Background In 1993, an Environment and Development Branch was created to facilitate an integrated approach to environmental policy development and assessment of environmental hazards and risks. This department focused primarily on environmental health and aspects of sustainable development planning, thus duplicating the activities of the planning department. Ensuring that environmental concerns were addressed in all development initiatives was a difficult task-a task made more difficult by the separation of environmental management from planning. The Environment Health Department of Johannesburg City Council initiated the LA 21 planning process. One aim of local government restructuring was to ensure that Johannesburg City Council's environmental management initiatives were given the recognition they deserved in the new structure.
Environmental management has a high priority in Johannesburg.
There are senior officials who deal specifically with environmental initiatives in the metropolitan and local councils. The GJMC is responsible for implementing the LA 21 process. To achieve integrated environmental management and development in Greater Johannesburg, it was considered necessary to align the processes with those currently being undertaken in the metropolitan area. Both programmes operate on the principles of proactive and interactive stakeholder participation and socio-economic, physical and environmental sustainability in urban development. The aim of the Environmental Management LDO is to achieve recognition for environmental management in local government, and to develop institutional structures and obtain a commitment for resources to make this management effective.