The role of Local Government in the management of wetlands through the vein of Article 3.1 of the Ramsar Convention: The experience of South Africa

Abstract

South Africa is a signatory to the Ramsar Convention of 1971. This wetlandspecific treaty aims to cease the loss or the disappearance of wetlands. The Ramsar Convention has been incorporated into South African law by specific environmental management acts. Article 3.1 of the Convention obligates parties to formulate and implement their planning to promote the conservation of wetlands in their list, and the wise use of wetlands within the territory. “Contracting parties” and “states” are synonymous, and in South Africa- the state includes local government. As a state functionary, they would have to uphold and implement the requirements of the convention, including article 3.1 of the Ramsar Convention. However, according to the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996 (Constitution), only the national and provincial governments have shared legislative and executive powers over matters relating to the environment. This study relied on secondary written sources, including international conventions, legislation, books, journal articles and government publications to employ a thematic analysis to ascertain the role of local government in the management of wetlands. This paper aims to set out the two obligations created by article 3.1 of the Ramsar Convention in two distinct legs and addresses each separately. Thereafter, it provides an overview of South Africa’s local government and environmental law within the context of article 3.1. The requirements of article 3.1 are then applied to the local governmental law and environmental laws to provide a pathway for ascertaining the role of local wetland management. The study finds that strings must be pulled from various pieces of legislation to provide a holistic view of the role. Further, that the throttling of local government wetlands effortsis not only in the law, but other factors may play a role in disenabling them. Finally, the recommendations include categorising the wetland duties through the identified aspects of management.