A review of the evolution of environmental evaluation procedures in South Africa

In 1989, the Council for the Environment, an advisory committee to the Minister of Environment Affairs, published a document outlining an environmental evaluation procedure appropriate to South Africaʹs circumstances. This procedure, termed integrated environmental management (IEM), is designed to ensure that the environmental impacts and implications of proposals (including policies, programs, plans, and projects) are investigated and adequately considered in the planning and decision-making process. This article provides an historical perspective on the events that contributed to the development of IEM, as well as some insights into the socioeconomic and political factors that influenced the form of evaluation eventually recommended for South Africa. A description and appraisal of the IEM procedure is then presented.