National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, 2004 (Act No. 10 of 2004)Chapter 1 : Interpretation, Objectives and Application of Act3. State's trusteeship of biological diversity |
| (1) | In fulfilling the rights contained in section 24 of the Constitution, the state through its organs that implement legislation applicable to biodiversity, must— |
| (a) | manage, conserve and sustain South Africa’s biodiversity and its components and genetic resources; and |
| (b) | implement this Act to achieve the progressive realisation of those rights. |
| (2) | The Minister may, by notice in the Gazette, specify the species and the circumstances under which the State remains the custodian of faunal biological resources that escape from land under its control. |
[Section 3(2) inserted by section 45 of the National Environmental Management Laws Amendment Act, 2022, GG46602, dated 24 June 2022: Commencement by Proclamation 125 of 2023, GG48860, dated 30 June 2023]