About Us

Rachael Chasakara

Eastern Cape Sub-committee

Dr. Rachael Chasakara is a South African legal scholar, researcher, and academic specializing in the law of the sea, environmental law, and marine spatial planning. She is currently based at Nelson Mandela University in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.Dr. Chasakara completed her Doctor of Laws (LLD) in 2023.

Her doctoral research focused on the public trust doctrine and how states manage coastal public property. She works closely with the SARChI Chair in Law of the Sea and Development in Africa. Beyond her core academic research, she serves as an equality investigator for her university’s Transformation Office. She is also a voting director and post-doctoral research fellow for the Garden Route Biosphere Reserve, where she helps advance sustainable coastal management.

Adelaide Karomo

Eastern Cape Sub-committee

Adelaide is an emerging public law scholar specialising in the Law of the Sea, with a particular focus on marine environmental governance, sustainable development, and deep seabed mining regulation. She holds an LLD from Nelson Mandela University, where her doctoral research pioneered an analysis of the legal frameworks governing South Africa’s participation in mineral mining within “the Area”.

An accomplished speaker, she has presented her research on environmental protection, human rights, Pan-Africanism, and equitable resource governance at both national and international conferences. Beyond her academic pursuits, she serves as a Researcher for the Democracy Development Program and a Research Consultant for the Care Ministry. She is deeply committed to institutional transformation and passionate about mentoring the next generation of environmental law scholars and youth activists.

Gosego Mooko

Treasury Sub-committee

Gosego Gift Mooko is a doctoral candidate in environmental law at the University of the Western Cape. His current research focuses on the regulation of critical minerals and its intersection with Just Energy Transition objectives and sustainable development in South Africa, with a particular emphasis on justice considerations.

He holds an LLB (North-West University) and an LLM (University of the Western Cape). His research background centres on environmental governance, mining regulation, occupational health and safety, and health risk mitigation in the mining sector, with a focus on mine worker protection.

Modise Shakung

Gauteng Sub-Committee

Adv Modise Shakung was admitted as an attorney in 2009 and practised at Botha du Plessis and Kruger Inc in Johannesburg for one year. From 2010 to March 2016, he served as in-house legal counsel at Kalagadi Manganese (Pty) Ltd, supporting the Hotazel manganese underground mine project and associated infrastructure.

In April 2016, he joined Sasol as Senior Legal Advisor, Secunda Operations and Mining, and resigned in January 2021 to commence pupillage with the Johannesburg Society of Advocates. Over 11 years in mining, Adv Shakung developed experience in MHSA, MPRDA and NEMA compliance; SHE monitoring and reporting; accident, serious injury and fatality investigations; DMRE inquiries and root cause analysis; land and community dispute resolution; employment disputes and disciplinary hearings; and the negotiation, drafting and dispute resolution of engineering and supply chain contracts, including corporate and commercial litigation. He holds an LLB (Wits, 2006), an LLM (NWU, 2014) and a PGDip (UJ, 2018), and is a member of ELA, IAIAsa, Johannesburg Bar and Mahikeng Bar.

Ayanda Dube

Ayanda Dube is a legal practitioner with a focused background in mining, energy, as well as safety, health, and environmental (SHE) law. She holds a BCom Law and LLB from Rhodes University, and an LLM in Environmental Law from the University of Cape Town. As an associate at Ncube Incorporated Attorneys, Ayanda advises on administrative and SHE-related legal matters, with a particular emphasis on housing issues.

Zarreen Khan

Western Cape Sub-Committee

Zarreen recently graduated with distinction from the University of Cape Town, earning a Professional Master’s Degree in Marine and Environmental Law (LLM). She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Law (BA) and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the University of the Witwatersrand. She is currently working as a contract paralegal for Protect the West Coast (PTWC), a non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting lawful and sustainable mining practices along South Africa’s West Coast. In this role, Zarreen is responsible for legal research, drafting legal documents and managing Ripl — an online platform designed to enhance public participation in environmental decision-making by providing access to information on mining and prospecting applications in the region. In addition to her work at PTWC, she is completing her Practical Legal Training and plans to commence her Articles as a Candidate Attorney in 2026. Zarreen is deeply passionate about environmental advocacy – particularly in promoting social, environmental and climate justice – and she is committed to mastering the legal structures that govern environmental protection.

Maricélle Botes

Maricélle Botes is a legal researcher with expertise in environmental, climate change, and urban law. She holds a BA Law and LLB from North-West University (NWU), South Africa, and obtained her Master of Laws cum laude in 2021. She recently passed her PhD in Law and Development, with the degree awaiting formal conferment. Her doctoral research, completed under the NRF South African Research Chair in Cities, Law and Environmental Sustainability (SARChI CLES), focused on the role of municipal planning by-laws in promoting urban climate resilience in South African cities. Maricélle is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Global Environmental Law Centre (GELC) at the University of the Western Cape. She has presented her work at national and international conferences and contributed to a range of academic, policy, and technical publications. She previously served as Editor-in-Chief of CLES InPress, the official newsletter of SARChI CLES, and has extensive experience in legal research, academic editing, and research coordination.

Christian Herselman

Christian is a litigation associate currently practising in Johannesburg. His role comprises advisory services for one of South Africa’s largest retail banks. Christian holds a BCom, LLB (cum laude) from the North West University where he heavily participated in student-driven well-being initiatives. He furthered his studies by completing his LLM in environmental law at the University of Witwatersrand. Although Christian finds interest in all aspects of environmental law, he is specifically drawn to research surrounding sustainable energy solutions.

Ntando Ncamane

Eastern Cape Representative

Ntando Ncamane is a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Law at Rhodes University. He holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree, and a Master of Laws (LLM) degree from the University of Fort Hare (UFH). He also holds a Practical Legal Certificate (PLT) from the School of Legal Practice and (Postgraduate Diploma in Higher Education PG Dip in HE) from Rhodes University. He is currently enrolled for a Doctor of Laws degree (LLD) focusing on mineral rights, customary rights, and some aspects of environmental law. Ntando is also an assistant editor of the South African Yearbook of International Law and guest editor for Speculum Juris Law Journal. Ntando has served as a guest editor for the Journal for Juridical Science.

Susanna Coleman

Western Cape Sub-Committee

Susanna Coleman has been a volunteer on the PHA Food & Farming Campaign, a voluntary association formed to defend the ecological integrity of the PHA farmlands on the Cape Flats, for a decade. The PHA has been the City of Cape Town’s breadbasket for the last 150years. Through taking developers, city and province to the high court (in 2019), Susanna has a good working knowledge of planning and environmental law, as well as the constitution. The processes to defend the farmland from mining and developers are ongoing, and the campaign aims to eventually establish a legal precedent where food security prevails; as well as long term protections. The campaign has a model regenerative farm in the PHA, and is committed to assisting in the land reform, food system, water and climate change challenges we face in South Africa. While activism takes up most of her time, her day job is as a public health optometrist.

Sipho Mophatlane

Free State Sub-Committee

Sipho Mophatlane is an admitted attorney of the High Court of South Africa and has a strong interest in research and environmental law. She holds a Master of Law with Specialisation in Environmental Law degree from the University of the Free State, along with a Bachelor of Law obtained in 2021. Before her legal career, Sipho served as Vice-Chairperson for the South African Women in Law Association (student chapter) at the University of the Free State.

Tahir Bayat

Student Sub-Committee

Tahir is a pupil advocate at the National Bar Council of South Africa (NBCSA). He has been training and practicing in advocacy since February 2023, after completing his LLB degree and articles at three reputable law firms. Tahir has a special interest and expertise in human rights and constitutional law.

Viandrie Robertson

Student Sub-Committee

Viandrie Robertson is an LLM researcher with the South African Research Chair: Cities, Law and Environmental Sustainability at the North West University, Potchefstroom. She is originally from a farm in the Knysna area and completed high school at Outeniqua High School in George. In 2018 she moved on to study undergraduate degrees at the Nelson Mandela University in Gqeberha. She started with the 3-year Bcom (LLB) and completed the additional 2-year LLB degree graduating in April 2023. She joined the ELA in 2023, along with starting her postgraduate degree at the North West University. Her LLM dissertation centres around the biodiversity importance of the Knysna Estuary and the obligation of the municipality to contribute to the protection thereof. Her current fields of interest are environmental law, local government law, and constitutional law.

Lindani Mhlanga

Free State Sub-Committee

Dr. Lindani Mhlanga, BA, LL.B, LL.M (University of Pretoria), LL.D (University of the Free State), is an emerging scholar specializing in constitutional law, property law, land law, and environmental law.
Currently serving as a post-doctoral fellow at the Free State Centre for Human Rights and a fellow at the International Association of Law Schools, Dr. Mhlanga brings an exciting perspective to environmental law. His work emphasizes the critical connection between secure land tenure and the protection of environmental rights, advocating for greater awareness and empowerment among marginalized communities.

Nonhlanhla Ngcobo

Treasurer

Nonhlanhla Ngcobo (BA Law, LLB, LLM cum laude) is a Doctor of Philosophy in Laws with Law and Development (PhD) candidate and researcher for the South African Research Chair in Cities, Law and Environmental Sustainability (CLES). Her research focuses on (local) party politics and their influence on environmental governance in pursuit of the constitutional environmental right in South Africa. Some of her research interests also include law and informality, particularly the informal economy for local economic development as a sector-specific issue of local government. Nonhlanhla is a published scholar in peer-reviewed academic journals and blogs, including The Conversation, South Africa. Nonhlanhla has contributed to several research-intense projects on the local government legal framework and municipal governing tools for the South African Cities Network (SACN) and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung.

Nicola Irving

Vice-chair

Nicola Irving is a Senior Associate at Deneys (formerly Norton Rose Fulbright). She holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA Law) (Cum laude), a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) (Cum laude) and a Master of Laws (LLM) (Environmental Law) (Cum laude) from the University of Pretoria. Nicola’s focus areas are environmental, administrative and child law. She has considerable experience in working on various pro bono and public interest litigation matters in South Africa. Nicola is contactable via e-mail at: .

Samantha de Villiers

KZN Representative

Samantha de Villiers is the Director of Samantha de Villiers Attorneys and a leading specialist in conservation and environmental law. She holds a BA in Law and Environmental Studies and an LLB from Rhodes University.

With more than a decade of experience in South Africa’s environmental law sector, Samantha has developed particular expertise in protected area expansion, biodiversity conservation and environmental governance. Her work requires careful navigation of South Africa’s complex environmental legislative framework, and she is widely recognised for her strategic, collaborative and solutions-focused approach.

Samantha has successfully represented clients in both the High Court and the Supreme Court of Appeal. She is regarded as one of South Africa’s foremost legal experts on the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act, and played a founding role in the KwaZulu-Natal Protected Areas Declaration Task Team, the first initiative of its kind in the country.

Her national leadership roles include serving as a member of the National Stewardship Legal Reference Group. She was also the only private attorney invited to participate in the national technical working group on stewardship. In addition to her legal practice, Samantha serves on the boards of several conservation-focused non-governmental organisations, reflecting her long-standing commitment to ecological protection and governance reform.

Her contributions have been recognised through several awards and honours. In 2023, she was named one of the Mail & Guardian Top 200 Young South Africans. She has also received recognition at the WOZA Africa Awards, where her firm was named Best Law Firm in South Africa in the category for firms with five women lawyers or fewer. In 2022, she was also awarded 2nd Runner-Up for Marine and Environmental Lawyer of the Year.
When she is not working, Samantha can be found exploring the outdoors with her husband and two kids..

MEESCHKA DIEDERICKS

North West Representative

Meeschka is a PhD Researcher at the SARChI in Cities, Law and Environmental Sustainability, the North-West University. She completed her LLM and LLB at the North-West University, and is a former Konrad-Adenauer Stiftung Scholarship Holder. Meeschka’s research interests include water law, local government law, environmental law, municipal finance management, public health, environmental health, and disaster risk management.

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Mikaella Bodeux

National Secretary

Mikaella Bodeux is a Senior Associate at Webber Wentzel, forming part of their Environmental team. As part of this role, Mikaella engages in various environmental and sustainability-related matters. Mikaella holds a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Laws from Rhodes University, Makhanda. She also holds a Master’s in Public International Law which she obtained from Utrecht University, the Netherlands, in 2022 with a specialization in oceans, sustainability and the environment

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Kirstin Meiring

Western Cape Representative

Kirstin Meiring is an admitted attorney of the High Court of South Africa who obtained her Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and Masters in Environmental Law (LLM) from the University of Cape Town.

She currently serves as Assistant Director: Policy & Compliance at the South African National Biodiversity Institute, where she contributes to key climate change adaptation projects and policy processes in South Africa. Her work focuses particularly on ecosystem-based adaptation and environmental legal compliance. Kirstin’s professional experience spans environmental law, biodiversity policy development, climate change adaptation, and biodiversity stewardship.

Through her roles within SANBI’s Biodiversity Information and Policy Advice Division, as well as SANBI’s Adaptation Policy and Resourcing Division, she has developed expertise in biodiversity governance and international climate finance mechanisms. Her career includes experience in both the public and private sectors. Prior to her admission as an attorney, Kirstin completed her articles at a Cape Town-based law firm specialising in environmental law, land use planning, and heritage law.

Isabella Potenza

Student Sub-Committee

Isabella Potenza is completing her undergraduate degree in Law and Geography at the University of the Witwatersrand, with the intention to begin her LLB in 2022. She is part of the Climate Justice Charter Movement and has experience in managing youth initiatives. She hopes to extend the reach of the ELA to the youth. In her legal career, she hopes to contribute to environmental law-making, with a focus on bringing social justice and public participation to the fore.

MELANDRI STEENKAMP

Rochine Melandri Steenkamp is a Researcher at the Global Environmental Law Centre (GELC) in the Faculty of Law, University of the Western Cape (UWC). Melandri holds an LLB and an LLM in Environmental Law and Governance obtained from the North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus (NWU). She graduated with her LLD (doctorate in Law), concentrating on law and governance responses to optimise water security in South African cities in 2023. The research for this degree was conducted under the auspices of the South African Research Chair in Cities, Law, and Environmental Sustainability (CLES), also based at the NWU. She teaches Environmental Law (LLB undergrad), Advanced Environmental Law, and International Environmental Law (LLM modules) at UWC. She is also responsible for undergraduate and postgraduate research supervision. Her academic research primarily revolves around exploring perspectives on urban law and governance, particularly at the intersection of environmental law, climate change, energy, biodiversity, and water law.

DR TIISETSO JOHN RANTLO

Gauteng Representative

John Rantlo (LLB, LLM, LLD) is a lecturer at the University of Pretoria, and Director of the Extractive Industries Law in Africa Unit at the University of Pretoria. He holds an LLB from the National University of Lesotho, an LLM in Environmental Law and Governance from the North-West University (NWU), and LLD from NWU. He is an admitted Advocate of the High Court of Lesotho. During his LLD studies, John served as a temporary lecturer at NWU, wherein he lectured on Administrative Law, Fundamental Rights, and Administrative Law in Law Enforcement (Policing Practice), Environmental Law and Statutory Interpretation. John’s scholarship is devoted to environmental impact assessments, climate change law, and local government law.

Nicolene Steyn

Gauteng Representative

Nicolene Renske Steyn is a post-doctoral fellow at the South African Research Chair: Cities, Law and Environmental Sustainability (CLES) where she researches the linkages between sustainability law, climate resilient development and technological advancements in the South African urban context. She obtained both her Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and Master of Laws (LLM) degrees with distinction from the North-West University. Her PhD in Law and Development concerned the realisation of the constitutional water right in South African cities through intelligent water management technologies, and she completed this research at CLES and the North-West University. Nicolene’s research interests include Environmental Law, Water Law, Climate Change and Resilience, Human Rights, Socio-Economic Rights, International Humanitarian Law, Technology and Innovation.

Ntando Ncamane

Free State Representative

Ntando Ncamane is a lecturer in the Faculty of Law at University of the Free State at the Bloemfontein Campus, where he lectures Labour Law for both undergraduate and postgraduate and supervises LLM students. He also lectures Internet and Electronic Law as well as Consumer Law. He holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree, and a Master of Laws (LLM) degree from the University of Fort Hare (UFH) and a Practical Legal Certificate (PLT) from the School of Legal Practice. He is currently enrolled for a Doctor of Laws degree (LLD) with the North West University (NWU) focusing on mineral rights, customary rights, and environmental rights.

Jenny Hall

Gauteng Representative

Jenny is an Associate Professor in international environmental law and legal skills at the University of Johannesburg. Before joining the University in 2018 she consulted for many years to a range of sectors. During this time she drafted several pieces of legislation for government including the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act, 2004 and the National Environmental Management: Waste Act, 2008. Jenny has also been intimately involved in a number of policy and strategy processes including being the project manager and lead drafter of the National Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Strategy, 2014 for the Department of Environmental Affairs. Jenny hold BA (UCT) LLB (UCT) LLM (UNISA) and PhD (UCT) degrees. The title of her PhD thesis is The impact of judicial control on the public administration of the environment: 1995 to 2007.

Bella Phore

Free State Representative

Bella is a lecturer at the University of the Free State (UFS). She is a specialist in mining law. She holds a Bproc, LLB, LLM, Certificate in Alternative Dispute Resolution (cum laude)

Vicki King

KZN Representative

Vicki has been working as an independent environmental consultant for over 28 years, during this time, she has undertaken or project managed over 300 environmental projects. She ran the Durban office of WSP for 13 years and reviewed every technical document produced in the office during this time. She set up MEC in 2006 and now undertakes predominantly review, management systems, training, facilitation, auditing and advisory work, calling on her many years experience in the field.
She has successfully compiled and carries out training courses in Sustainability, EIA and EIA review for various bodies.
She has completed her Masters in Environmental Law at the University of Natal, the research for which has provided her with a great insight into the legislative situation within the environmental profession.

Patrick Forbes

KZN Representative

Qualifications

BSc (Rhodes University)
LLB (Rhodes University)

Areas of Practice and Specialisation

Commercial & Property Litigation
Environmental Law & Planning
Administrative Law
Insurance Litigation
Professional Indemnity
Liability Claims
Medical Malpractice
Fidelity Guarantee claims

Contact Details
+27 31 570 5421

Patrick graduated from Rhodes University with a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Laws degree in 2004 and has completed his coursework towards a Master’s degree in Environmental Law at the University of KwaZulu Natal. Patrick joined Garlicke & Bousfield to serve his articles and, after being admitted as an attorney, he joined the Litigation Department as an Associate. Patrick was appointed as a Director in 2016 and specialises in insurance, property and environmental litigation. Patrick is a member of the Executive Committee of the Environmental Law Association of South Africa.

Adie Erasmus

Mpumalanga Representative

Adie is the owner of AdiEnvironmental cc (founded in 1999), based in eMalahleni (Witbank). She specialises in the coordination and compilation of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs), which includes the coordination of the public participation process and overall project management. Adie holds an M. Sc (Botany) from the University of Port Elizabeth and is a trained ecologist. She is registered as a Professional Natural Scientist (botanist and ecological scientist) and is also a Registered Environmental Assessment Practitioner (EAP) with 21 years of experience as an environmental consultant. Prior to being a consultant, Adie worked for the Mpumalanga provincial environmental department and assisted with the implementation of the first set of EIA Regulations.

Margot Slabbert

Marketing and Support

Margot holds a LL.M in International Human Rights Law (Maastricht University, Netherlands); a Postgraduate Diploma in Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS, University of the Western Cape) and a LL.M in Environmental Law (University of Cape Town). Margot’s passion is Earth Jurisprudence and Environmental Justice and she is currently volunteering for the Australian Earth Laws Alliance as well. Margot started volunteering for the ELA after presenting at the ELA Annual Student Conference in 2018.

Melanie Murcott

Chair

Dr Melanie Murcott is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Cape Town and Director | Head of Public Interest at Lawtons Africa. She bridges academia and legal practice to achieve tangible impacts for communities and ecosystems in South Africa and beyond.

She is the founder of the Socio-Ecological Justice Lab NPC, a think tank that engages in interdisciplinary research, advocacy, and litigation to transform legal and governance systems in response to climate risk, biodiversity loss, and pollution. The Lab’s work advances justice for human and more-than-human communities, fostering a low-carbon, equitable, and resilient society.

In her cutting-edge book, Transformative Environmental Constitutionalism (Brill, 2022), Melanie introduced a theoretical approach to environmental law disputes that reimagines environmental law to address interlinked injustices.

Ademola Oluborode Jegede (Phd)

Limpopo Representative

Ademola Oluborode Jegede is a Professor of Law in the Department of Public and International Law, University of Venda, and holds degrees from Obafemi Awolowo University, University of Ibadan and the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria. He has been a research visitor to the Centre for International Environmental Law, USA and Human Rights Institute at Abo Akademi (Finland). He is a member of the IUCN Academy and Commission of Environmental Law. His research focuses on the interface of climate change and biodiversity with human rights of vulnerable groups and general international human rights law.

Stewart Green

Gauteng Representative

Stewart Green is a Divisional Head for Legal Compliance at the City of Ekurhuleni (Gauteng), where he leads a team of Environmental Management Inspectors responsible for monitoring and enforcing environmental compliance in one of the most industrialised municipalities in Africa. Previously, he was the national co-ordinator for Section 30 of NEMA (environmental emergency incidents) at the DEA in Pretoria. He has worked for all three spheres of government and credits local government as being the most challenging of the three. He holds an MSc from Natal (UKZN) and an MPhil in environmental law from UCT.

Clive Vinti

Free State Representative

Clive Vinti is an evangelist at Heal the Wounds Christian Centre; Lecturer for Law at the University of the Free State (UFS), Programme Coordinator of the Postgraduate Module in Environmental law and Human Rights at the UFS Centre for Human Rights and also a PhD Candidate, at the Witwatersrand University. At UFS, Clive is responsible for teaching environmental law at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Clive’s research focuses on environmental law and international trade law and the concomitant issues that arise therein. Clive is also a member of the National Freedom Network and the Young African Leaders Initiative.

Angela van der Berg

North-West Province Representative

Angela van der Berg is the Acting Director of the Global Environmental Law Centre (GELC) at the University of the Western Cape (UWC), Faculty of Law in South Africa. She is also a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Public Law and Jurisprudence where she runs and teaches the LLM (masters) Programme in Environmental Law. Angela obtained her joint PhD in Law and Development from Tilburg University, Netherlands in 2019 and from the North- West University, South Africa in May 2020. The PhD focussed on the role of urban planning and environmental law and policy for promoting sustainable cities. From this research, Angela published several accredited peer reviewed articles and book chapters on the role of environmental- and planning law for sustainable urban development as articulated in Sustainable Development Goal 11 (Sustainable Cities). Angela’s current research relates to climate change and how government authorities (national, federal and local) can pursue more environmentally sustainable and climate resilient futures by rethinking and re- purposing existing approaches to law and governance. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8204-0679 email:

Anél du Plessis

Treasurer & Member of Secretariat

Anél du Plessis is Professor of Law and the South African Research Chair in Cities, Law and Environmental Sustainability. Her scholarship focuses on the nexus area of environmental-, local government and different aspects of human rights law, climate change law, sustainability and city governance. She is editor of the first extensive volume on South African environmental and local government law (Juta, 2015) and co-editor of “The Globalisation of Urban Governance” (Routledge, 2019). She is a rated researcher of the South African National Research Foundation (NRF), served as an elected member of the South African Young Academy of Science and is an alumnus of the scholarship programmes of the DAAD, Fulbright and Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. She is also a member of the Teaching and Capacity Building Committee of the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law.

Michael Kidd

UKZN Representative

Professor Michael Kidd lectures in various aspects of Environmental law such as Pollution Control Law, Natural Resources Law, Land Use and Planning Law, International Environmental Law and Ocean and Coastal Law. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) degree, a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree, a Master of Laws (LLM) and a PhD from the University of Natal. Kidd’s research interests include Environmental Law, Water Law and Administrative Law and he has published extensively in these fields.

Tanya Wagenaar

Eastern Cape Representative

Tanya is a full-time lecturer in the Faculty of Law at Nelson Mandela University in Port Elizabeth where she lectures Environmental Law, Intellectual Property Law, and Commercial Law. She holds an Honours degree in Human Movement Science (BA (HMS) Hons), a Bachelor of Law (LLB) degree, and a Master of Laws (LLB) degree from the University of Port Elizabeth and Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, respectively. She is currently completing her LLD focusing on the intellectual property consequences of marine bioprospecting.

Tendai Bonga

Western Cape Representative

Tendai is an environmental attorney at Webber Wentzel where he advises public and private sector clients on various environmental law matters including waste management, air quality, water rights, climate change, carbon tax, renewable energy and mining. He also provides strategic environmental legal support in respect of domestic and cross border mergers and acquisitions, listings and related transactions.

His expertise also includes dispute resolution involving the initiation and defending of administrative appeals as well as environmental litigation. He holds an LLB and LLM in Environmental & Sustainable Development Law from Wits University.

Katherine Handley

Western Cape Representative

Kate currently works as a Consultant Attorney for the specialist environmental law firm Cullinan & Associates. Kate was admitted as an attorney of the High Court in 2014. She commenced her career practicing in the fields of insolvency law and general commercial litigation, deciding to complete her LLM in Environmental Law while working for another specialist environmental law firm between 2014 and 2015. Kate also holds a BSocSci from Rhodes University and an LLB from the University of Cape Town. She advises a range of public and private sector clients on various environmental law related issues, and has been a member of the ELA Executive Committee since 2016. When she is not working, she can be found exploring the mountains and oceans of the Western Cape.

Willemien du Plessis

National Secretary (Portfolio)

Willemien du Plessis is a Professor at the Faculty of Law of the North-West University (Potchefstroom) and holds postgraduate degrees in law and environmental management. Willemien is the Director of Research and steers the Research Unit at her Faculty. She has extensively published in the area of environment and development law for many years. She has similarly been involved in various international, regional and domestic research projects involving development and environmental law. She teaches environmental law (undergraduate and postgraduate), and has been working on issues of energy law for some time. Willemien has served on the Secretariat of the ELA since 2006, is a Law Commissioner of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and a member of the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law. She has been Chairperson of the Research Committee of the Academy since 2009.

John Rantlo

North-West Regional Representative

John Rantlo is currently enrolled for LLD at the North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus (NWU). He obtained his LLB at the National University of Lesotho in 2012. He was then admitted as an Advocate of the High Court of Lesotho in 2013 and practised as such for some time. John obtained his LLM in Environmental Law and Governance at the NWU Potchefstroom Campus in 2015. His LLM dissertation focused on environmental impact assessment legislation of Lesotho, Eswatini and South Africa. From 2017 to date, John has served as an academic assistant at the Faculty of Law at NWU. Additionally, he also served as a temporary lecturer for Administrative Law, Fundamental Rights and Administrative Law in Law Enforcement (Policing Practice).

Germarié Viljoen

North-West Regional Representative

Germarié Viljoen (LLB, LLM, LLD) has previously consulted as environmental legal specialist. In 2014, Germarié joined the North West University (Faculty of Law) as legal scholar. She lectures, publishes and provides post-graduate supervision in the fields of constitutional, property and water law. Germarié is heading a research project entitled “Environmental Change” within the Faculty of Law and she serves as Assistant Editor of the Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal (PELJ). She is an alumnus of various international scholarships, which include the research and capacity building initiative of SANPAD (South Africa – Netherlands research Programme on Alternatives in Development); TraProBio; and a Global Water Partnership scholarship to undergo training on aspects of International Water Law at the University of Dundee, Scotland.

Peter Kantor

Chair

Peter Kantor is an Advocate of the High Court of South Africa practising in Cape Town. He specialised in environmental law in the 1990’s when he was a partner in a law firm handling labour and constitutional law matters. Peter is currently an executive trustee of the Cape Town Heritage Trust.

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About The ELA

Vision Of The Executive

ELA Executive Committee

Melanie Murcott

Nicola Irving

Mikaella Bodeux

Dr John Rantlo

Samantha de Villiers

Patrick Forbes

Tanya Wagenaar

Ntando Ncamane

Meeschka Diedericks

Germarié Viljoen

Ademola Oluborode Jegede

Kirstin Meiring

Melandri Steenkamp

Dr Lindani Mhlanga

Sub-Committees & Collaborators

Terysha Naicker

Susanna Coleman

Zarreen Khan

Maricélle Botes

Robin van Wyk

Gosego Mooko

Ayanda Dube

Christian Herselman

Adv Modise Shakung

Adelaide Karomo

RACHAEL SHARON CHASAKARA

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