ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORKS AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO FARM-LEVEL EIA IN A GLOBAL BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOT: A PROPOSAL FROM THE CAPE FLORISTIC REGION, SOUTH AFRICA

Abstract

Cultivation has been the primary driver of habitat transformation in South Africa. This paper explores the effectiveness of agricultural and, latterly, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) authorisation procedures in stemming biodiversity loss resulting from cultivation in the lowlands of the Cape Floristic Region, a global biodiversity hotspot. Owing to an activity-based focus, agri-environmental regulation has been largely unable to mitigate the cumulative effects of large-scale land clearance in threatened ecosystems. Case studies in the Sandveld and Slanghoek districts are used to argue that revised EIA regulations published in 2006 partly perpetuate the structural shortcomings of activity-based EIA. An ecosystem-based strategy for agri-environmental screening in biodiversity hotspots is introduced, drawing on conservation plans, the agricultural LandCare programme and the provision for Environmental Management Frameworks (EMF) in the 2006 EIA regulations. "Agri-EMFs", as a collaborative initiative that involves government, agricultural and non-governmental representatives, may present an effective alternative to the inefficiencies of project-level EIA.