During the processing of the Amendment Bill three major issues relevant to the implementation and subject matter of the Amendment Bill became apparent, which aspects are hereby recorded for future action by the Department: (a) Sea mining: It is noted by the Portfolio Committee that this Amendment Bill does not deal with the important issue of sea and seabed mineral and resource exploration and exploitation. There is currently a gap in the environmental legislative framework as regards specific legislation relating to seabed exploration and exploitation. The National Environmental Management Act, No. 107 of 1998 (NEMA), does contain provisions which will cover certain aspects of sea mining, including the environmental impact assessment regulations and general duty of care, which can be applied to sea mining. There is, however, no specific provisions in the Amendment Bill or other specific environmental management acts which directly relate to sea mining. It is noted that the Department is in the process of developing an Oceans Policy, which does discuss the impacts and need for monitoring of mining in the sea, but there is no legislation which adequately regulates this aspect and it is therefore essential that once this policy process is concluded, appropriate legislation is introduced to create an environmental framework to regulate and monitor this activity.