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New book on environmental management in South Africa A new book on environmental management, entitled environmental management in south africa: the blue model, was released in December 2003. The book deals with the environmental challenges facing South Africa as a first/third world country. South Africa struggles with all the environmental constraints associated with a third world country. The situation is further exacerbated by the country's use of first world technologies whereby various waste streams, alien and additional to those emanating from third world countries, are produced that impact on land, air and water resources. Through its inability to enforce current environmental legislation, the absence of markets capable of absorbing the costs associated with environmentally acceptable products and the strains placed on it from the third world sector of society, the country is not in a position to address adequately the requirements of effective environmental management for a first world country. The Blue Model (consisting of an Environmental Protection Unit, three Media Research Commissions, Education and three Development Funds) was developed to address the environmental challenges facing South Africa. A draft of the model was presented to various forums to determine general acceptance of the proposed model and comments and feedback were included in the final model.
The book was written by Francois Friend, director at Waterops and a Senior Lecturer at the University of Pretoria, responsible for the Environmental Engineering Group in the Department of Chemical Engineering. ENQUIRIES: PO Box 35453 |
The model succeeds, in theory, in meeting the requirements set by
both first and third world sectors present in South Africa. To assess
its functioning in practice and address present conditions in the country,
acceptance of the Blue Model, or similar, by the South African government
is essential for the wellbeing of the country and its inhabitants.