As an eco-justice organisation that works with coastal communities to help them better protect the natural resources they depend on – as part of its Who Stole Our Oceans campaign – for The Green Connection and the small-scale fishers working with them, every day is Oceans Day. After 31 years of claiming to pay homage to this precious resource, decision-makers the world over, … [Read more...]
Public participation needed in the just transition
Earlier in this month dedicated to remembering Madiba and the principles he held dear, The Green Connection handed over the verdict statement – as deliberated by an esteemed jury, at its Oceans Tribunal in September 2021 – to the Presidential Climate Change Commission. In the spirit of Ubuntu, civil society (coastal communities especially) want to ensure that they have a say … [Read more...]
Communities speak out against Wild Coast seismic surveys
In the run-up to next week’s highly contentious court hearings to stop Shell’s seismic surveys and any further bids to explore the Wild Coast for offshore oil and gas, communities in the Eastern Cape are speaking out against traditional leaders who, at the end of April, following secret meetings with Minister Gwede Mantashe (in February 2022), agreed to support oil and gas … [Read more...]
Small-scale fishers wave goodbye to Searcher
Human Rights Month kicked off with a fresh new meaning for the small-scale fishing and indigenous communities on the West Coast, when the Western Cape High Court ruled that the ban against Searcher’s seismic blasting would remain because small-scale fishing communities on the West Coast – who would undoubtedly be affected – were not consulted. And since there are several … [Read more...]
Small-scale fishers hopeful for a court ruling to stop seismic surveys
Small-scale fishers from communities in the West Coast – joined by The Green Connection – were back in court Thursday to finally put a stop to Searcher’s seismic blasting of the west and south-west coast of South Africa. The Western Cape High Court heard arguments to decide if the ban – which took effect on 7 February when the Honourable Justice Thulare directed Searcher to … [Read more...]
Seismic court ruling another win for small-scale fishers
On Monday after “incredibly tense” court arguments, the Western Cape High Court ruled that the ban – originally issued on 7 February – on Searcher’s seismic blasting of the west and south-west coast of South Africa, stays in place. Foreign companies Searcher Geodata UK Limited and Searcher Seismic (Australia) challenged the earlier interim order directing it to discontinue … [Read more...]
Court blocks Searcher seismic blasting, for now
On Monday afternoon, small-scale fishers from the West Coast and beyond breathed a sigh of relief when the Honourable Justice Thulare directed Searcher to discontinue any activities related to the seismic survey. This followed a nail biting few weeks since Searcher Geodata UK Limited commenced its seismic blasting operations in late January. The interim interdict has been … [Read more...]
Civil society fights West Coast seismic survey in court
Yesterday, less than a month after the successful court action that stopped Shell’s attempts at seismic surveys on the Wild Coast, in its search for oil and gas in South Africa’s oceans, small-scale fishers – with the support of The Green Connection – head back to court, this time to protect the West Coast. In its Confirming Affidavit against the Minister in the Department … [Read more...]
Stop the imminent seismic survey off the Western Cape coast
Civil society movement We Are South Africans has begun the process to seek an interdict to stop Australian company Seismic Searcher from its 2D/3D seismic survey, planned to commence off the Western Cape coast on 15 January. A Reconnaissance Permit in terms of Section 74 of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (No. 28 of 2002) was granted by the Petroleum … [Read more...]
Dispelling Wild Coast seismic blasting misconceptions
Many of us remember being told by our elders when we were young to hold a shell to our ears to hear the ocean, no matter how far you were from a seashore. Later on one learns that it is the reverberant air moving inside the hard, curved inner surfaces of a shell’s cavity, which produces the coincidental, pleasant sound similar to waves on a shore. Interestingly the … [Read more...]
