Deviance in the area of environmental management and sustainability often goes unnoticed and the remedies which are available sometimes are not deterrent. In different parts of the world there is a growing pattern of establishment of Environmental Courts and Tribunals (ECTs).
Disposal of raw sewage, pollution and natural resource offences can be accommodated by ECTs. Their development could also assist environmental issues to be covered especially given the fact that there is a backlog in most African jurisdictions of cases. Environmental issues are not yet at the prime of the legal equation to get maximum attention.
Various development partners and international NGOs have started providing capacity building to legal authorities, judges and lawyers to facilitate litigation in the area of environment and sustainable development. Given its technical nature, there is need to build capacity in existing judges to grasp keep sustainability concepts.
However, the fact that sustainability issues can be vague and subjective, the burden of proof is also presenting complications. So what have other countries done? How can this be mainstreamed?
Success stories of contaminated land disputes that have been compensated and pollution cases taken through class action of communities are classical examples of environmental justice. As the middle class continues to grow and industrialisation progresses, a range of environmental disputes may arise. It is high time that African begins to give an ear to such cases and provide a platform for settling issues.
Constitutions in many African countries now recognize environmental rights and duties. Therefore, platforms to exercise those rights should be granted and facilitated. Hope remains that sustainability will have legal remedies for the aggrieved. As pollution becomes worse in many countries and health complications arising from externalities continues to grow, environmental justice is a necessary step towards sustainability. The first port of cost is to equip courts to be able to deal with green disputes.