At the national level, policies are government instruments used to drive change, enforce or encourage certain actions, and prevent or discourage other actions.
Policy guides decision-makers in setting priorities and allocating resources.
Lack of policy can cause confusion over rights and responsibilities, and result in undesirable actions and disputes. This section describes how historical and current environmental policies can impact on the sustainability of natural resources. Generally, where a democratic government is in place, policy tends to be informed not just by experts, but also by various stakeholders and the general public. In this way national government can make appropriate allocations of financial and human resources to implement priority policy. South Africa has had a democratically elected government since 1994, and the increased participation by stakeholders and the public in policy formation has been a positive result of the transition to democracy since 1990.