Who guards the green guardians?
Alarm bells are ringing over perceptions that when it comes to EIAs, he who pays the ‘independent’ expert calls the tune — and harmful projects are being waved through as a result
27 March 2025 - 05:00
A built-in flaw in South Africa’s environmental approval process is contributing to destructive projects — from wind farms to coal mines — getting the green light from the government, say conservationists and lawyers.
The problem, they say, is that the environmental assessment practitioners (EAPs) who conduct environmental impact assessments (EIAs) are in the pay of the very developers whose plans they are supposed to be vetting in an independent way...
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