A wide range of stakeholders - including environmental activ ists\, community members\, environmental assessment practitioners\, legal practitioners\, judges\, academics\, scientists\, government officials and corporations - are increasingly confronted with accelerated biodiversity and habitat loss\, pollution\, and climate instability.
Together\, these crises form what has been called the “triple planetary crisis\,” posing a profound threat to life on Earth. At the heart of thi s crisis lies a dominant model of development: the intensive extraction an d use of environmental resources for economic gain. It is contributing to the deterioration of the health and well-being of humans and the environme nt on which we depend. As the consequences of this model become increasing ly evident\, pressing legal questions emerge: “When is developme nt justifiable?” and “what are the limits that the law should place on development in the face of ecological collapse?" Put differently \, what are the justifiable limits on development amidst the triple planet ary crisis and the justice implications thereof?
In South Africa\, answers to questions about environmental protection and developm ent are informed by our supreme law\, the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa\, 1996\, which provides in section 24(b) that everyone has th e right to have the environment protected\, including through reasonable l egislative and other measures that “secure ecologically sustainable deve lopment and promote justifiable social and economic development”. The Co nstitution also tells us in section 36 that this right can be limited when such limitation is “justifiable”. Yet\, little attention has been pai d to how the term “justifiable” is interpreted and applied in developm ental and environmental challenges.
The Environmental Law Association of South Africa invites all interested stakeholders to engage with these urgent questions at our Annual Conference fro m 9 to 11 October 2025 and/or our Student Confere nce on 8 October 2025\, both at the University of Venda\, Limpopo .
Please purchase tickets here to attend the Annual Confe rence on 9 or 10 October\, and/or to attend our excursion to Nwanedi on 11 October.
No tickets are needed for our Student Conferen ce on 8 October\, but please ensure that you register using our Google form.
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