Section 32 of the Constitution guarantees every person the right of access to any information held by the state and any information that is held by another person that is required for the protection of any rights. The right to information is important for environmental issues. Without access to the proper information people do not know what action is being planned or the procedures that will be followed. It is not possible to participate properly in public debates if the public doesn’t have relevant information. For example, the public has the right to know in advance about possible plans for the building of a new railway line or factory in their neighbourhood and they have the right to inform decision-makers if they are against the building of these structures.

The Promotion of Access to Information Act (No 2 of 2000) (PAIA) sets out detailed procedures which must be followed in order to obtain access to information.

Example:

1. People in your community own land next to the sea. They find out that a developer has applied to local government for permission to build a steel mill in the area in which they live. Although they have tried to get information about the proposed development from the developer they have not been successful. Members of the community are concerned that the development of the steel mill could cause pollution and other environmental problems. They need this information in order to participate fully and effectively in the public consultative process that is to follow..

2. A large factory is established next to your community. Many people get sick and you suspect that it is caused by fumes from the factory. The company refuses to tell the community what substances are being produced by the factory. People need this informationin order to be able to lodge a complaint with the relevant authority.

The community can demand this information from the developer or factory as well as from any government department or local authority which has access to the relevant information. The best way to protect this right of access to information is to make an application to the court for an order telling the developer or factory to provide the community with the information that it needs.

Before a community takes any action it will have to establish that a constitutional right (such as the environmental right) has been infringed. Secondly, it will have to prove that it needs the information to protect this right. Thirdly, the community will need to comply with the procedures set out in PAIA. A number of environmental non-governmental organisations have relied on this right to obtain access to information, for example, concerning genetically modified organisms.