project progress

The Department of Enviromental Affairs and Tourism welcomes any participant to be aware of the progress of this project. This website servers as a platform for South Africans to participate in and exercise control over the quality of the air that they breathe. Please send us your details or help us by uploading the photographs of issues that concern you.

This website has been designed and developed with respect for the visual rules as set out by the identity rules of our National Coat of Arms.

Photographs used on this website courtesy of Enviromental Science Associates.

The appointed service provider will carry out all the work required to develop and compile a process plan for the development of the Highveld Priority Area Air Quality Management Plan. This process plan should include, among others: (i) a detailed description of how the appointed service provider intends to develop the plan in accordance with the project objectives; (ii)  a Gantt Bar Chart detailing the timing and critical path of key activities and milestones; (iii) a public outreach strategy; (iv) capacity building strategy (National, provinces and municipalities) (v) a proposed plan structure based on the Logical Framework Approach (LFA), Objective Oriented Project Planning (OOPP) methodology and/or best practice in the field of air quality management planning.

The process plan must be submitted to the National Air Quality Officer for approval to submit it to the MSRG (see 3.4.1) and the AQOF for comments and approval respectively.

The appointed service provider will carry out all the required meetings, interviews, literature reviews, data collection, data analysis, etc. required to compile the initial chapter of the draft Highveld Priority Area Air Quality Management Plan, namely, the problem analysis. This analysis should review available information in order to generate a chapter that, among others: (i) clearly describes the current ambient air quality in the area and compares this to national standards; (ii) clearly describes the health and environmental impacts (social and economic) of poor air quality in the area; (iii) identifies significant sources of air pollution in the area; (iv) describes the cause and effect relationships that give rise to the significant sources of air pollution; (v) estimates sources of emissions and describes the contributions of various sources of pollution to the ambient air quality in the area (source apportionment); (vi) describes the relatively difficulty, or otherwise, of reducing various emissions; (vii) provides details on any future threats to air quality in the area (new industrial developments, etc.); and (viii) identifies significant information gaps. For clarity, the extensive use of graphics will be required. The problem analysis must also be summarised and illustrated in the form of a “problem tree” that clearly illustrates cause-and-effect relationships.

Based on the Logical Framework Approach (LFA), the appointed service provider will develop the problem-tree (see 6.2.2) and an associated “objectives-tree”. The process will take a LFA approach workshop with both the AQOF and the MSRG with all participants identifying air quality problems within the Highveld Priority Area. The Sub-Directorate: Priority Area Management will carry out all the logistical arrangements for the said workshop.  The service provider contributes to, and facilitates, an analysis of possible strategies to be employed to meet the objectives contained in the objectives tree. Based on the proceedings of the workshop, the appointed service provider will compile the 2^nd chapter of the plan, namely, the strategy analysis. This analysis should review the workshop (6.2.4) discussions and agreements in order to generate a chapter that, among others: (i) clearly describes the various strategies that could be employed to meet the objectives; (ii) describes the pros and cons of the various strategies; (iii) and details of the proposed strategies.

Using the approved strategies, the appointed service provider together with the AQOF and the MSRG will identify possible intervention required to meet the project objectives. The appointed service provider will then carry out all the work required to compile the chapters of the plan that detail these interventions. In this regard, the appointed service provider must make themselves available to organise and participate in any identified bi-lateral meetings with key-stakeholders. Each, specific intervention should be described giving, among others: (I) intervention objective (with details of timing and expected air quality impacts); (ii) intervention outputs; (iii) activities; (iv) inputs (including financial, human and technological resource inputs); (v) assumptions and risk assessment; (vi) and an intervention implementation plan that clearly describes timing and responsibilities.