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Environmental Governance, Hollow Environmentalism, and Adjudication in South Africa

Identification

Public canonical key
doi:10.17159/1727-3781/2023/v26i0a16884
Authors
Caiphas Brewsters Soyapi
Reported year
2023
Reported language
en
Source type
article
First detected
2026-11-09T19:14:03.280247+00:00
Last metadata observation
2026-11-09T19:14:03.280247+00:00
Last HTTP verification
Not checked

Institutions reported by the source

North-West University

Documentary abstract — original language

In this paper my thought experiment leads me to posit that South Africa's environmental governance often results in what I term "hollow environmentalism". This term describes the inevitable long-term outcome of promulgating laws and policies that are idealistic and seem symbolic and that at times fail to achieve their intended objectives or environmental promise. On a narrower scale, hollow environmentalism can also manifest when such symbolic environmental laws and policies lead to judicial decisions that lack substantive ecological justifications, perhaps even resembling symbolic judgments. I substantiate this argument through four key considerations. I commence with a reality check on environmental governance, emphasising that the state is not a neutral actor, necessitating closer scrutiny of state decisions. This leads me to the conclusion that governance stands at a critical juncture. I argue that the symbolic nature of our environmental laws, broadly speaking, often makes it challenging for the state to fully meet the lofty ideals it presents, thereby also complicating court decisions in these matters. Next, I align my thoughts with recent literature on adjudication in the context of the climate crisis. This literature stresses the need for courts to be bold and innovative in their judicial roles, given the precarious nature of stabilising environmental disputes. In the penultimate section I bring the discussion to a close by suggesting two interconnected possibilities to address hollowness in the face of climate change: "sunsetting" and "substitution".

Identifiers

OPENALEX
W4388931955
DOI
10.17159/1727-3781/2023/v26i0a16884

Documentary context

Documentary family
Scholarship
Source-reported types
article
Jurisdictions studied — explicit sources
ZA

Entity mentions are not evidence of legal recognition. Jurisdiction studied is separate from author affiliation country.

Sources

OpenAlex · Record 1 · Record 2

Documented bibliographic relations

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  • openalex:w1985326410 · CITES
  • openalex:w2119256515 · CITES
  • openalex:w2132852289 · CITES
  • openalex:w2193364826 · CITES
  • openalex:w2226610974 · CITES
  • openalex:w2267754734 · CITES
  • openalex:w2523569307 · CITES
  • openalex:w2892226169 · CITES
  • openalex:w2900557364 · CITES
  • openalex:w2903341887 · CITES
  • openalex:w2980910423 · CITES
  • openalex:w3118144803 · CITES
  • openalex:w3121538970 · CITES
  • openalex:w3168077102 · CITES
  • openalex:w3169284304 · CITES
  • openalex:w4229063465 · CITES
  • openalex:w4234381187 · CITES
  • openalex:w4242291756 · CITES
  • openalex:w4245641289 · CITES
  • openalex:w4253447715 · CITES

0 incoming references within the detected corpus

Documentary field provenance

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Cite this reference

Caiphas Brewsters Soyapi. Environmental Governance, Hollow Environmentalism, and Adjudication in South Africa. 2023. https://doi.org/10.17159/1727-3781/2023/v26i0a16884

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APA
Caiphas Brewsters Soyapi. (2023). Environmental Governance, Hollow Environmentalism, and Adjudication in South Africa. https://doi.org/10.17159/1727-3781/2023/v26i0a16884
Chicago
Caiphas Brewsters Soyapi. Environmental Governance, Hollow Environmentalism, and Adjudication in South Africa. 2023. https://doi.org/10.17159/1727-3781/2023/v26i0a16884
ISO 690
Caiphas Brewsters Soyapi. Environmental Governance, Hollow Environmentalism, and Adjudication in South Africa. 2023. https://doi.org/10.17159/1727-3781/2023/v26i0a16884

UDTR Global Rights of Nature Legal Library. Environmental Governance, Hollow Environmentalism, and Adjudication in South Africa. Documentary record: https://www.declarationuniverselledesdroitsdelarbre.org/global-rights-of-nature-radar/reference/r-2abe3e0149e1392b8e431f5fd39463c0/ · Last HTTP verification: not performed

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Field provenance and record version

Version 6b9c7500e3be48af · udtr-reference-1.1.2

Title
OpenAlex · source · 2026-11-09T19:14:03.280247+00:00
Authors
OpenAlex · source · 2026-11-09T19:14:03.280247+00:00
Year
OpenAlex · source · 2026-11-09T19:14:03.280247+00:00
Identifiers
OpenAlex · source · 2026-11-09T19:14:03.280247+00:00
Source URL
OpenAlex · source · 2026-11-09T19:14:03.280247+00:00
Source-reported author ORCID
OpenAlex · source · 2026-11-09T19:14:03.280247+00:00

History tracks record metadata and does not certify the state of the law.

1bb98604552f49d5 · 2026-11-09T19:14:03.280247+00:00

60af406a266220ff · 2026-11-09T19:14:03.280247+00:00

f2415b8b292d069a · 2026-11-09T19:14:03.280247+00:00

6b9c7500e3be48af · 2026-11-09T19:14:03.280247+00:00

Frozen-version metadata

Research dossiers and documentary relations

ZA ·

North-West University

Caiphas Brewsters Soyapi

Source roles

Discovery source · https://doi.org/10.17159/1727-3781/2023/v26i0a16884

Discovery source · https://openalex.org/W4388931955

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Documentary status

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Library

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