Importance Of Environmental Politics

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Introduction The overarching guideline for policy-making (on all levels) is naturally the Constitution. Section 24 in the Bill of Rights clearly spells out the rights and duties towards the environment: Everyone has the right – (a) to an environment that is not harmful to their health or well-being; and(b) to have the environment protected, for the benefit of present and future generations, through reasonable legislative and other measures that – (i) prevent pollution and ecological degradation; (ii) promote conservation; and (iii) secure ecologically sustainable development and use of natural resources while promoting justifiable economic and social development. The purpose of this paper is to discuss why it is important, as a Political…show more content…
In liberal-democratic representative systems (see next sec-tion) there is significant scope for those concerned about environmental issues to have their say and to try to influence the political process. The design of the system leaves room for environmental politics. In authoritarian systems, especially those committed to rapid economic development (like in the former Soviet Union or China), there is very little scope for environmental politics, even for loyal supporters of the regime. Despite this, environmental politics and actions can still happen. The three core components of environmental politics Environmental politics is a wide-ranging subject with three core components : 1. the study of political theories and ideas relating to the environment 2. the examination of political parties and environmental movements 3. the analysis of public policymaking and implementation affecting the environment at international, national and local…show more content…
In turn this means that the recycling rate of all generated waste is a meagre 10 per-cent. This shows that waste management in South Africa still for the most part is managing the landfilling of waste. Of the 108 million tons 59 million tonnes (55%) is general waste, 48 million tonnes (44%) is currently unclassified waste and the remaining 1 million tonnes (1%) hazardous waste. However, the recycling rate has increased for most materials over the past
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