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ESS 122 - L1 - Nature, Scope and History of Environmental Law

This document provides an overview of environmental law, including its nature, scope, and history. It defines key terms like "environment" and "environmental law". Environmental law governs land use, resource conservation, waste management, and pollution control. It draws from international law, common law, statutes, constitutions, and customs. Core principles include the polluter pays principle and precautionary principle. Important concepts are duty of care, life cycle responsibility, and sustainable development. The history of environmental law began in the 1960s-1970s with the rise of environmental protection efforts.

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2K views11 pages

ESS 122 - L1 - Nature, Scope and History of Environmental Law

This document provides an overview of environmental law, including its nature, scope, and history. It defines key terms like "environment" and "environmental law". Environmental law governs land use, resource conservation, waste management, and pollution control. It draws from international law, common law, statutes, constitutions, and customs. Core principles include the polluter pays principle and precautionary principle. Important concepts are duty of care, life cycle responsibility, and sustainable development. The history of environmental law began in the 1960s-1970s with the rise of environmental protection efforts.

Uploaded by

Jyotica Tandon
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Environmental & Sustainability Studies

(ESS) 122
Lecture 1
THE NATURE, SCOPE & HISTORY OF
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW

Prof TP van Reenen, Faculty of Law


Dr Rich Knight,
Mr S Kasker
What is the Environment?
• According to The National Environmental
Management Act 107 OF 1998 (NEMA):
The surroundings within which humans exist and
that are made up of:
(i) The land, water and atmosphere of the earth
(ii) Micro-organisms, plant and animal life
(iii) Any part or combination of (i) and (ii) and the
interrelationships among and between them
(iv) The physical, chemical, aesthetic and cultural
properties of the foregoing that influence human
health and well-being
What is ‘Environmental Law’

Collective term describing the


network of treaties, statutes,
regulations, and common and
customary laws addressing the
effects of human activity on the
natural environment
Scope of Environmental Law

• Land-use planning and development

• Resource conservation and utilization

• Waste management and pollution control

• Types of Environmental Legislation


Sources of Environmental Law
• International Law: a body of rules established by custom or
treaty and recognized by nations as binding in their relations
with one another
• Common Law: custom and judicial precedent rather than
statutes
• Statutory Law: written laws, usually enacted by a legislative
body.
• The Constitution: body of fundamental principles or
established precedents according to which a state or other
organization is acknowledged to be governed.
• Custom: widely accepted way of behaving or doing something
that is specific to a particular society
Distinctive Principles of
Environmental Law
• Introduction
• Polluter Pays Principle: Enforce that the party
responsible for producing pollution responsible for paying for the damage
done to the natural environment.

• Precautionary Principle: has a suspected risk of causing


harm to the public, or to the environment, in the absence of scientific
consensus (that the action or policy is not harmful), the burden of proof that
it is not harmful falls on those taking an action

• Other Principles
– Preventive Principle
– Subsidiarity Principle
Important Concepts &
Doctrines
• Duty of Care to Avoid Harm to the
Environment (Environmental Citizenship):
• Life Cycle Responsibility (Cradle to Grave)
• Sustainable Development (SD)
• Triple Bottom Line (People, Planet, Profit)
Important Concepts &
Doctrines
• Human Right to a ‘Decent’ Environment
• Legal Standing (locus standi) right to bring
an action, to be heard in court,
• Environmental Justice
• Intra-generational equity
• Intergenerational Equity
Sustainable Development
• The need to preserve natural resources for
the benefit of future generations
• The aim of exploiting natural resources in a
manner which is sustainable, prudent,
rational, wise or appropriate
• The equitable use of natural resources, which
implies that the use by one state must take
into account the needs of other states
• The need to ensure that environmental
considerations are integrated into economic
and other development plans.
History of Environmental Law
• 1960s-1970s: Dawning of the ‘Age of
Environmental Law’
Reasons for Environmental Law
• Intrinsic value of nature & natural
environment such as
preservationists (John Muir) who
wanted pure wilderness based on a
spiritual appreciation for nature
• Utilitarian reasons promoted by
Gifford Pinchot who advocated a
resource-based approach to the
management of natural resources

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