Description

Monthly webinars are offered as a benefit of membership. Once each quarter, in March, July, September, and December, the monthly SWS webinar is open for non-members to attend (and at no cost), as well.

Engaging with the rule of law and wise use of wetlands underpinning, the webinar aims to propose a strategy for the improved management of wetlands in South Africa. The rule of law prescribes how a society should act; action is critical for strategies. Furthermore, as a party to the Ramsar Convention, without having submitted any reservations, South Africa must implement the wise use obligation. The wise use obligation and its implementation may differ from country to country; however, this webinar showcases a South African perspective. With the rule of law and wise use underpinning, the perspective focuses on three lenses: sustainable development principles, local government, and rehabilitation measures. The gaps in knowledge and practice are demonstrated, and the action needed is proposed.

Photo Source: South African National Biodiversity Institute (https://www.sanbi.org/biodiversity/building-knowledge/biodiversity-monitoring-assessment/freshwater-programme)

Speaker: Bramley Jemain Lemine

Bramley lectures Environmental Law at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in Cape Town, South Africa. He is a PhD candidate, and his PhD study is by published work with a view on the law and wetlands resources management. A parliamentary report cited his article addressing the issues of achieving wise use of wetlands in South Africa. He guest lectures on the law and wetlands at certain South African universities and was recently invited by the Universidad Cientifica del Sur, Peru. He imagines what existing water management courses at higher education institutions will look like, with the law and wetlands as a subject matter. Bramley is a committee member of the Western Cape Wetlands Forum, where he works with a fantastic group of scientists. Albeit not a natural scientist, he enjoys learning about the other-than-law science of wetlands. When he is not teaching or researching, he enjoys training for marathons and is training for the Ultimate Human Race (89km/55miles). Post his PhD, the aim is to focus on wetlands resource management education.