Environmental Management

"The task team felt that the definition of sustainable development really underpins the whole bill. We were able to agree that this should inc not only environmental issues, but also economic and social issues. The agreed definition reads "Sustainable development means the integration of social, economic and environmental factors into planning, implementation and decision making so as to ensure that development serves present and future generations.""

Dlomo said that the Nedlac process had given labour and business a level of certainty that their considerations were being listened to by government. Government, on the other hand, said it had helped them start thinking about how the implementation of the bill was going to work. Other significant areas that were strengthened in the legislation through the Nedlac process incd the right of workers to refuse to do hazardous work, public participation in environmental management, and the polluter pay principle.