Did you know?…………
Did you know that according to the National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998 (NEMA), there are regulations which prohibits you from clearing indigenous vegetation for any purpose such as farming, housing development, roads etc.
According to General Notice 983 of 2014 (as amended in 2017), activity 27, you require an Environmental Authorisation before clearing more than 1 hectare of indigenous vegetation. A number of people and specifically farmers are not aware of the regulatory requirements before clearing indigenous vegetation and subsequently many find themselves in contravention of the NEMA and is issued with a fine which varies between R 5 000 and R 5mil or even imprisonment.
General Notice 985 of 2014 (as amended) focus on activities conducted within specific environmental sensitive areas as National Parks, Protected Areas, Ecological Sensitive Areas or Ecological Support Areas etc. This regulation prohibits you from clearing indigenous vegetation of more than 300 square metres within any of these areas identified within the Biodiversity Sector Plan without obtaining Environmental Authorisation from the Competent Authority. 300 square metres is really small and can be compared to a relatively large house!!
When reading the above, it is clear that contravening the NEMA at some point in time could be very easy. So if at any point, you have any questions or require confirmation, please feel free to contact us for advise and we will ensure that you or your company comply with the regulatory requirements prior to receiving a Non-Compliance Notice from the Department issuing you with a fine or requesting you to shut operation.
Have a great week and visit the “Chappie Paper” next week for some more information to keep you or your company out of trouble!
