DRAFT WHITE PAPER ON INTEGRATED POLLUTION AND
WASTE MANAGEMENT FOR SOUTH AFRICA

4.1 Shift to Prevention

The government believes that pollution prevention is one of the most effective means of protecting South Africa’s people and environment. Pollution prevention eliminates costly and unnecessary waste and promotes sustainable development. It focuses on avoiding the creation of pollutants rather than trying to manage pollution after it has been created.

This Integrated Pollution and Waste Management policy stresses the need to make pollution prevention a part of everyday activities and decisions, whether as government agencies, business or industry, labour, communities, or individuals. This policy shows how the focus of environmental protection can be shifted from reacting to pollution towards the prevention of pollution at source.

4.1.1 Achieving prevention and minimisation

Historically, pollution control focused primarily on pollution impact management and remediation. In order to achieve sustainable development, this focus should shift to a management approach combining pollution and waste prevention and minimisation at source, impact management, and, as a last resort, remediation.

Pollution prevention aims at reducing risks to human health and the environment by seeking to eliminate the causes of pollution, rather than by treating the symptoms of pollution. This objective reflects a major shift in emphasis from ‘control’ to ‘prevention’.

It is clear that effective pollution prevention is not only focused on the installation of pollution abatement equipment in industry, but reflects an understanding of the shared responsibility of all sectors of society in protecting South Africa’s natural resources. In order to promote pollution prevention initiatives throughout the country, an Integrated Pollution and Waste Management policy is required.

While the implementation of pollution prevention will differ amongst sectors, the general techniques will include the following: policy and regulation; technical assistance and compliance monitoring; prioritising substances of concern; efficient use and conservation of natural resources; reuse and recycling; operating efficiencies; economic incentives and disincentives; integration of environmental concerns into land-use planning and urban development; training; household waste minimisation and recycling; product design; process changes; cleaner production; creating efficient information systems; life cycle analysis; partnerships; and awareness raising, capacity building and development of strategies and tools to enable people to follow sustainable lifestyles.

Pollution prevention is about expanding the range of options for environmental decision making. It is about innovation in product design and production. It encourages cost savings through efficiencies and conservation. It insists on sound management of persistent, bio-accumulative and toxic substances and on eliminating their use where necessary. It offers South Africans an opportunity to achieve their environmental goals in ways that are more effective than the traditional means of environmental protection and that stimulate innovation and the ability to compete.

Changes in behaviour are paramount to the pollution prevention approach to environmental protection. There are a number of ways to help organisations and individuals realise the benefits of pollution prevention and incorporate pollution prevention strategies into the way they go about their business and their lives. Government guidance and regulation is needed to improve pollution prevention measures by means of enabling legislation that sets the framework for responsive pollution prevention programs.

4.1.2 Benefits of the shift to prevention

The shift to prevention will:

• minimise and/or avoid the creation of pollutants and waste,
• minimise and/or avoid the transfer of pollutants from one medium to another,
• accelerate the reduction and/or the elimination of pollutants,
• minimise health risks,
• promote the development of pollution prevention technologies,
• use energy, materials and resources more efficiently,
• minimise the need for costly enforcement,
• limit future liability with greater certainty,
• avoid costly clean-up practices,
• promote a more competitive economy,
• reduce human impact on the environment,
• enhance the quality of life, and
• ensure intergenerational equity.

4.1.3 Implications of the shift

The course of action that this Draft White Paper proposes will have a significant influence on how South Africa's pollution and waste management goals and objectives are pursued in the future. The government will establish an integrated pollution and waste management system which will offer greater protection to people and the environment.

The integrated pollution and waste management system will:

• assist the government in attaining its sustainable development goals,
• ensure that quality, quantity and accessibility of information is improved,
• allow for greater public access to information,
• facilitate strong partnerships between the government sector, private sector, labour, non-governmental organisations and communities,
• facilitate compliance with environmental laws and reduce the amount of bureaucratic delays, and
• build capacity and awareness.

4.2 Approach to the Development of the Policy

The approach to identify pollution and waste issues and address them in a practical manner includes the following:

• adopting a media based approach focusing on the primary receiving media, i.e. water, air and land,
• recognition of waste as a primary source of pollution,
• an integrated and phased approach dealing firstly with source control, secondly with impact management and lastly with remediation (see Figure 1),
• training, education and capacity building of all sectors,
• public participation, and
• ensuring a holistic approach by integrated pollution prevention and waste minimisation.

Specific aspects of pollution prevention and waste minimisation which will be considered for each of the media are set out below.

4.2.1 Water pollution

The policy on water pollution management covers inland waters, both surface and ground water, as well as estuarine and marine waters.

Issues which will be considered in relation to policy implementation are:

• river catchments as basic management units,
• land uses affecting catchment water quality,
• water quality requirements as specified by the catchment water users,
• management of stormwater from industrial and urban areas,
• point sources of pollution, e.g. sewage treatment works and industrial wastewater treatment works, and
• diffuse source pollution, e.g.:
  • polluted base flow originating from industrial areas (including marine outfalls),
  • leachate from waste disposal sites, and
  • leakage from sewage reticulation systems and sewage works.

With regard to integration, the following issues will be considered:

• the regulation of water pollution by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry,
• the agricultural and domestic use of herbicides, pesticides and poisons, and their contribution to the contamination of storm water run-off,
• soil erosion resulting in siltation of reservoirs and high silt loads in rivers,
• atmospheric deposition on land and the indirect impact on surface and ground water, and
• windblown dust and solids from tailings deposits and its impact on water quality.

4.2.2 Air pollution

The policy on air pollution management considers pollution on a local, regional, national and global scale. Atmospheric pollution, malodour generation and control, as well as indoor air pollution will be covered.

Issues which will be considered in relation to policy implementation are:

• smoke (particulates) arising from coal and fuel burning (including particulates from power generation),
• vehicle emissions,
• emissions from industrial activities,
• dust arising from mining and industrial activities,
• various sources of greenhouse gases,
• waste disposal sites,
• incinerator emissions,
• acid rain, and
• noise.

With regard to integration, the following issues will be considered:

• the regulation of air pollution by the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, the provinces and local authorities,
• the pollution of water used for scrubbing air, and
• air pollution arising from the disposal of solid waste.

4.2.3 Land pollution

The policy on land pollution considers the following: urban, industrial, mining, rural and agricultural land. The loss of arable land through compaction and alien invasion will not be discussed in this document. Soil erosion will also not be covered per se, except under the water medium, where it is regarded as a pollutant (see section 4.2.1).

Issues and land pollution sources which will be considered in relation to policy implementation are:

• injudicious/over-use of fertilisers,
• inappropriate utilisation of agricultural chemicals,
• unsustainable farming practises,
• irrigation with sewage sludge,
• over irrigation, and
• the impact of agricultural chemicals such as pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers on surface water and groundwater quality.

With regard to integration, the following issues will be considered:

• the regulation of land pollution by the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, the Department of Minerals and Energy and other pollution control authorities,
• the impact of land pollution on water quality,
• the impact of organic agricultural wastes on ground and surface water quality,
• the impact of soil erosion and agricultural management practices on water quality,
• land pollution from liquid effluent disposal via irrigation,
• the impact of industrial activity on ground and surface water quality,
• the impact of sewage treatment works,
• the impact of residential development,
• land application of sewage sludge, and
• the impact of waste and hazardous waste disposal sites.

4.2.4 Waste

The policy on waste management considers domestic, commercial, agricultural, mining, industrial, metallurgical, power generation, nuclear, medical, and hazardous waste, as well as litter. Since waste is considered as a source of pollution, so that this policy will address the management of the entire waste handling process, that is from generation to final disposal

Issues which will be considered in relation to this Integrated Pollution and Waste Management policy implementation are:

• waste avoidance, minimisation and prevention,
• recycling and reuse,
• treatment and handling, and
• storage and final disposal.

With regard to integration, the following issue will be considered:

• regulation of waste by the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism.

4.2.5 Integration

The government will adopt the functional approach to integrated pollution and waste management (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: A functional approach to integration of pollution and waste management

Source-based controls are used to control waste generation and discharge. By controlling waste discharges at source, this type of control supports management of the receiving environment. In some instances, source-based controls can be extended to prevent waste production altogether.

Management of the receiving environment (impact management) entails anticipating threats to the environmental media and ensuring that source-based controls are put in place to control such threats. It includes setting ambient quality standards.

Remediation entails retroactive intervention to achieve reversal of environmental damage. Source based controls and remediation actions are used to achieve or monitor a specific ambient quality as required by impact management.

4.2.6 Education and training

The government will promote the education and empowerment of South Africa’s people with regards to integrated pollution and waste management by increasing their awareness of and concern for pollution and waste, and assisting in the developing of the knowledge, skills, values and commitment necessary for successful integrated management.

4.2.7 Public participation

Public participation is considered a cornerstone for the development of this policy. The government’s approach in this policy is to establish mechanisms and processes to ensure effective public participation and capacity building in integrated pollution and waste management.

4.3 Policy Principles

Policy principles are the fundamental premises government will use to apply, develop and test policy and subsequent actions, including: decision making, legislation, regulation and enforcement.

The overarching principles of this Draft White Paper on Integrated Pollution and Waste Management for South Africa are those of the constitution and Bill of Rights, as well as those adopted in the Draft White Paper on Environmental Management Policy for South Africa (see Appendix 2).

In addition to these general constitutional and environmental principles, the following specific principles for pollution and hazardous waste management have been adopted:

• Transboundary Movement
  Potential trans-boundary effects on human health and the environment will be taken into account.
• Duty of Care Principle
  Any institution which generates hazardous waste and which decides not to manage its waste, is always accountable for the management and disposal of this waste.
• Universal Applicability of Regulatory Instruments
  All industrial operations in South Africa will be subject to the same integrated pollution and waste management regulatory system.

Policy criteria are norms for evaluating the implementation of the policy principles. The following criteria will be used to evaluate the implementation of Integrated Pollution and Waste Management policy principles:

• Accessibility
  Management systems and information must be accessible to all sectors of civil society. In addition there will be access to authorities for complaints, especially at local level.

• Clarity
  Legislation regarding the management of pollution and waste, including regulatory instruments (such as standards, technology, incentives and effective policing and monitoring) will be drafted in an unambiguous manner and be understandable and accessible to all sectors of society.

• Consistency
  All elements of this policy will be interconnected and interrelated to ensure that there is no contradiction between different elements, and that policy will be formulated and implemented on an ongoing basis and consistently through all sectors of society.

• Effectiveness
  All elements of this policy should work together to ensure that the results of the management process enhance the quality of the environment.

• Enforceability
  Policy will be backed by effective legislation with mechanisms to enforce it.

• Role of Women
  Recognition of the role women can play in transforming society and building capacity will be recognised as regards integrated pollution and waste management.

• Timeousness
  Subject to this criterion, decision making procedures should take place within reasonable time frames, but not be used to restrict public participation.

• Transparency
  All reasons for decisions will be recorded and be available for public scrutiny.

• Providing capacity-building
  Resources must be provided to build capacity in both government and civil society.

• Recognition of the different status of developed and developing countries
  Where South Africa is involved in international negotiations on Integrated Pollution and Waste Management, it will promote a position that recognises the different status of developed and developing countries. In this regard, it will promote the concept of common but differentiated responsibility.

5. STRATEGIC GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

This chapter sets out, in the form of broad strategic goals and supporting objectives, the priorities for achieving the vision of Integrated Pollution and Waste Management over the next five to ten years. These goals chart the direction the government will follow in meeting its commitment to integrated pollution and waste management. The chapter also introduces the concept of the National Waste Management Strategy which will form one of the bases for translating the goals and objectives into practice.

5.1 Achieving Policy Goals and Objectives

The overarching goal is integrated pollution and waste management .

The intention is to move from a previous situation of fragmented and uncoordinated pollution control and waste management to integrated pollution and waste management and waste minimisation.

In order to ensure that this Integrated Pollution and Waste Management policy is translated into practice, the national Departments of Environmental Affairs and Tourism and of Water Affairs and Forestry will develop a National Waste Management Strategy. This national strategy will deal with the problems of waste and associated pollution. It will detail strategies and action plans and set time frames and targets. However, many aspects of this Integrated Pollution and Waste Management policy can be implemented without delay and it will not be necessary to wait for the completion of the National Waste Management Strategy. These aspects will be dealt with through existing administration routes.

5.2 Strategic Goals

Within the framework of the overarching goal of integrated pollution and waste management, the government has identified seven strategic goals for achieving integrated pollution and waste management. These goals are interdependent and implementation must address all of them to be effective. It is vital to recognise that environmental concerns and issues cut across various sectors and functions. Therefore, integrated pollution and waste management depends on cooperation and initiatives from all sectors of society. The supporting objectives address functions of Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism and Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, as well as functions of other government departments that impact on pollution and waste management and will require their cooperation and commitment for effective implementation.

The strategic goals and their supporting objectives, listed under the headings of Administrative Actions and/or the National Waste Management Strategy, address the major issues the government faces in its drive to achieve and ensure integrated pollution and waste management.

• Goal 1: Effective Institutional Framework and Legislation
• Goal 2: Waste Minimisation, Impact Management and Remediation
• Goal 3: Holistic and Integrated Planning
• Goal 4: Participation and Partnerships in Integrated Pollution and Waste Management Governance
• Goal 5: Empowerment and Environmental Education
• Goal 6: Information Management
• Goal 7: International Cooperation

Government has initiated a process of formulating a National Waste Management Strategy which will include implementation strategies to give effect to this Integrated Pollution and Waste Management policy and a number of action plans. The strategies and action plans are set out in terms of the seven strategic goals listed above. Action plans will be incorporated in the programme of the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism which will guide the reallocation of resources. Clear management responsibilities for the achievement of programme targets will be assigned.

5.2.1 Goal 1: Effective institutional framework and legislation

Administrative actions

• establish mechanisms to give effect to the institutional arrangements for all spheres of government as set out in Chapter 6; and
• conduct an audit and review of existing skills, capacities, functions and the deployment of resources in the national Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism and the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry and realign them to achieve implementation of this Integrated Pollution and Waste Management policy.

National Waste Management Strategy

• establish mechanisms to set national minimum ambient or environmental quality criteria which consider both concentration and load of pollution;
• develop uniform procedures for the setting and enforcing of environmental criteria throughout the country;
• develop a comprehensive information system which is easily accessible to all users and interested parties;
• develop mechanisms to encourage reductions in pollution through a system of economic incentives, e.g. by low- and non-waste technologies;
• establish mechanisms to develop a system of incentives to supplement the existing command and control approach;
• develop mechanisms to internalise the costs associated with waste; and
• develop mechanisms to ensure that every effort is made to identify the parties responsible for the damage to the environment and make them responsible for the costs of remediation.

National Waste Management Strategy

• establish, attain and maintain ambient standards which are conducive to good human health and safety and which allow for sustained ecosystem maintenance;
• develop mechanisms to set up appropriate regulations, quotas and standards to regulate waste generation in order to promote waste minimisation;
• develop mechanisms to encourage wider involvement by all stakeholders in agreements and partnerships, with the aim of improving pollution prevention and waste management performance and developing and adopting best practice standards that exceed minimum requirements;
• develop mechanisms to ensure the safe transportation of raw materials, products and wastes to prevent accidents and spills which could adversely affect the environment and public health;
• develop mechanisms to encourage the use of voluntary agreements; and
• develop mechanisms to involve affected parties, environmental groups, labour, community based organisations, non-governmental organisations, business and industry, monitoring committees, and particularly local, regional and provincial authorities as appropriate in the enforcement of environmental standards.

5.2.2 Goal 2: Pollution and waste minimisation, impact management and remediation

National Waste Management Strategy

• develop mechanisms to set targets to minimise waste and pollution at source;
• develop mechanisms to prioritise pollutants requiring prevention control by utilising a risk based approach to assess the impact on the environment;
• develop mechanisms to set up information systems on chemical hazards and pollution releases and the introduction of a system to track the transportation and disposal of waste materials; and
• develop mechanisms to promote cleaner production technologies.

Media specific subsidiary objectives to be addressed through legislative means and administrative actions:

• Water pollution management
• to manage, prevent, reduce, control and remediate surface water pollution: including salinisation; enrichment by plant nutrients; microbiological deterioration; sediment and silt migration; pollution due to harmful inorganic and organic compounds; thermal pollution; acidity and various point and non-point pollution from a variety of different land uses including infrastructure development, industrial/mining/manufacturing, human settlements, agriculture, recreation and tourism; and the disposal of wastes resulting from all forms of human activity;
• to manage, prevent, reduce, control and remediate groundwater pollution: including pollutants due to the introduction of both organic and inorganic substances; as the result of leachate from waste disposal facilities, leaking underground storage tanks; surface impoundment; and groundwater recharge with polluted surface water;
• to manage, prevent, reduce, control and remediate marine pollution: including oil spills; illegal dumping at sea; land-based pollution through ocean discharge of polluted rivers, streams and sea outfalls; activities such as off-shore exploitation of marine resources; oil gas exploration; and diamond exploitation in coastal and deep sea regions; and
• to ensure that the quality of water required to maintain ecological functions is protected, so that the human use of water does not individually or cumulatively compromise the long term sustainability of aquatic and associated ecosystems.
• Air pollution management
• to manage, prevent, reduce and control air pollution: including emissions of sulphur oxides, nitrogen oxides, volatile hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and dioxide as well as particulates, to maintain human health and ecological functions at an acceptable level; and
• to manage, prevent, reduce and control air pollution from the following specific key pollution sources: industrial and domestic fuel combustion, and vehicle emissions.
• Land/soil pollution management
• to manage, prevent, reduce and control agricultural soil pollution resulting from inter alia: the injudicious/over-use of fertilisers; over-irrigation; irrigation with sewage sludge; unsustainable farming practices; and inappropriate land use of agricultural chemicals;
• to manage, prevent, reduce and control soil pollution linked to water quality management: including salinisation by agricultural return water and the concomitant salinisation of irrigation soils which reduces crop yields;
• to adopt an integrated approach to soil quality management;
• to develop an appropriate policy which deals with pesticides in an integrated manner, by taking into account the economic and development imperatives underpinning pest control and the impact of pesticides on human health and the environment; and
• to manage, prevent, reduce and control soil pollution problems arising from other sources: such as the wood processing industry and wood impregnation; waste treatment and disposal; repair shops and scrap yards; service stations; the metal industry, and pollution from mining related activities.

Waste specific subsidiary objectives to be addressed through the National Waste Management Strategy

Pollution and waste avoidance, prevention and minimisation to be achieved by:

• adhering to mechanisms to ensure appropriate design parameters, optimising operating procedures and good housekeeping for all waste generating processes; and
• identifying mechanisms by means of risk assessment for situations where accidents and spills can cause unscheduled waste emissions, whether it be at a facility or during transport.

Resource recovery, recycling and re-use mechanisms for:

• reduction in the waste stream by ensuring an economic environment which favours recycled materials;
• subsidising recycling campaigns in order to make them economically viable;
• separation and recovery of resources as early as possible in waste generating processes in both the commercial and domestic sectors;
• resource recovery at waste transfer stations, waste treatment facilities and waste disposal sites;
• organised and controlled waste reclamation, as opposed to uncontrolled picking at waste disposal sites;
• extraction and utilisation of landfill gas; and
• ensuring that all South Africans have adequate and sufficient waste and refuse collection services.

Waste collection, treatment and processing mechanisms for:

• encouraging waste reduction and resource recovery by local authorities;
• ensuring that wastes are appropriately treated and processed prior to their disposal in accordance with relevant laws, regulations, standards and guidelines; and
• rendering harmless any pollutants which may be released during waste treatment processes.

Final waste disposal mechanisms for:

• timeous identification, investigation and development of environmentally and socially acceptable waste disposal facilities, in a manner which promotes the regionalisation or sharing of waste disposal sites to reduce their number;
• compliance with the relevant laws, regulations, standards and guidelines;
• permitting waste disposal sites in terms of the Environment Conservation Act (No 73 of 1989), Section 20(1); and
• by developing, operating and/or closing all other waste disposal facilities, including tailings dams, metallurgical slag dumps, whether proposed, existing or closed, in terms of the appropriate guidelines and pollution control legislation.

Pollution remediation mechanisms

• in instances where the environment has been impaired through accidental, insidious or intentional pollution or unacceptable waste management practices, it must be remediated and returned as close as possible to its original state.

Hazardous waste importation

• giving effect to the requirements of the Basel, including decision 3.1 (amendment to the Basel Convention) and Lome Conventions, and
• investigating the benefits of becoming a signatory to the Bamako Convention.

National Waste Management Strategy

• to incorporate integrated environmental management principles and methodologies in spatial development planning, as it affects aspects related to pollution and waste management;
• to make timeous and appropriate provision for adequate waste disposal facilities;
• to develop management instruments and mechanisms for the integration of pollution and waste management concerns in development planning and land allocation;
• to develop standards for pollution and waste management systems, environmental impact assessments, monitoring and audit procedures for and reporting of all activities including government activities that impact on pollution and waste management; and
• to develop agreed, appropriate indicators to measure performance in all areas of national, provincial and local pollution and waste policies.

5.2.4 Goal 4: Participation and partnerships in integrated pollution and waste management governance

Administrative actions

• ensure that communication strategies in all spheres of government address public participation needs; and
• allocate government resources (financial and human) to build institutional capacity in national, provincial and local government spheres for effective management of public participation in integrated pollution and waste management governance.

National Waste Management Strategy

• encourage strategic alliances between government and interested and affected parties to ensure integrated pollution and waste management and achieve sustainable development;
• develop mechanisms to ensure public participation and community involvement in processes relevant to Integrated Pollution and Waste Management;
• make the involvement of the public mandatory in waste management decisions, where people will be or can be affected; and
• investigate extending the use of environmental monitoring committees, which involve representation and participation of the public, to monitor all waste disposal sites and other sensitive waste management projects. This strategy will also encourage continued ad hoc monitoring by involving interested and affected parties.

5.2.5 Goal 5: Empowerment and pollution and waste management education

Administrative actions

• integrate pollution and waste management education in all education programmes, at all levels, in all curricula and disciplines of formal and non-formal education in the National Qualification Framework;
• enhance integrated pollution and waste management literacy through the use of all forms of communication media;
• promote "outreach programmes" aimed at people in rural areas and the education of decision makers;
• ensure that integrated pollution and waste management education programmes and projects foster a clear understanding of the inter-relationship between pollution and waste, and of the economic, social, cultural, environmental and political issues in local, regional, national and global spheres; and
• develop a culture amongst all South Africans to discourage pollution and waste generation.

National Waste Management Strategy

• promote capacity building programmes and projects that assist people, particularly those from disadvantaged sectors of society, in developing social and organisational skills to employ local and other knowledge in assessing and addressing their pollution and waste management concerns;
• assist small, micro and medium enterprises in developing appropriate integrated pollution and waste management procedures;
• encourage and support the involvement of women, workers, the unemployed, the disabled, traditional healers, the elderly and other special interest groups in the design, planning and implementation of integrated pollution and waste management education and capacity building programmes and projects; and
• build capacity for effective implementation of government's national policy on Integrated Pollution and Waste Management.

5.2.6 Goal 6: Information management

To develop and maintain databases and information management systems to provide accessible information to interested and affected parties that will support effective integrated pollution and waste management.

National Waste Management Strategy

• establish effective and efficient information systems, including the development of appropriate pollution indicators, to ensure informed decision making, measure progress in policy implementation and enable public participation in integrated pollution and waste management governance;
• strengthen and build the capacity of government to collect, analyse and use relevant information and knowledge for integrated pollution and waste management from all sources including formal, non-formal and traditional sources;
• disseminate information through formal and informal channels including communication media in an accessible format;
• develop a register of pollution releases from point and diffuse sources;
• develop a register for all waste handlers; and
• register all waste disposal sites.

5.2.7 Goal 7: International cooperation

Administrative Actions

• adopt a uniform approach to the handling of international agreements and obligations;
• consider conventions or other instruments which are being negotiated by an international body, as well as conventions which have been adopted internationally, by giving due attention to:
• recognising the interest of stakeholders in formulating an official national position to be submitted to the relevant international negotiating forum;
• arranging the formation of a multi-sectoral committee which will be responsible for formulating a national point of view;
• constituting national delegations which comprise government officials, as well as all sectors of society; and
• making a recommendation to Parliament as to the accession to an international obligation, and in the process taking the following issues into account:
  • available resources to ensure implementation,
  • views of stakeholders,
  • benefits to the nation, and
  • disadvantages to the nation.
• ratification of a convention must be followed by ensuring that the necessary domestic legislation complies with the international obligation, as well as promulgating the legislation prior to the entry into force of the convention where applicable, including:
• designation of the responsible national authority or focal point,
• publication of the full text of the convention, and
• publication of the legislation to give effect to the convention;
• ensure South Africa acts in accordance with this Integrated Pollution and Waste Management policy in dealing with international treaties and agreements and that pollution and waste management considerations are included in all relevant international negotiations;
• ensure adequate opportunity for consultation with all relevant interested and affected parties before negotiating, entering into and implementing international agreements;
• meet all requirements arising from international agreements and obligations dealing with pollution and waste management; and
• cooperate internationally on common pollution and waste management concerns, giving priority to the Southern African Region.

Contents   Chapter 1    Chapter 2   Chapter 3  Chapter 4  
Chapter 5   Chapter 6   Chapter 7  Appendicies