INTERPRETATION AND OBJECTIVES OF THIS ACT

Definitions

1. In this Act, unless the context otherwise indicates –

“alien animal” means

(a) any live vertebrate, including a bird and a reptile, but excluding a fish, belonging to a
species or subspecies that is not a recognized domestic species and the natural habitat of
which is not in the Republic; or

(b) the egg of such vertebrate;

“angle” –
(a) means to catch fish by using a line and fish-hook, whether or not a rod is used; and

(b) includes the use of a landing-net to land, or a keep-net to keep, fish caught in accordance with the method as described in paragraph (a), but excludes the use of a set-line, and “angling” has a corresponding meaning;

“aquaculture” means the managed production, either through an intervention in the breeding process, or through stocking, feeding or predator control programmes, of fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquarium plants or other aquatic organisms, including the eggs, ova, spawn, seeds, fruits, bulbs, stems, roots or any other part or derivative of such organisms;

“aquatic biota” –
(a) means any organism that depends on an aquatic environment for its survival; and

(b) includes the carcass, egg, ova, spawn, flesh (fresh or cured), hide, tooth, bone, shell, scale, claw, nail, paw, fin, tail, ear, hair, feather, flower, seed, cone, fruit, bulb, tuber,
stem, root or any other part or derivative of such organism;

“aquatic growth” –
(a) means any plant that depends on an aquatic environment for its survival; and (b) includes the flower, seed, cone, fruit, bulb, tuber, stem, root, or any other part or
derivative of such plant;

“aquatic system” –
(a) means any area associated with rivers, streams, vleis, sponges, creeks, lakes, pans or any other natural or man-made water impoundment; and
(b) includes any such area whether wet or dry;

“artificial lure or spoon” means a device which, by the simulation of life or by the colour or appearance thereof, may delude or lure fish into seizing such device;

“bait” in relation to a wild animal listed in Schedule 5, means any living or dead animal matter, or anything else which on account of the edibility, smell or taste thereof may lure such animal, and “bait”, as a verb, has a corresponding meaning;

“biltong” means venison which has been or is being dried as a method of preservation;

“biodiversity” means the diversity of animals, plants or other organisms, including the diversity of animals, plants or other organisms found within and between-

(a) ecosystems;

(b) habitats;

(d) species;

“catch” in relation to a wild or alien animal, fish or invertebrate –

(a) means catch or take, or attempt to catch or take, a wild or alien animal, fish or
invertebrate alive, irrespective of the means or method used; and

(b)    includes –
    (i)    the search for, pursue, drive, lie in wait for, lure or poison a wild or alien animal, fish or invertebrate with the intent to catch or take it; or
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    (ii)    injuring or killing of a wild or alien animal, fish or invertebrate when attempting to catch or take it;

“cave” means a natural geologically formed void or cavity beneath the surface of the earth;
cave formation” means–

(a) a wall, floor or ceiling of a cave;

(b) a flow-stone, drapery, column, stalactite, stalagmite, anthodite, gypsum flower or needle
or any other crystalline mineral formation, tufadam, breccia, clay or mud formation or a
concretion thereof formed in a cave; or

“CITES” means the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora;

“client” means any person who is not normally resident in the Republic, who pays or rewards any other person for or in connection with the hunting of a wild or alien animal;

“day” means the period from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset on the same day;

“director of professional hunting school” means a person who is –

(a)    responsible for –
    (i)    the presentation of a prescribed curriculum to educate prospective professional hunters and hunting outfitters; and
    (ii)    the conducting of examinations to evaluate prospective professional hunters and hunting-outfitters; and

(b) the holder of a permit in terms of section 49(1)(c);

“endangered species” means a species is endangered when it is facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future and includes –

(a) any living or dead specimen of such a species; or

(b) any egg, skin, bone, feather, seed, flower or any other part or derivative of such a species;
“environment” means the surroundings within which humans exist and that are made up of –

(a) the land, water and atmosphere of the earth;

(b) micro-organisms, plant and animal life;

(d) the physical, chemical, aesthetic and cultural properties and conditions of the foregoing
that influence human health and well-being;

“Environmental Management Authority” means the Provincial Department or component responsible for Environmental Management;
“environmental management system” means an environmental management system which includes, but is not limited to:

(a) an environmental management policy;

(b) organisational structure, planning activities, responsibilities, practices, procedures,
processes and resources for developing, implementing, achieving, reviewing, maintaining
and improving such system;

(c) a systematic and documented verification process to objectively obtain and evaluate
evidence to determine whether such management system conforms to the audit criteria
set; and

(d) communication of the results of this process.

“Environmental compliance officer” means a person appointed in terms of section 94 (1)(a);

“Environmental Impact Report” means a report referred to in section 77;

“family member” in relation to an owner of land, means the parent, spouse, child, step-child,foster-child, grandchild, adopted child, son-in-law or daughter-in-law of the owner of land;

“fire-belt” means any strip of land, whether under trees or not, which has been cleared of inflammable matter to prevent or control veld or forest fires or the spreading thereof;

“fire protection plan” means any fire protection plan established in terms of section 82;

“firewood” means the dead, dry wood of an indigenous plant that is used for domestic purposes, but does not include wood that has been cut, sawn or otherwise processed for the production of ornaments, implements or furniture;

“fishing tackle” means any fishing gear, apparatus or other device or any part thereof normally used to catch fish;

“game” means any living or dead wild animal referred to in Schedule 4; “head load” means a bundle of firewood, the size of which is ordinarily capable of being carried
on the head of a person;

“HOD” means the Head of the Department responsible for Environmental Management in the Province;

“Honorary Environmental Compliance Officer” means a person appointed in terms of section 95;

“hunt” means hunt with the intent to kill, and includes – (a) to search for, lie in wait for, bait, pursue, shoot at, set a snare or trap or disturb with the
intent to kill wild or alien animal;

(b) to dart or immobilise a wild or alien animal by any means or method for trophy purposes;
or

“hunting-outfitter” means a person who –

(a) presents or organises the hunt of a wild or alien animal for a client ; and

(b) is the holder of a permit in terms of section 49(1)(b);

“hunting-rights” means the right of an owner of land to hunt a wild or alien animal on that land;

“indigenous plant” –
(a) means any living or dead plant which is indigenous to the Republic, whether artificially propagated or in its wild state; and
(b) includes the flower, pollen, seed, cone, fruit, bulb, tuber, stem or root or any other part or derivative of such plant, but does not include a plant declared a weed in terms of any legislation;

“invasive animal” means an alien wild animal whose establishment and spread- (a) threaten ecosystems, habitats or other species or has demonstrable potential to threaten
ecosystems, habitats or other species;

and

(b) may result in economic or environmental harm;
“invertebrate” means any living or dead invertebrate in any stage of its life cycle, including any part or derivative of an invertebrate;

“keep” in relation to a live wild or alien animal, means –

(a) possess or keep in captivity or custody a live wild or alien animal;

(b) supervise and control in any way whatsoever and by whatever means, a live wild or alien
animal in order to discourage its natural behaviour; or

(c) restrict the movement or flight of a live wild or alien animal;

“limited development area” means an area declared a limited development area in terms of section 74(a);

‘litter’ means any object or matter discarded or left behind by the person in whose possession or control it was;

“Management Agency” means an agency appointed by the MEC to control, manage, maintain and develop a protected area;

“MEC” means the Member of the Executive Council of the Province who is responsible for environmental affairs in the Province;

“mountain catchment area” means an area declared a mountain catchment area in terms of section 80(a);

“municipality” means a municipality established in terms of the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act, 1998 (Act No. 117 of 1998);

“natural bait” in relation to angling, means any living or dead animal or vegetable substance (excluding live fish) which on account of the edibility, smell or taste thereof is used in angling to lure fish;

“night” means the period from half an hour after sunset on any day to half an hour before sunrise on the following day;

“non-indigenous wild animal” means a living or dead wild animal referred to in Schedule 6;

“open season” means a period declared an open season in terms of section 32;

“owner” in relation to land, means the person in whose name the land is registered in terms of the Deeds Registries Act, 1937 (Act No. 47 of 1937), or the Mining Titles Registration Act, 1967 (Act No.16 of 1967), provided that the persons mentioned below must be regarded as the owner in the following cases:

(a) the trustee, in the case of land held in trust;

(b) the executor or administrator, in the case of land in a deceased estate;

(d) the judicial manager, in the case of land under judicial management;

(e) the curator, in the case of land under curatorship;

(f) the usufructuary or fiduciary, in the case of a land that is subject to a usufruct or a fidei-
commissum,;

(g) the lessee, in the case of land that is subject to –
(i) a lease registered in terms of applicable legislation;

(ii) a lease for a period of not less than ten years or for the natural life of either the lessee or another person mentioned in the lease; or
(iii) a lease that is renewable from time to time by the lessee indefinitely or for periods which together with the first period amount to not less than ten years;

(h) the nominee of an association, in the case of land owned by an association of persons, whether corporate or not, or if no such nomination was made, the chairperson or the last known chairperson of such association or the person to whom the control of the land has been entrusted; or
(i) the relevant authority, in the case of a public area or the road reserve of any public road;

“permit” includes any licence, document or certificate issued in terms of, or referred to in this Act;

“pick” includes to gather, cut off, chop off, uproot, damage or to destroy wholly or partially, or any similar action;

“poison” includes any poison, preparation or chemical used to catch, immobilize, sterilize, kill
or physically harm a wild or alien animal, invertebrate or aquatic biota;

“prescribe” means prescribe by regulation in terms of section 122;

“Private Nature Reserve” means an area declared in terms of section 21(3)(a);

“professional hunter” means a person who –

(a) supervises, offers to or agrees to supervise a client for reward in connection with the
hunting of a wild or alien animal; and

(b) is the holder of a permit in terms of section 49(1)(a);

“protected area” means–

(a) a provincial nature reserve;

(b) a site of ecological importance;

(d) a private nature reserve; or

(e) a resource use area;

“protected environment” means an area declared a Protected Environment or Private Nature Reserve in terms of section 21(1)(a);

“protected plant” means a plant referred to in Schedule 12; “protected wild animal” means a living or dead wild animal referred to in Schedule 3;

“Provincial Nature Reserve” means an area declared a Provincial Nature Reserve in terms of section 15(1)(a);

“public road” means a road, road reserve, outspan, resting place or watering place to which the public has a right of access;

“rare species” means a species of fauna and flora referred to in section 68(a)(ii), and includes –

(a) any living or dead specimen of such a species; or

(e) any egg, skin, bone, feather, seed, flower or any other part or derivative of such a
species;

“reserved area” means –

(a) land reserved by the MEC in terms of section 119(1)

(b) for the purposes of –
(i) the Environmental Management Authority; or

(ii) the conservation of any particular –

(aa) species of wild animal;

(bb) aquatic system;

(cc) species of aqua biota;

(dd) species of invertebrate;

(ee) species of specially protected plant or protected plant;

(ff) cave;

(iii) the establishment, extension or improvement of any aquaculture; or

(b) an area referred to in paragraph (b) of Schedule 10;

“Resource use area” means -

(a) conservancy; or

(b) similar ecologically sensitive area that require collaborative management practises to
sustain natural processes; “seedling” in relation to the genus Encephalartos, means a plant of which the diameter of the trunk or bulb, either above or below the ground, does not exceed 150 mm, and 70 mm in the case of E. caffer, E. cerinus, E. cupidus, E. humilis, E. ngoyanus and E. numbimontanus;

“sell” means give or offer at a price, barter, or offer or display for sale, and “buy” must be construed accordingly;

“species” means any species, sub-species, or geographically separate population thereof;

“set-line” means a line and fish-hook which, when used for catching fish, is not under the direct charge of any person but is fastened to anything, but excludes a line and fish-hook fixed to a reel or rod lying loose on the ground or resting on a fork or a stand;

“Site of Ecological Importance” means an area declared a Site of Ecological Importance in terms of section 18(1)(a);

“specially protected wild animal” means a living or dead wild animal, referred to in Schedule 2;

“specially protected plant” means a plant referred to in Schedule 11;

“taxidermist”-
(a) means a person that, as a profession, prepares and mounts a skin, horn or any other derivative of a wild or alien animal with lifelike effect; and
(b) includes the dipping and packing of any skin, horn or any similar derivative of a wild or alien animal for the purpose of exporting either directly or indirectly to a client; and “taxidermy” has a corresponding meaning;

“this Act” includes –

(a) a Schedule to the Act;

(b) a regulation made in terms of section 122; and

(c) a notice published in terms of section 3, 15, 18, 21, 22, 29, 32, 46, 56, 57(1)(c) or (2),
71, 74, 80, 82, 105 and 123;

“vessel” means any means of transportation, whether on land, in or on water or through the air;

“weapon” means –

(a) a fire-arm;

(b) the ammunition for a fire-arm;

(c) any other weapon or implement with which a projectile can be so propelled that it can
kill, injure or immobilize a wild or alien animal;

(d) any projectile for use in connection with such other weapon or implement; or

(e) any chemical or preparation for use in connection with such projectile;

“wild animal” means –

(a) a specially protected wild animal;

(b) a protected wild animal;

(d) a Non-indigenous wild animal referred to in schedule 6;

(e) any other vertebrate, including a bird and a reptile, but excluding a fish, belonging to a
species which is not a recognised domestic species and the natural habitat of which is
either temporarily or permanently in the Republic; or

(f) the carcass, egg, flesh, (fresh or cured), biltong, hide, thong, tooth, tusk, bone, horn, shell,
scale, claw, nail, hoof, paw, tail, ear, hair, feather or any other part or derivative of any of the animals mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (e); and

“wildlife translocator” means a person who catches or moves a wild or alien animal from one place to another as a profession.

Objectives of this Act

2. (1) The objectives of this Act are –

(a) to manage and protect the environment in the Province;

(b) to secure ecologically sustainable development and responsible use of
natural resources in the Province;

(c) generally to contribute to the progressive realisation of the fundamental
rights contained in section 24 of the Constitution of the Republic of South
Africa , 1996 (Act No. 108 of 1996); and

(d) to give effect to international agreements effecting environmental
management which are binding on the Province.

(2) This Act must be interpreted and applied in accordance with the national environmental management principles set out in Section 2 of the National Environmental Management Act, 1998 (Act No. 107 of 1998).

Policy to give effect to this Act
3. (1) The MEC may by notice in the Provincial Gazette –

(a) determine a policy relating to any matter necessary or expedient to give
effect to the provisions of this Act;

(b) amend the policy determined in terms of paragraph (a); and

(2) A policy determined in terms of subsection (1) binds provincial and local government and other provincial organs of state specified in the notice.