Abstract:
Within the Integrated Environmental Management (IEM) process, Environmental Assessment Practitioners are expected to gather information or evidence in order to formulate decisions on the suitability of development projects as it relates to the environment which takes the form of an Environmental Impact Assessment. The EIA decision-making framework relies mainly on a technocratic-, rationalist or technical-rational approach, which is based largely on cognitive or scientific knowledge. This over-reliance on scientific evidence (evidence-based knowledge) limits the level to which non-scientific evidence (value-based knowledge) is incorporated into the EIA decision-making framework. There is a concern that an over-reliance on evidence-based decision-making will lead to valuable information being overlooked or ignored, resulting in a skewed and fragmented process which could fail in ensuring environmental justice for the citizens of South Africa. The overall methodological approach that was used to achieve the aim and objectives of this study was of a qualitative nature, relying on three main methods, including document analysis, expert interviews and focus group meetings. The literature review provided six thematic areas of interest which was further elaborated during the thematic analysis of the data. One of the key findings of this research was that although the South African legislative framework makes provision for value-based decision-making processes, the EIA decision-making framework in particular is too rigid to incorporate non-scientific knowledge or value-based evidence. The need to shorten the EIA decision-making timeframes to allow for social and economic development in addition other challenges facing the IEM field can also attributed to an over-reliance on a formulaic tick-box approach which limits the incorporation of value-based decision-making in the EIA decision-making process.
