Browsing by Author "Pole, Adrian Leonard."

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Factors preventing the successful implementation of the polluter pays principle : a case study of the Bayne's Spruit.
(2002) Pole, Adrian Leonard.; Quinn, Nevil Wyndham.
Despite the pollution control provisions provided in national and local legislation that explicitly or implicitly give effect to the polluter pays principle (PPP), certain rivers continue to suffer from persistent industrial pollution. This research focuses on one such river, the Bayne's Spruit, as a case study. The Bayne's Spruit is a small river that is located within an urban catchment, and which has been subjected to wet industrial pollution for over a decade. Much of this pollution is associated with the Pietermaritzburg edible oil industry. This pollution impacts negatively on a downstream community that uses the river for irrigation of subsistence crops, for recreation and for subsistence fish harvesting. The pollution has also severely degraded the riverine ecosystem. This research commenced with a literature review of the PPP in its international, national and local context. It was noted that the current legislative framework for implementation of the PPP with regard to pollution of rivers in South Africa comprises primarily of the National Water Act 36 of 1998 (NWA), the National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998, and the Pietermaritzburg-Msunduzi industrial effluent bylaws of November 1998. The case study was approached using a largely qualitative methodology, although quantitative data was also relied upon where feasible. The historical context of the case study was provided by conducting a review of newspaper reports, a review of. government inspection records, and a review of water quality data (including biomonitoring and chemical data). The current status of the Bayne's Spruit was then explored by conducting in-depth historical interviews with community members, and by conducting direct observation of the environmental status of the Bayne's Spruit. This data was supplemented by an analysis of the test results of sampled industrial effluent, and by information obtained from representatives of two edible oil companies. In-depth, purposively selected interviews were conducted with various role players. (local government, regional government and industry) to identify what factors are preventing the successful implementation of the PPP in the case study area. Factors identified include a lack of environmental ethic within the edible oil industry, with some of these companies free riding on the Bayne's Spruit to maximize their profits. At a local level, factors preventing implementation of the PPP include deficiencies in the local industrial effluent bylaws, failures to administer and implement provisions contained in the bylaws, capacity restrictions and institutional paralysis. National legislation is not being successfully implemented because the government agency empowered under the NWA is deferring primary responsibility for dealing with pollution to the local authority. Factors also include difficulties associated with monitoring of rivers, including lack of capacity to engage in monitoring, and confusion over the functions of the various spheres of government. Finally, enforcement complexities are a major factor preventing successful implementation of the PPP. These problems relate to inadequate penalties, enforcement arrangements, capacity problems, separation of authority to operate the municipal sewer works and to enforce the industrial effluent bylaws, difficulties in identifying the offending polluter (causation), problems with access to company premises, the open access character of the storm water drainage system, previous failed prosecutions and reliance on the criminal justice system.
Sharks on the menu : a review and critical analysis of the regulation of sharks internationally and in South Africa.
(2014) Pole, Adrian Leonard.; Couzens, Edmund William Franz.
Industrial fishing practices and market-demand for shark products (in particular meat and fins) are decimating shark populations in many parts of the world, threatening stock collapses, species extinctions and broader ecological impacts. This dissertation explores the development of the international legal regime applicable to the conservation and management of sharks, and seeks to document and provide a critical analysis of the fisheries management and conservation instruments and measures that apply or can be applied to sharks. This is followed by a review and critical analysis of the South African legal regime applicable to the conservation and management of sharks, which to the writer’s knowledge has not been clearly documented in referenced research. Both the international and South African regulatory regimes relating to the conservation and management of sharks are characterized by fragmentation, lack of co-ordination and enforcement challenges that risks duplication of effort and regulatory gaps. However, it is argued that the existing mix of hard and soft law instruments does provide a suite of regulatory options, guiding principles and frameworks which, if effectively coordinated, refined, implemented and enforced, could go a long way towards protecting sharks from overexploitation internationally and within South African waters. It is argued that the precautionary and ecosystems approaches need to applied at both a national and international level to ensure that shark are managed in an ecologically sustainable manner. Where appropriate, a moratorium (or at least a significant limitation) on the killing of sharks (through both directed and by-catch fisheries) should be imposed until such time as sufficient scientific data is available to demonstrate that shark fishing does not pose a significant risk of serious or irreversible harm. It is argued further that South Africa needs to make a serious commitment to improving shark conservation and management measures by making sufficient human and financial resources available to achieve its shark conservation and management objectives, and that the fragmented national legal regime could be enhanced and rationalised by promulgating a single shark-specific regulation that deals specifically with the conservation and management of sharks.