Green Scorpions are ready to sting poachers

Polluters, poachers, illegal developers and all other environmental criminals beware: the Green Scorpions are out to sting you!

Members of the unit - more formally known as environmental management inspectors (EMIs) - were present in the gallery of the National Council of Provinces on Thursday to hear Environment Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk announce their official establishment.

Opening debate on his department's budget vote, he told the House the inspectors would be endowed with a range of enforcement powers - from routine inspections to the right to search and seize, as well as to set up roadblocks and arrest suspects.

"Cutting edge laws and standards mean little without the muscle to enforce them... the Green Scorpions are about to be unleashed on polluters, poachers, illegal developers and all other environmental criminals," he warned.

The inspectors would also be given the power to issue formal notices to individuals or corporations breaking the country's environmental laws, or not complying with the terms of their licences.

"Failure to comply will bring severe criminal consequences," Van Schalkwyk said.

The EMIs had been appointed under the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA), which would come into force "within weeks".

"From our department, South African National Parks, all provincial environment departments, provincial parks boards and municipalities, the Green Scorpions will be everywhere."

Van Schalkwyk said that for the first time environmental enforcers would be part of a national network including park rangers, conservation and air quality officers, marine and coastal enforcement officials, pollution and waste enforcement officers, and officials monitoring urban development.

Earlier on Thursday, EMI head Peter Lukey told journalists at a parliamentary media briefing that the inspectors - all of whom have a legal background - would focus on enforcing NEMA legislation, as well as laws pertaining to pollution, air quality, protected areas and biodiversity.

"The EMIs are not a police force, but professional environmental management inspectors," he said.

Their ranks would include between 20 and 30 members in the national department, a further 15 members in each of the nine provinces, and about 300 South African National Park rangers.

If necessary, the inspectors would call in the South African Police Service for help in dangerous situations.

Lukey conceded the popular term Green Scorpions might be a misnomer when it came to his inspectors, who were all decked out in black anoraks with the letters EMI emblazoned across the back - and black peaked caps.

"We look like a cross between the Men In Black and the FBI," he joked.

Speaking at the briefing, Van Schalkwyk said the legal capacity of his department was being strengthened to deal with environmental crime.