Drakenstein monitors environmental change
2009-09-03
THE Drakenstein Municipality is currently in the process of developing an Environmental Management System (EMS). The process started in June 2007 with the assistance of the North-West University’s Centre of Environmental Management and will be implemented in various phases. The consultants handed over the project to management’s project team from the relevant departments on Friday 21 August with the completion of phase 1. The system is now ready to be implemented by the various departments that were involved and it will also be rolled out to the rest of the municipality. Drakenstein Municipality published its first State of the Environment report in 2005 as a starting point to develop an Environmental Management System (EMS). This report is published bi-annually and research for the second publication commenced in 2007. The main purpose of the State of Environment Report (SoER) is to monitor environmental change. By assessing the nature of the changes, one can determine whether the actions (or responses) taken are effective in managing any negative (or positive) outcomes of the change. One of the main purposes of the report is to summarise the current state of the natural and social environments. It highlights what effects people are having on the environment. This information can then be used to identify what actions need to be implemented to improve the condition or status of the environment. The report uses a set of indicators to help monitor whether the state of the environment is getting better or worse. An EMS addresses the immediate and long-term impact of its activities, products, services, facilities and processes on the environment. In short, it is a system that aims to minimise environmental impacts.
More
News
|
