Michael Kidd

Climate change, groundwater and the law: exploring the connections in South Africa

ABSTRACT Projected impacts of climate change on water availability in South Africa are likely to result in the increasing use of groundwater, which is relatively underused at present. Several threats to groundwater, including acid mine drainage, pervasive water pollution (particularly from untreated sewage), and planned hydraulic fracturing will have to be addressed to protect the country’s groundwater reserves. This article considers the role that law can play in both managing groundwater and protecting it from these and other threats.

Climate Change Responses in South Africa

South Africa is a significant emitter of greenhouse gases. Despite a long history of policy development, there is insufficient legislation addressing climate change (the chapter briefly canvassing what legislation there is) – and numerous policy imperatives which might undermine the effectiveness of recent policy innovations. Policy documents – especially the recent White Paper on the National Climate Change Response (2011) – are considered in some detail. Also considered is the recent White Paper on South Africa’s Foreign Policy (2011), which provides important insight into South Africa’s intentions in respect of international commitments and both national and regional growth. As a counterweight to the environmental aspirations of the White Paper, South Africa’s energy policy is then considered and it is concluded that while South Africa continues on the path it is presently treading it is going to be all but impossible to reconcile the goals of strong economic growth and poverty alleviation with environmental protection generally, and South Africa’s international commitments in the climate change issue-area specifically.

Compulsory licensing under South Africa’s National Water Act

ABSTRACT This article considers the statutory scheme for compulsory licensing in South Africa and examines its use in three case studies. Their evaluation reveals the complexity and time-consuming nature of the process. This, coupled with other challenges, particularly in relation to the achievement of equity (redress), is likely to result in the slow achievement of the National Water Act’s objectives through compulsory licensing. There are no realistic alternatives to licensing if the constitutionally required goal of equity is to remain critical.

Introduction: water and the law – towards sustainability

Tinariwen, a band of Tuareg musicians from the Sahara Desert region of northern Mali, named their 2007 album Aman Iman, which means ‘water is life’ in their language, Tamashek. It is hardly surprising that a group of nomads from the hottest and largest non-polar desert would regard water as so important, but it is trite that aman iman is true for everybody, not just desert-dwellers. The link between water and life is the basis of the defining question for exploration of Mars, for if there is evidence of liquid water, past or present, on Mars, then there exists the possibility of life. Fortunately, for life on Earth, both human and otherwise, water is ample on our planet, although distributed unevenly. For many people, such as the Tuareg, life revolves around finding water, whereas people in other parts of the world deal with the problems posed by too much water, such as flooding. The bottom line, however, is that life on Earth needs water. Yet many commentators are providing warnings that our water is under threat. Although there are huge amounts of water on Earth, less than 3 per cent of that water is fresh, and most of that is relatively inaccessible to humans and most other living species that rely on it. The small amount of accessible fresh water, mainly in rivers and in the ground, is suffering from various serious threats. The term ‘water crisis’ is one that is heard frequently. For example, a recent, influential publication is entitled The Global Water Crisis: Addressing an Urgent Security Issue (H. Bigas (ed.), Papers for the InterAction Council, 2011–2012 (UNU–INWEH, 2012)). The wellknown legal academic, Edith Brown Weiss, in her 2012 article ‘The Coming Water Crisis: A Common Concern of Humankind’, writes that ‘many articles proclaim fresh water to be the new environmental crisis of this century’ (‘The Coming Water Crisis: A Common Concern of Humankind’ (2012) 1:1 Transnational Environmental Law 153).

CITES and the African Elephant

Probably the most contentious issue that has arisen within the scope of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES) is that of the ivory trade. This article considers the status of the African elephant (loxodonta africana) under CITES and suggests that CITES has failed the elephant. CITES obviously also concerns many other species found in Africa, but the elephant will be focused on in this Chapter as a particular case study that highlights many of the problems faced by CITES and the international political influence on the Convention.