Government has given environmental minister Valli Moosa the go-ahead to ban 4×4 vehicles from beaches. CARtoday.com provides details of the controversial regulations… Who’s affected, are some individuals or parties exempted from the ban?
Government has given environmental minister Valli Moosa the go- ahead to ban 4×4 vehicles from beaches. According to chief government spokesman Joel Netshitenzhe, the Cabinet last week approved the “principles underpinning the regulations pertaining to the use of off-road vehicles along the coastline, which will be promulgated by the minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism”.
It’s government’s view that the use of off-road vehicles for recreational purposes on South Africa’s coast is widespread and has increased dramatically during the course of the last two or three decades. The trend has necessitated regulations that control off-road vehicle use and apply uniformly to the entire coast.
“Off-road vehicle use also poses a threat to the safety of people engaged in various recreational activities, and generally diminishes the enjoyment derived from such activities,” an official statement said.
"The use of vehicles is increasingly damaging coastal ecosystems and historical sites, and diminishing the quality of the recreational experience of the general public. This diminishes the value of the coast, a vitally important national asset," Moosa said.
National legislation for controlling off-road vehicles on the coast already exists in the form of a national policy, which was proclaimed in terms of the Environment Conservation Act, No. 73 of 1989, in 1994.
The proposed regulations make provision for severe penalties, including the confiscation of vehicles. Although policing a ban will be difficult, various avenues are available to ensure that this is not an impossible task. One of these will involve promoting public involvement in monitoring the use of SA’s beaches and reporting transgressors.
The following appears courtesy of the Department of Environmental Affairs:
Cabinet endorses regulations that prohibit off-road vehicles being used on all beaches.
- The regulations provide for the use of vehicles in demarcated areas for boat-launching only, subject to environmental-impact assessments.
- Handicapped persons are not to be exempted from the requirements imposed by the regulations.
- In order to address the problem of inadequate law enforcement, the regulations provide for severe penalties.
- The promulgation of the regulations will have significant positive implications.
These regulations do not apply to the use of vehicles:
- for official purposes by employees of the state;
- engaged in bona fide emergency or rescue situations;
- on a public road; and
- for official purposes within proclaimed harbours.
The regulations allow applications to be made to use vehicles for:
- boat-launching within demarcated sites;
- certain scientific research purposes; and
- certain non-recreational activities permitted in terms of fisheries legislation, such as the harvesting of seaweed.
The main features of the regulations can be summarised as follow:
The regulations impose a general prohibition on the recreational use of vehicles in the coastal zone. However, certain non-recreational uses of vehicles within the coastal zone are permissible. These uses do not require an application to be made in terms of the regulations. They include the use of a vehicle on a public road, in an emergency situation in order to safeguard human life or health or by an employee of any organ of state for the purposes of performing the public duties of that organ of state.
Subject to an application procedure, vehicles may only be used in the coastal zone for the following specified purposes:
- in recreational use areas which may be designated by the Director-General at his discretion;
- within demarcated boat launching sites;
- for purposes of scientific research, commercial fishing and tourism businesses conducted by a tour operator; and
- in order to access properties where there is no reasonable road access.
The National Environmental Management Act’s procedures for carrying out environmental impact assessments must be followed before a permit application can be approved.
The Minister may exempt an applicant from the requirements of the regulations if he is satisfied that this is in the public interest, in the interest of providing equitable access by any physically disabled person to any part of the coastal zone, or in the interests of protecting the environment.
The regulations provide strict penalties to deter transgressors, including the seizure of vehicles used illegally. The provision of strict penalties to act as a deterrent is essential due to the lack of capacity of the South African Police Services and the relevant environmental departments to rigorously enforce the regulations.
