2.7. PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION

One of the weakest points in the legal regime of environmental protection is its enforcement mechanisms. Remedies provided by the common law torts of negligence, nuisance and the rule in Rylands v. Fletcher are only enforceable by an individual claiming damages for infringement of private property.

The environmentally-related laws discussed in this handbook cover virtually all elements of the environment. The problem is that because these laws are mostly criminal in nature, they can only be enforced through issuance of administrative orders or criminal prosecution by the law enforcement arm of the government, the Director of Public Prosecutions. Unfortunately, in Tanzania, as elsewhere, there is often lack of adequate manpower, skill, equipment, finances and sometimes the political will to establish a violation and take action. This has been compounded by lack of legal obligations on the agencies to prosecute violators of environmental laws.

It is these problems which have led to a call for every private citizen to be given mandate to prosecute any environmental violations wherever they occur, regardless of whether he/she has suffered any personal loss or not. Two justifications are advanced for giving every one locus stand in environmental litigation. The first has already been mentioned - namely the inability of the state alone to police environmental violators. The second is that an unhealthy environment is a threat to life, liberty and security of persons and therefore everyone has a stake in maintaining a clean and healthy environment. This then gives a standing to bring actions to ensure observance of environmental standards. So far, Tanzania has not enacted a law giving standing to every citizen in environmental protection litigation. However if the above argument is correct, it can be said that the right is implied in the provisions of the Bill of Rights of the Constitution, which guarantee the right to life as well as those which require the natural resources of Tanzania to be used equitably and to the benefit of the population.