This five-years Environmental Implementation and Environmental Management Plan presents the South African Government s implementation of environmental legislation, projects and programs and addresses the following Government s strategic issues related to the environment challenge: job creation, education, health, fighting crime and sustainable development. The text defines the terms relevant for the interpretation of the Policy, including: climate change, cooperative governance, environment, environmental implementation plan, environmental management plan, governance, integrated environmental management, monitoring, persistent organic pollutants, sustainable development. This Policy consists of the following sections: introduction, explaining methodology and the preparation of the Policy, the legal basis and the management of intergovernmental relations in the environment sectors; environmental implementation plan, focused on: policies and plans that may significantly affect the environment and their compliance with relevant environmental legislation; environmental management plan, including: description of functions exercised by Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment in respect of the environment, description of norms, standards, policies and plans concerning environment, description of priorities regarding compliance with other policies, arrangements for cooperation with other national departments and spheres of government, proposals for the promotion of objectives and plans for the implementation of legislative procedures; monitoring, evaluation and conclusion.
The section of the EIMP related to the management Plan concerns specific functions exercised by the Government Department in the following core sectors: 1) biodiversity and conservation, in order to ensure regulation and management of all biodiversity matters in a manner that enhances sustainable economic growth and development; 2) climate change, air quality and sustainable development, focusing on leading, promoting and enhancing the mainstreaming of environmental sustainability, low carbon and climate resilience and air quality in the Country s transition to sustainable development; 3) chemicals and waste management, aiming at their management complying with related authorisation, directives and agreements; 4) environmental programmes, in order to implement the public works programme and green economy projects; 5) ocean and coasts, in order to promote and manage strategic leadership on their conservation; 6) forestry, concerning the development and the implementation of targeted policies and programmes to ensure forests management, sustainable use and protection of land and water as well as management of agricultural risks and disasters; 7) fisheries, aiming at ensuring their sustainable utilisation and access to marine living resources.
This Plan also defines a list of Government priorities, including: establishment of a regulatory framework for air quality management; less and better managed waste; sustainable land use management; restoration and rehabilitation of degraded ecosystems; biodiversity economy; protection, restoration and rehabilitation of wetlands; protection of ecosystems and species.
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