South Africa's environmental decisions, on the record
REA is building one place to find what authorities decided, the conditions they set, the objections raised and the appeals that followed. Every line links to the page it comes from.
The record is scattered
The reasons for environmental decisions are meant to be public. In practice they are hard to find, and some are being lost.
How REA puts the record together
- Found
Decisions are collected as authorities publish them, recovered from internet archives, and requested from authorities when they are not published.
- Read
Software reads each document and picks out the decisions, conditions, objections and appeals, each tied to the paragraph it comes from.
- Checked
A person checks each one against the document. Nothing goes into the record until it has been checked.
- Joined
What has been checked comes together as one record per project: the application, the decision, its conditions and any appeal, each with its source.
Ask a question, and see where each answer comes from
Describe a project and see what was decided on similar ones, with the source document for every point.
- What authorities decided, and the reasons they gave
- The conditions set on similar projects
- How objections were answered, and which appeals succeeded
The rules REA works by
Every point has a source
Each condition, objection and outcome links to the document and page it comes from, so anyone can check it.
No side taken
The record states what was decided and the reasons given. It does not rate decisions, and it never ranks firms.
Private people stay private
Members of the public who comment on applications are never named. Organisations and officials appear in their roles.
Where REA is now
REA is being built. The first record covers the Western Cape (environmental authorisations, waste and air emission licences, and Water Tribunal decisions) and wind and solar projects decided nationally.
None of it is public yet. Each entry is checked before it is included, and the record will open when it is accurate enough to rely on.
Questions
What is REA?
REA, the Record of Environmental Authorisations, is a record of South Africa's environmental decisions: what authorities decided, the conditions they set, the objections raised and the appeals that followed. Every entry links to the document and page it comes from.
Who is REA for?
Communities near proposed developments, environmental practitioners, lawyers and public-interest organisations, researchers and journalists, government officials, and applicants and developers.
Is REA a government service?
No. REA is independent. It collects the decisions authorities publish, recovers ones that have gone offline, and asks authorities for the rest.
What does REA cover first?
The Western Cape (environmental authorisations, waste and air emission licences, and Water Tribunal decisions) and wind and solar projects decided nationally.
Can I use REA now?
Not yet. A person checks each entry before it is included, and the record will open when it is accurate enough to rely on. Register your interest and we will tell you when it opens.
Who runs REA?
Salix AI (Pty) Ltd runs REA while it is being built. You can write to records@reasouthafrica.com.
Register your interest
Tell us who you are and what you would use REA for. We will be in touch when there is something to show you.
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We will be in touch when there is something to show you. To change or remove your details, write to records@reasouthafrica.com.