The Rediscovery of the Trusteeship Doctrine in South African Environmental Law and Its Significance in Conserving Biodiversity in South Africa

Andrew Blackmore (2018) The Rediscovery of the Trusteeship Doctrine in South African Environmental Law and its Significance in Conserving Biodiversity in South Africa. PhD Thesis University of Tilburg University. The Netherlands, pp305

304 Pages Posted: 5 Jun 2019

See all articles by Andrew Blackmore

Andrew Blackmore

University of KwaZulu-Natal; Ezemvelo KZN WIldlife

Date Written: March 27, 2018

Abstract

The conservation of biodiversity, as experienced globally, faces many challenges. The efforts of South African conservation agencies mandated with this duty are questioned against the backdrop of accelerated land transformation and the extinction of natural habitats and species.

South Africa’s transition to democracy in 1994 ushered in a greater legislative awareness of the inextricable dependence of the health and wellbeing of people on a healthy and flourishing natural environment. This realisation is embodied in the Bill of Rights within the country’s 1996 Constitution, which requires, amongst other things, that the environment be protected for the benefit of present and future generations. This right, aptly termed South Africa’s Environmental Right, corresponds in many respects with the common law public trust doctrine. Subsequently, this notion has been incorporated into the country’s environmental law, and in particular into legislation that regulates the use and protection of the country’s biodiversity.

Given (a) this prominence of the public trust doctrine in South Africa’s environmental law, (b) the doctrine’s reputation as a powerful legal tool to safeguard the natural environment from unsustainable use, and (c) the growing concern that South Africa’s natural resources, and in particular its biodiversity, are under significant unsustainable pressure from exploitation or land transformation,

Suggested Citation

Blackmore, Andrew and Blackmore, Andrew, The Rediscovery of the Trusteeship Doctrine in South African Environmental Law and Its Significance in Conserving Biodiversity in South Africa (March 27, 2018). Andrew Blackmore (2018) The Rediscovery of the Trusteeship Doctrine in South African Environmental Law and its Significance in Conserving Biodiversity in South Africa. PhD Thesis University of Tilburg University. The Netherlands, pp305, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3385380

Andrew Blackmore (Contact Author)

Ezemvelo KZN WIldlife ( email )

Peter Brown Drive
Montrose
Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal 3201
South Africa

University of KwaZulu-Natal ( email )

Golf Road
Pietermaritzburg, KZN 3201
South Africa

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