The Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency (ECPTA) and environmental groups have welcomed the withdrawal of the Transworld Energy and Mineral Resources’ (TEMR) mining rights at Xolobeni on the Pondoland Coast in the Eastern Cape, by Mineral Resources Minister, Susan Shabangu.
The mining of Xolobeni has been the source of controversy since 2008, when it emerged that the Australian company had been granted rights to strip-mine a 22km stretch of the Wild Coast, despite concerns over the initial consultation process and environmental concerns.
While the decision has been widely welcomed, the Department of Mineral Resources has allowed 90 days for the submission of outstanding information, after which a final decision will be made.
Says Sybert Liebenberg, interim CEO of ECPTA: “We are cautiously optimistic about the new direction that the Department of Mineral Resources is taking, as this is an important step forward in securing the unique biodiversity of the area. The Pondoland is an area of high global conservation importance and the proposed mining was threatening to derail conservation and ecotourism efforts in the region.”
Minister Shabangu said the right had been granted when there were still outstanding environmental issues that had been raised by the regional manager of the Eastern Cape region in June 2008 and that Transworld should address those concerns and send the information to the regional manager within 90 days.
Adds Liebenberg: “The Xolobeni mining saga has caused a lot of insecurity and division amongst communities and other stakeholders, which has made it extremely difficult to move forward with conservation and ecotourism efforts. However, we are optimistic that the Minister will stick to her decision.”
Grzegorz Pawlowski, a social worker from the area and founder of the ‘Stop mining of the Xolobeni beaches in the Transkei' Facebook group said: “The decision of Minister Shabangu closes a very long and frustrating chapter in the quest of the Amadiba residents for sustainable livelihoods. To put it colloquially, a large and aggressive dog has been removed from the manger that it has occupied over the past three years, obstructing the local residents from pursuing sustainable livelihoods from nature- and heritage-based eco-tourism.”
The ECPTA says it will step up efforts to secure the conservation status of the area through the Wild Coast Project. The project is funded by the Global Environment Facility through the United Nations Development Programme and aims to develop a representative system of conservation areas in priority bioregions, which are effectively managed and contribute to sustainable development.
