Suchergebnisse

This article notionally questions the readiness of existing South African law and policy for the country's pursuit of "sustainable cities" as per Goal 11 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The expectations created by SDG 11 are discussed and subsequently compared with the scope and focus of current law and policy in South Africa. In three parts, the article critically explores (a) the general compatibility of existing law and policy with the sustainable city objective in SDG 11; (b) areas emphasized in SDG 11 that are underplayed or overstated in the existing law and policy framework; and (c) how best to charter some of the expected challenges in meeting the SDGs' 2030 deadline. The article concludes that in South Africa, as elsewhere, a sub-national scale of intervention by co-global governors (our cities) is necessary - intervention that requires spatially targeted planning (eg at city level) as well as various other actions across the three spheres of government. South African cities are fortunate to have, for the most part, an enabling law and policy framework, but this framework may not yet adequately provide for tangible, concrete and measurable national targets for sustainable urbanism.

This article advances a conceptual view of the role of local government in global environmental governance ('GEG') and the system of transnational environmental law ('TEL'). The underlying hypothesis is that a deeper understanding of the role of local governments (global cities and smaller local authorities) is expedient as it has the potential to curb some recurring GEG failures and contribute towards improvements in the pursuit of the objectives of TEL. The Merton Rule in the United Kingdom is singled out to exemplify the potential of local government in the pursuit of shared transboundary and global environmental ideals. The Merton Rule refers to a progressive prescriptive local planning policy that requires new buildings to generate at least ten per cent of their energy needs from on-site renewable energy equipment. The broader effect that the Merton Rule has had and the understated emphasis on inter-actor support to be found in the literature on subsidiarity, are combined in three final observations: a) the notion of 'think global, act local' is challenged; b) the individual and joint potential and the capacity of cities and other forms of local government must be unlocked through consistent inter-actor support in the 'new' global context; and c) the role of local governments in GEG and TEL does not point in only one direction.

The impacts of climate change on human and ecological systems and the increasing volatility of life situations demand of scholars to critically evaluate governments' protection of the natural resource base and the interests that communities have in a safe, healthy and preserved environment. It begs the question what the South African government must do as national 'public trustee' to protect the environmental interests and rights of unborn generations of South Africans. The recently adopted United Nations Secretary-General's Report on Intergenerational Solidarity and the Needs of Future Generations reiterates the relevance of the focus on the environmental and other needs of future generations. This article considers how the government as public trustee ought to approach 'climate-resilient development' as provided for in the Climate Change Response White Paper to ensure a long-term response adequate to protecting the environmental interests and rights of the present and future generations.

This note explores the interrelationship between ecologically sustainable development (the green environmental agenda) and pro-poor urban development and environmental health (the brown environmental agenda) in relation to local government in South Africa. The meaning and relevance of the brown agenda versus the green agenda in environmental governance are discussed in general. This discussion subsequently feeds into the argument that South Africa's constitutional environmental right also foresees the advancement of the brown environmental agenda, which has implications for the interpretation and enforcement of local government's service delivery mandate. This link between municipal service delivery and the environmental right further informs understanding of what is required of government to fulfill this right. This paper is thus devoted to an introductory conceptual framing of South Africa's environmental right that goes beyond the green agenda. This impacts on how the constitutional duties of municipalities are interpreted and executed.

This article succinctly, albeit critically, assesses with reference to some international developments the role that public participation is expected to play in state governments' fulfilment of citizens' environmental rights. Based on a survey of literature and jurisprudence, the article considers substantive environmental rights as human rights and the notion of public participation generally. It also puts forward some ideas on the relation between public participation and the fulfilment of environmental rights and how this may feed into good environmental governance. The article does not aim to contribute to the discourse on good governance or good environmental governance per se. Instead, it introduces the presumed role of public participation processes in an environmental rights context what may be but a facet of good governance and/or good environmental governance. Where applicable, the South African context is employed to illustrate and reinforce the observations and/or viewpoints maintained.

This article succinctly, albeit critically, assesses with reference to some international developments the role that public participation is expected to play in state governments' fulfilment of citizens' environmental rights. Based on a survey of literature and jurisprudence, the article considers substantive environmental rights as human rights and the notion of public participation generally. It also puts forward some ideas on the relation between public participation and the fulfilment of environmental rights and how this may feed into good environmental governance. The article does not aim to contribute to the discourse on good governance or good environmental governance per se. Instead, it introduces the presumed role of public participation processes in an environmental rights context what may be but a facet of good governance and/or good environmental governance. Where applicable, the South African context is employed to illustrate and reinforce the observations and/or viewpoints maintained.

This article responds to the tension inherent in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 1996 which lists 'the environment' proper as a function of national and provincial government. The authors discuss one of the arguments raised in the recently decided case of Marius Nel and Others v Hessequa Local Municipality and Others (2015) with particular emphasis on what the court's reasoning adds to the growing body of jurisprudence on local government's authority to govern environmental matters and the need for cooperative environmental governance in the South African context. The article features an overview of the relevant facts and findings in the Hessequa case, followed by a discussion of the implications of the court's judgment.

This article responds to the tension inherent in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 1996 which lists 'the environment' proper as a function of national and provincial government. The authors discuss one of the arguments raised in the recently decided case of Marius Nel and Others v Hessequa Local Municipality and Others (2015) with particular emphasis on what the court's reasoning adds to the growing body of jurisprudence on local government's authority to govern environmental matters and the need for cooperative environmental governance in the South African context. The article features an overview of the relevant facts and findings in the Hessequa case, followed by a discussion of the implications of the court's judgment.

In this article, large-scale infrastructure development is situated within the sustainability paradigm with an emphasis on questions about environmental impact. W hile the focus is on South Africa, the article contributes to the broader body of law and governance scholarship that deals with the complexity inherent in the search for infrastructure development that meets the demands of sustainability. The authors attend specifically to the role of cooperative environmental governance (CEG). They set out to explain the existence of and difficulty surrounding the legal duty of the South African government to pursue sustainability via its development-related decision-making processes. The prominence of the notion of cooperative government in South Africa's democratic government system is highlighted whereafter the authors evaluate the role of CEG in government decisions that they regard to be in need of an inclusive and holistic approach to sustainability. The difficulty inherent in marrying CEG with the pursuit of sustainability in large-scale project developments is explained with specific reference to the controversial Medupi and Kusile power station projects. In conclusion, the authors briefly outline the provisions of the 2014 Infrastructure Development Act and ask if and how the Act can cater for CEG through a limited environmental impact but can still adhere to the requirements that government decisions pass the tests of the Constitution and framework environmental legislation

Cities, networks, and global environmental governance : spaces of innovation, places of leadership / Sofie Bouteligier -- The power of cities in international relations / edited by Simon Curtis -- Global cities and climate change : the translocal relations of environmental governance / Taedong Lee -- The urban climate challenge : rethinking the role of cities in the global climate regime / edited by Craig Johnson, Noah Toly, and Heike Schroeder -- The global city 2.0 : from strategic site to global actor / Kristin Ljungkvist -- Greening post-industrial cities : growth, equity, and environmental governance / Corina Mckendry -- The globalisation of urban governance : legal perspectives on Sustainable Development Goal 11 / edited by Helmut Philipp Aust and Anél du Plessis

Cities, networks, and global environmental governance : spaces of innovation, places of leadership / Sofie Bouteligier -- The power of cities in international relations / edited by Simon Curtis -- Global cities and climate change : the translocal relations of environmental governance / Taedong Lee -- The urban climate challenge : rethinking the role of cities in the global climate regime / edited by Craig Johnson, Noah Toly, and Heike Schroeder -- The global city 2.0 : from strategic site to global actor / Kristin Ljungkvist -- Greening post-industrial cities : growth, equity, and environmental governance / Corina Mckendry -- The globalisation of urban governance : legal perspectives on Sustainable Development Goal 11 / edited by Helmut Philipp Aust and Anél du Plessis

The adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the UN General Assembly in 2015 represents the latest attempt by the international community to live up to the challenges of a planet that is out of control. Sustainable Development Goal 11 envisages inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities around the world by the year 2030. This globally agreed vision is part of a trend in international policy toward good urban governance, and now awaits implementation. Fourteen original contributions collectively examine how this global vision has been developed on a conceptual level, how it plays out in various areas of (global) urban governance and how it is implemented in varying local contexts. The overarching hypothesis presented herein is that SDG 11 proves that local governance is recognised as an autonomous yet interrelated part of the global pursuit of sustainable development. The volume analyses three core questions: How have the normative ideals set forth in SDG 11 been developed? What are the meanings of the four sub-goals of SDG 11 and how do these relate to each other? What does SDG 11 imply for urban law and governance in the domestic context and how are local processes of urban governance internationalised? The Globalisation of Urban Governance makes an important scholarly contribution by linking the narrative on globalisation of good urban governance in various social sciences with legal discourse. It considers global governance and connects the existing debate about cities and their place in global governance with some of the most pertinent questions that lawyers face today.

Bringing together scholars from across the globe, this timely book astutely untangles the climate-food web and critically explores the nexus between climate change, agriculture and law, upon which food security and climate resilient development depends.