Conservation - Policy and advocacy

This division follows proactive and reactive strategies to ensure that development (in particular) and other human activities are done in a sustainable and environmentally acceptable manner. All the great conservation work that BirdLife South Africa does can be undone in a stroke, if the wrong legislation or bad development plans are approved. The policy and advocacy work may sometimes feel a little negative and reactive, but it actually supports and underpins almost everything else.

There are two key areas in this aspect of BirdLife South Africa's work. The first is to work with government departments and provide input to and reviews of draft policy documents, regulations and acts of parliament. It's a bit like keeping our finger on the legislative pulse of the environment. The second area of conservation and environmental work is to promote the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act of 2003, to private landowners. We encourage them to acquire formal protection of their land and by so doing, ensure that Important Bird Areas (IBAs) that fall on private land are not threatened by unsustainable activities such as mining and other developments in the future.

Dealing with major developmental threats to IBAs (PDF)

Our reactive work focuses around participation in Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs). Even though compliance with the EIA regulations is compulsory we find that many activities such as resort developments take place without compliance with the regulations. It is also under these circumstances that BirdLife South Africa steps in, highlighting non-compliance to the relevant provincial environmental authority. These investigations are slow and painful, but the conservation gains make it all worth it in the end. BirdLife South Africa also raises alarm bells when developers do not comply with the public participation processes and we have taken cases all the way to the High Court, as in the Wakkerstroom campaign.

This is why BirdLife South Africa is constantly looking to grow the membership base, adding more voices to our objections to poorly conceived or otherwise bad developments. Click here to find out more about becoming a member and contributing your voice to the conservation of birds and South Africa's environment.

The Centre for Environmental Rights is a non-profit organisation that provides legal and related support to environmental civil society organisations and communities. Its mission is to advance environmental rights in South Africa and its vision is to facilitate civil society participation in environmetal governance that is stronger, more streamlined and better legally and scientifically equipped.

Visit http://cer.org.za for more information.

For more information, please contact Carolyn Ah Shene-Verdoorn, Policy and Advocacy Manager on +27(0)82 776 8333 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it