This Draft White Paper will be submitted to Parliament for debate by the National Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs and Tourism and will then be debated by the National Council of Provinces. There will be opportunities for comment and public hearings during this Parliamentary Phase. This Draft White Paper will be amended to incorporate comments from the aforegoing phases before final approval by Parliament and Cabinet. This chapter defines the concept of Integrated Pollution and Waste Management that government will use in its envisaged national policy on pollution prevention, waste minimisation, impact control and remediation, describes the scope and purpose of this Integrated Pollution and Waste Management policy and delineates the consultative process used in developing this policy. The government s national policy on Integrated Pollution and Waste Management sets out the vision, principles, strategic goals and objectives that government will use for integrated pollution and waste management in South Africa.
Environment is defined as the following.
The biosphere in which people and other organisms live. Integrated pollution and waste management is a holistic and integrated system and process of management aimed at pollution prevention and minimisation at source, managing the impact of pollution and waste on the receiving environment and remediating damaged environments. This Draft White Paper sets out the government s Integrated Pollution and Waste Management policy for South Africa and describes the context in which it has been developed. Appendix 1 lists international conventions, agreements, treaties and protocols relating to integrated pollution and waste management. Appendix 2 contains the principles from the Draft White Paper on Environmental Management for South Africa.