Foreword The principal aim of the OECD Environmental Performance Review programme is to ...

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PREFACE
Preface
S
ince the end of the apartheid era, South Africa has made enormous progress in
improving the living standards of its people. However, growth has been sluggish since the
global economic and financial crisis, and a variety of structural and social challenges must
be overcome for the country to achieve its full growth potential.
Green growth should be at the heart of South Africa’s economic strategy and its efforts
to overcome these challenges. This is the main message from this first OECD
Environmental Performance Review of South Africa, which builds on a series of OECD
policy reviews and represents a further step in the deepening co-operation between OECD
and South Africa.
South Africa hosts some of the world’s richest biodiversity, but the country’s economy
is also one of the most energy- and carbon-intensive. According to the World Health
Organization, approximately 16% of all deaths and one-third of diseases in children under
the age of five are environmentally related. Inadequate sanitation and indoor air pollution
are two key factors. In addition to the human tragedy, this imposes huge costs on the
economy. These are some of the reasons why transitioning to a low-carbon, resource-
efficient economy, protecting the natural asset base, and improving the environmental
quality of life of its people should be among South Africa’s core policy objectives.
South Africa has made impressive progress to meet some of these challenges.
Environmentally related taxes generate revenues on par with many OECD countries.
Subsidies for fossil fuel consumption are much lower than in many other emerging market
economies. A Green Economy Accord was launched in 2011 to promote partnerships with
the private sector and others to green the economy. In some areas, such as biodiversity,
South Africa has developed pioneering laws and policies that are more advanced than in
many OECD member countries. The human and financial resources allocated to the
environment have been significantly strengthened, and an effective framework for
enforcing environmental laws put in place.
Despite this good progress, much remains to be done. In addition to examining South
Africa’s main achievements and remaining challenges, the report presents 36
recommendations with a special emphasis on biodiversity, environmental governance and
green growth. It recommends, for example, to assess how environmentally related taxes
could contribute to a more pro-growth, pro-poor tax structure, while continuing to reduce
explicit and implicit subsidies for electricity and coal consumption, as well as
implementing the proposed carbon tax as soon as possible. The Review also calls for
strengthening the integration of environmental considerations into sectoral policies,
particularly mining, as well as for streamlining and strengthening financing mechanisms
for environmentally related infrastructure. Human and financial resources in provincial
and local environmental authorities also need to be strengthened. Finally, the Review
OECD ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE REVIEWS: SOUTH AFRICA 2013 © OECD 2013 3
PREFACE
recommends to broaden and deepen initiatives to integrate biodiversity into economic and
social development.
This Review is the result of a constructive and mutually beneficial policy dialogue
between South Africa and the members and observers of the OECD Working Party on
Environmental Performance. I am confident that this collaborative effort will be useful to
improve understanding of how to tackle the many shared environmental challenges faced
by OECD member countries and key partners like South Africa.
Angel Gurría
OECD Secretary-General
4 OECD ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE REVIEWS: SOUTH AFRICA 2013 © OECD 2013
FOREWORD
Foreword
T
he principal aim of the OECD Environmental Performance Review programme is to help member
and selected partner countries to improve their individual and collective performance in
environmental management by:
● helping individual governments to assess progress in achieving their environmental goals
● promoting continuous policy dialogue and peer learning
● stimulating greater accountability from governments towards each other and the public.
This report is the first OECD review of SouthAfrica’s environmental performance. Progress in
achieving domestic objectives and international commitments provides the basis for assessing the
country’s environmental performance. Such objectives and commitments may be broad aims,
qualitative goals or quantitative targets. A distinction is made between intentions, actions and
results. Assessment of environmental performance is also placed within the context of SouthAfrica’s
historical environmental record, present state of the environment, physical endowment in natural
resources, economic conditions and demographic trends.
The OECD is indebted to the government of SouthAfrica for its co-operation in providing
information, for organising the review mission to Pretoria, Johannesburg and East London
(5-13November 2012) and for facilitating contacts both inside and outside governmental
institutions.
Thanks are also due to all those who helped in the course of this review, to the representatives
of member countries participating in the OECD Working Party on Environmental Performance and
especially to the examining countries: Italy, the Netherlands and Norway. A representative of Brazil
participated in the review mission as an observer. The preparation of the report would not have been
possible without financial support from the CzechRepublic, Germany, Italy, Japan, theNetherlands,
Norway and Switzerland.
The team that prepared this review comprised experts from reviewing countries: Ms.Tineke Lambooy
(theNetherlands), Mr.Oyvind Lone (Norway) and Mr.Aldo Ravazzi (Italy); members of the OECD
capital Secretariat: Ms.Ivana Capozza, Mr.Brendan Gillespie, Mr.Reo Kawamura, Mr.Eugene
Mazur, Mr.Krzysztof Michalak; and consultants: Mr.Eduard Goldberg, Mr.Andreas Kontoleon and
Mr.Stephen Bass. Ms.Carla Bertuzzi and Ms.Elvira Berrueta-Imaz (OECD Secretariat) and
Mr.Mark Foss (consultant) provided statistical and editorial support during the preparation of the
report. The report also benefited from comments provided by: Mr.Sergio Margulis (Brazil), as well as
Ms.Katia Karousakis, Mr.Geoff Barnard and other members of the OECD Secretariat.
The OECD Working Party on Environmental Performance discussed the draft Environmental
Performance Review of SouthAfrica at its meeting on 4June 2013 in Paris, and approved the
assessment and recommendations.
OECD ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE REVIEWS: SOUTH AFRICA 2013 © OECD 2013 5

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of contents
General notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Executive summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Part I
Progress towards sustainable development
Chapter 1. Key environmental trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
1. A snapshot of key trends. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2. Transition to a low-carbon, energy- and resource-efficient economy . . . . . . . . . 23
3. Managing the natural asset base . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
4. Improving the environmental quality of life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Chapter 2. Policy-making environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Assessment and recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
1. Policy and regulatory framework for environment and sustainable
development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
2. Evaluation of plans and policies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
3. Institutional framework for environmental management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
4. Environmental authorisations, compliance and enforcement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
5. Environmental liability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
6. Environmental information, reporting and outlooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
7. Promoting environmental democracy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Chapter 3. Towards green growth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Assessment and recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
1. Economic policy and the environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
2. Greening the tax system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
3. Removing environmentally harmful subsidies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
4. Environmental and low-carbon investment to promote green growth . . . . . . . . 89
5. Promoting environmental technologies and eco-innovation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
6. Environmental policy and employment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
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Chapter 4. International co-operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Assessment and recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
1. Foreign policy and environmental diplomacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
2. Regional and bilateral co-operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
3. Marine issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
4. Global environmental co-operation: Sustainable development
and the three Rio Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
5. Global environmental co-operation: The biodiversity and chemical clusters
of MEAs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
6. Trade, investment and environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
7. Official development assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Part II
Progress towards selected environmental objectives
Chapter 5. Biodiversity and economics of ecosystem services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Assessment and recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
1. Current status and trends of SouthAfrica’s biodiversity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
2. Pressures on SouthAfrica’s biodiversity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
3. The policy and institutional frameworks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
4. Economic and financial aspects of ecosystem services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
5. Integrating biodiversity into other sectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Chapter 6. Multi-level environmental governance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Assessment and recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
1. Reform of local governance and decentralisation of environmental
management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
2. Institutional issues of multi-level governance in selected environmental
sectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
3. Mechanisms to promote effective multi-level environmental governance . . . . 181
Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Annex I. Selected data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
I.A. Selected economic data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
I.B. Selected social data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
I.C. Selected environmental data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Annex II. Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Tables
3.1. Overview of environmentally related taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
3.2. Estimated implicit carbon prices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
3.3. Estimates of fossil fuel consumption subsidies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
8 OECD ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE REVIEWS: SOUTH AFRICA 2013 © OECD 2013
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3.4. Cost recovery of waste and water services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
4.1. African multilateral environmental agreements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
4.2. Transfrontier conservation parks and areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
4.3. Environment-related IMO conventions and protocols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
5.1. Summary of species status in SouthAfricaa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
5.2. Valuation of ecosystem services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Figures
1.1. Per capita GDP in OECD, SouthAfrica and major emerging economies . . . . . . 21
1.2. GHG emissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
1.3. Energy intensity and consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
1.4. Material productivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
1.5. Total renewable water resources per capita . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
1.6. Water abstraction by major use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
1.7. River ecosystem threat status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
1.8. Threat and protection status for ecosystems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
1.9. Threatened species . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
1.10. Fish resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
1.11. Access to piped water and sanitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
2.1. Number of environmental management inspectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
2.2. Selected compliance monitoring indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
3.1. Real GDP growth in OECD and SouthAfrica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
3.2. Environmentally related tax revenue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
3.3. Road fuel prices and taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
3.4. Electricity prices in selected countries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
3.5. Agriculture support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
3.6. Expenditure for environmental protection and water supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
3.7. Gross domestic expenditure on R&D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
3.8. Patents in environment and climate-related technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
4.1. Aid to SouthAfrica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
5.1. Terrestrial ecosystem protection and threat levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
5.2. Biodiversity stewardship programme models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
6.1. Institutional framework for water management in SouthAfrica . . . . . . . . . . . 179
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