to ECOs.

Do you have a complaint management system established in terms of the different crime categories and non- compliance?

Currently, the department uses a manual complaint management system and Is in the process of developing an electronic complaint system.

Contact details for reporting environmental crimes

There is a national hotline number for reporting environmental crime, 0800 205 005. At provincial level, reporting can be done at the Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Offices on the numbers below:

• Habitat destruction
• Extinction of animal and plant species
• Depletion of natural resources
• Land degradation
• Disruption of the ecosystem

The economy of the Limpopo Province revolves around the following activities namely mining, agriculture, tourism and manufacturing. The destruction of the environment negatively affects these activities especially agriculture and tourism. Consequently, this will cripple the economy of the province and hence, the need to protect the environment so as to protect the wellbeing of the economy and citizens of Limpopo.

What are the challenges?

• Unavailability of Complaints Management System is a major handicap to ECE to be more efficient and effective. The system plays a pivotal role in assisting an investigator to have information at his/her disposal, and ensure that the information is reliable, relevant and useful for the purposes of investigating complaints. The manual system was found not to be effective in that it can be assessed by anyone, therefore the credibility of information will be compromised.
• Unavailability of holding facility for confiscated items. The unit Environmental Compliance and Enforcement in their duties confiscate a number of live specimen. The specimen is to be kept by the unit as evidence until the matter is finally disposed of by court. The unit has recently found itself in a compromised situation because perpetrators of environmental crime are aware that we do not have a facility to keep exhibits and consequently proceed to commit crime with impunity.
• Budget availability is one of the enablers critical for the ECE Directorate to function optimally. Currently, the directorate is experiencing shortages of funds due to budget cuts that were effected for the financial year 2008/09.

• Be liable to pay a fine;
• Be sentenced to a jail term;
• Have his/her permit revoked and be disqualified from getting another permit for a period of up to five (5) years;
• Forfeit any item used to commit environmental crime to the State.

• Creating a familiarity and awareness of environmental rights and responsibilities;
• Reporting incidents of environmental crime to relevant authorities, e.g. national, provincial or local government department, the South African Police Service or calling the Environmental Crimes and Incidents Hotline on 0800 205 005