Development and the Environment: Some Basic Issues

Given its unique economic and social circumstances, South Africa is in desperate need of economic development. The main impetus for growth will have to come from the mining and industrial sectors, which will have to play a key role in the future South African economy. The activities of these sectors markedly influence the quality and quantity of natural resources in the country. Sustainable development should be the ultimate goal of any development strategy. The question is how businesses should organise themselves to achieve the goal of sustainable development, with cleaner and ecologically more efficient production. This study first analyses the unique features of resource economics in South Africa. It then discusses the integration of sustainable development within an excavatory and production environment. Finally an appropriate business management philosophy will be outlined. 1. Resource Economics in South Africa The importance of resource economics in South Africa is acknowledged by a small but rapidly growing group of academics, non- governmental organisations, parastatals and state departments. Numerous workshops*(2) were frequently held in an effort to bolster support for the subject, guide research and develop the approach that should be followed in future. Research was to cover, amongst other things, the valuation of bio-diversification, environmental accounting, market-based incentives and direct command- and-control measures, sustainable water management and the sustainable management of wilderness areas. Unfortunately, not much progress has been made so far beyond the point of discussion and research. The lack of progress is largely due to the fact that the environmental milieu in South Africa is characterised by various unique and even conflicting features. The way in which the features of the environmental milieu are going to be managed determines the success rate of and the course of the future development of resource economics. Six features will be discussed here. 1. The government. In March 1994 the African National Congress (ANC) issued the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) (ANC 1994) as an election manifesto. In November 1994, an RDP White Paper (RSA 1994) was released. Whereas the first election document contained various sections and a chapter on the environment and the sustained use thereof, the White Paper made no reference to the environment or any environmental concerns at all. The White Paper served as a base document for the writing of the economic policy document Growth, Employment and Redistribution: a Macroeconomic Strategy (GEAR) (RSA 1996a). The environment does not feature in GEAR either. Government and the other NEDLAC participants (Business South Africa and Labour) are actively implementing GEAR -without, however, incorporating environmental issues in the day-to-day activities. These documents were written despite the White Paper onEnvironmental Management policy for South Africa (RSA 1997c) and the fact that Section 24 of the Bill of Rights in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa guarantees environmental rights for all the people of South Africa. *(3) Although the government has committed itself to environmental equity and sustainable development through the constitution and the election document, economic policy and everyday realities do not reflect the same commitment. 2. Natural environment means different things to different people. First, the industrial sector generally views the environment as an input or even a waste basket. Second, it serves as a source of income and a means of livelihood for farmers and promoters and practitioners of eco-tourism. Third, for the general citizen it is simply a place to live in. The fourth group perceive the environment as an asset to be used with care and with a strong sense of stewardship. Finally, rural peasants view it as the source of life, often with strong religious overtones. Given these diverse perspectives, it is difficult to find common ground amongst those that have an important role to play as a starting point for negotiations towards developing a comprehensive policy for the environment. For example, a mining company may have acquired the rights to mine a certain area by virtue of its ownership of the mineral rights. Frequently, however, mining companies do not possess freehold title to the surface. The surface rights have to be acquired or leased from the holder of the freehold title. Within a (South) African context the holder can, for example, be a tribal leader. The area concerned could very possibly be sacred ancestral land which the local community collectively use for cattle ranching. Further, the land may lie within a sensitive eco-system which is generally regarded to be unsuitable for cattle farming or mining. In such a situation the conflicting