Call for Applications: Legal Internship: Project Officer for the Centre’s Access to Information Project The Centre for Environmental Rights calls for applications by suitably qualified and experienced candidates to take up a 6 month legal internship contract with the Centre, starting as soon as possible. The successful candidate will work on the Centre’s Access to… continued
Read the full transcript of the Minister of Mineral Resources’ 2012 Budget Vote Speech delivered on 10 May 2012 in the National Assembly here. Sections directly affecting environmental rights have been highlighted in bold by the CER. “Honourable Chairperson, Deputy Minister Oliphant, Honourable Fred Gona, Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee, Honourable Members, May I begin… continued
Read the full transcript of the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries’ 2012 Budget Vote Speech delivered on 3 May 2012 in the National Assembly here. “Honourable Speaker; Chairpersons of the Portfolio Committee and the Select Committee; Honourable Deputy Minister; Members of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces; MECs; Former Agriculture Director-General,… continued
Read the full transcript of the National Assembly address delivered by the DA’s spokesperson on Water and Environmental Affairs, Gareth Morgan MP, on 2 May 2012 at the 2012 Budget Vote for the Department of Environmental Affairs here. “Chairperson, Honourable Minister, Honourable Members This vote occurs less than two months away from the Rio+20 summit,… continued
Read the full transcript of the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs’ 2012 Budget Vote Speech delivered on 2 May 2012 in the National Assembly here. “Honourable Chairperson of this session; Honourable Deputy Minister, Rejoice Mabudafhasi, MP; Honourable Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee, Advocate Johnny de Lange, MP; Honourable Members of the Portfolio Committee; Honourable… continued
From 2 May 2012, the Centre for Environmental Rights will be operating from new, bigger premises at 223 Lower Main Road, Observatory, Cape Town. Our phone and fax numbers will remain the same, but we expect some disruption to our telecommunications and accessibility during the moving period. Please bear with us as we pack up… continued
Response to the Constitutional Court’s judgement in the case of Maccsand (Pty) Ltd v City of Cape Town and Others, CCT 103/11 The Centre for Environmental Rights welcomes the judgement of the Constitutional Court in this case handed down today. The judgement confirms the Supreme Court of Appeal’s decision that, where mining is not permitted… continued
The Constitutional Court has just handed down judgement in the case of Maccsand (Pty) Ltd v the City of Cape Town and others. In brief, the Court has dismissed Maccsand’s appeal, and ordered the Minister of Mineral Resources to pay the City of Cape Town’s legal costs. Download the judgement here.
This week, the Centre for Environmental Rights is releasing a new report on the state of civil society’s ability to access environmental information held by public and private bodies. The report, funded by the Open Society Foundation for South Africa, is entitled Unlock the doors: How greater transparency by public and private bodies can improve… continued
For National Water Week 2012, the Centre for Environmental Rights celebrates the central role that civil society has to play in water governance and water resource management by publishing a report entitled, “Stop Treading Water: What Civil Society can do to get Water Governance in South Africa Back on Track“. The effective governance of South… continued
The Centre for Environmental Rights, in collaboration with WWF-SA, calls for applications by suitably qualified and experienced candidates to take up a one-year legal internship contract with the Centre, starting on 1 March 2012. This internship is funded by WWF-SA, but based at the Centre for Environmental Rights where legal interns work closely with the… continued
State of the Nation Address By His Excellency Jacob G Zuma, President of the Republic of South Africa on the occasion of the Joint Sitting Of Parliament, Cape Town 9 Feb 2012 Honourable Speaker of the National Assembly, Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces; Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly and Deputy Chairperson of… continued
Watch the second in our series of four short films on some of the cases undertaken by the Centre for Environmental Rights and Lawyers for Human Rights through their joint mining project. “Bad luck will come to us” features Mashile Phalane of the Batlhabine Foundation at Lenyenye near Tzaneen in Limpopo. In 2005, Blue Platinum… continued
Watch the first in a series of four short films on some of the cases undertaken by the Centre for Environmental Rights and Lawyers for Human Rights through their joint mining project. “I hate this in my life” features farmer Samson Sibande, and the Wessleton community near Ermelo in Mpumalanga. In 2008 Samson Sibande bought… continued
Media Release: Mining-Environment-Communities Alliance: Statement for the Mining Indaba lack of consultation with civil society and communities on MPRDA Amendment Bill DMR and mining companies’ resistance to access to information mines without water use licences, and a downward trend in quality of water use licences absent community voices and a challenge to the Mining Indaba… continued
Media Invitation: Film Screening and Panel Discussion on the Experiences of Communities Affected by Environmental Impacts of Mining Centre for the Book, Queen Victoria Street, Cape Town 8:30 to 11:00, Wednesday, 8 February 2012 For the past two years, there has been ongoing engagement between civil society, community organisations, academic institutions and law clinics increasingly… continued
Tomorrow, 24 January 2012, and 25 January 2012, Parliament will hold public hearings on the South African Weather Service Amendment Bill, 2011. Many civil society and community organisations, including groundWork [1], the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (SDCEA) [2], and the Vaal Environmental Justice Alliance (VEJA) [3], are particularly concerned about the offence the Amendment… continued
The Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning and the Institute of Marine and Environmental Law, Faculty of Law (University of Cape Town) are convening the first Western Cape Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Lekgotla. Date: Wednesday, 25 January 2012 Time: 08:15 – 13:30 Venue: Oliver Tambo Moot Court, 5th Floor, Kramer Law Building, Middle Campus,… continued
On 30 December 2011, the Minister of Environmental Affairs published an explanatory memorandum for the National Environmental Management Laws Amendment Bill, 2011, to be introduced in Parliament in February 2012. You can view both the August and November 2011 versions of the draft amendment bill, the Explanatory Memo, as well as the CER’s comments on… continued
We are currently filling two exciting new positions at the Centre for Environmental Rights. On Monday, 9 January 2012, applications close for our three-year staff attorney position specialising in the regulation of the environmental impacts of mining and other industrial developments. Wednesday, 11 January 2012 is the last day to apply for the second and… continued