ONO Campaign gains Traction

South Arican National Alternative Mining Indaba

Oceans Not Oil affiliates took the urgent message of the environmental and socio-economic risks of fracking and offshore oil and gas development into the SA National Alternative Mining Indaba for the first time this week and now has delegates on the steering committee. On the 4-6th Feb ONO will again present at the 10th Alternative Mining Indaba in Cape Town to an international audience.

This is the proclamation made by the Offshore Oil and Gas delegation:

The SANAMI recognizes that the threats caused by socially and environmentally irresponsible mineral exploitation are extended into the ocean domain. SANAMI opposes hydrocarbon and mineral extraction, which inflicts destruction upon the ocean environment and bioweb, compromising our shared environment. Fossil fuel extraction is not ecologically sustainable. The mining affected communities object to the fact that oil and gas Licence Blocks, for both land and sea, were allocated without public consultation. Our ultimate objective is the end of seismic exploration and oil and gas extraction off our coastline, inspiring South African policy makers to build an economy beyond oil and deal with climate change vulnerability that is the legacy of oil. 

While we work towards this goal we will lobby progressive members of parliament to advance a private member’s bill to close the gaps left open by the repealing of the reconnaissance legislation.We demand the reinstatement of oil and gas reconnaissance legislation, namely the full and proper EIA process for seismic surveys. Public participation processes in the extractive sector to date have been significantlyundemocratic with no respect given to ethno-diversity. We welcome the High Court ruling on the Xolobeni case confirming the right for Free Prior Informed Consent and we call on government to respect the right of communities to grant or withhold consent to extractive industry projects and insist on the implementation of this provision in legislation.

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