Protests, 9th December 2023
Link to find out how to submit an appeal against the CGG Seismic Survey.

CAPE:
Cape Town Activations
Venue: Muizenberg Beach
Time: 10:00 – 12:00
Contact: Gabriel on 0793068871 [African Climate Alliance & Project 90×2023]
Isabelle Joubert on 0823879016 [EXR]
Stephen Maciko on 0784253215 [Right To Know]
Lydia Peterson 0613489941 [SAFCEI]
Sarah Robyn Farrell 083 409 5557 [Fossil Free SA & African Climate African]
Maria Welcome 082 936 9199 [Green Connection ]

Port St Johns Activations
Venue: Mngazi Beach
Time: 10:00 – 13:00
+
Venue: Mpande beach
Time: 10:00 – 13:00
Contact: Ntsindiso Nongcavu on 072 073 6228 [Eastern Cape Coastal Links]

Gqeberha Activations
Venue: New Brighton Beach
Time: 9:00 – 11:00

Cape St Francis Activations
Venue: Cape St Francis Beach
Time: 9:00 – 11:00
Contact:Juliette on 0836564319

Saldanha Activations
Venue: Pepperbay Harbour
Time: 10:00 – 12:00

Chintsa East Activations
Venue: Main Beach
Time: 10:30
Contact: Lisa Cloeta on 0840677149

Knysna Activations
Venue: Opposite Shell Garage
44 Main Street
Time: 12:00 – 14:00
Contact: Barend on 0617237302

Hamburg [Eastern Cape]Activations
Venue: Siyaphambili SSF co-op and Siyazama co-op
Time: 10:00 -12:00
Contact: Ayanda Yekani on 0781525982 or Irna on 0839516119

Plettenberg Bay Activations
Venue: Central Beach
Info stand at Ocean Awareness Day
Time: 9:00 – 16:00
Group photo at 13:00
Contact: Julie Carlisle on 0823222209 [ Plett Community and Environmental Forum , Green Connection & The UPliftment Programme]

Kenton-on-Sea Activations
Venue: Middle Beach, Moeg Gesukkel Small Scale Fishers Co-op
Time: 10:00 – 12:00
Contact: Melisa Pullen 0833938670 / Taryn Pereira 0822936380

Port Nolloth Activations
Venue: Port Nolloth
Time:10:00 – 12:00
Contact: Walter Steenkamp on 0840875199

Port Alfred activations
Venue: Port Alfred Marina
Time: 10:00 – 12:00
Contact: Jo Styles on 0844074067 or Irna on 0839516119

Paternoster Activations
Venue: Meet outside the winkle op Paternoster
St Augustine Road
Time: 10:00 – 11:00

Sedgefield Activations
Venue: Wild Oats Market
Time:7:30 – 11:00
Contact: Nikki Jackman Joy on 0837007947

Gansbaai/De Kelders Activations
Meet in the parking lot in front of the
Whale Cove apartments
Cliff St, De Kelders, Gansbaai
10:00-11:00
Contacts: Jessica Smit 071 318 0079 or Hannah Snyman 074 122 8151

Langebaan & St Helena Bay Activations
Venue: Pepper Bay Harbour
Time: 10:00
Contact: Solene Smith on 071 774 8838 [Coastal Links]/Cilla Small-scale fisher on 073 994 8156

Vleesbaai Activation
Venue: Main Beach
Time: 9:00
Contact: Erich on 0820842791

Hermanus Activation
Venue: Meet at Whale Tail Fountain
Marine Drive
Time: 13:00 – 14:00

Lutzville Activations
Time: 9:30

Jeffreys Bay Activations
Venue: Main beach – meet at life guard tower
Time: 9:00 – 10:00

KZN:
Durban Beach Walk
Venue: Suncoast Beach to Amphitheatre
Time: Starts at 9:00 – 13:00
Contact: Desiree on 0658502722

Mtwalume Activations
Venue: Mfazazane Beach
Time: 10:00- 12:00
Contact: Bangiswa on 0780580422 [Mnafu fishing co-operative]

Mtunzini Activations
Venue: Main Beach
Time: 9:00
Contact: Claire Campbell on 0727178806

Mgababa Activations
Venue: Mgababa Beach
Time: 10:00 – 12:00
Contact: Lisa on 0715275751

South Port Activations
Venue: South Port Beach
Tme: 10:00 – 12:00

ALTERNATIVE DATE ACTIVATIONS
GAUTENG:
Joburg/Pretoria
Venue: Banners on Bridges
Time: 8 Dec from 6:30
Contact: Uncial Haupt on 0824973712

EASTERN CAPE
Nqamakwe activations
Venue: Sihlabeni Village
Silent Protest in support of communities against offshore oil +gas
Time: 12 Dec at 10:00
Contact: Abanebhongo Persons with Disabilities

These events are supported by: Plett Community and Environmental Forum; Green Connection; Oceans Not Oil; Algoa Bay Ocean Stewards; Extinction Rebellion; Greenpeace Africa; Save the Wild Coast; African Climate Alliance; Climate Justice Charter Movement; Fossil Free SA; Eastern Cape Environmental Network; Masifundise; Coastal Links South Africa; Eden to Addo Corridor Initiative; Nature’s Valley Trust; Tsitsikamma Fishers Forum; WESSA Algoa Bay & Eden Branches; 7784 Performers Youth Development; Robberg Coastal Corridor; The Green Net; Sustaining the Wild Coast NPC; The UPliftment Programme, Kowie Small Scale Fishers Co-op and Marselle Small Scale Fishers Co-op; Abanebhongo Persons with Disabilities & local citizen movements

POSTERS for EVENTS

OBJECT to 10 OIL WELLS + PIPELINES offshore of GARDEN ROUTE Petition

Please sign the petition for the TotalEnergies/ TEEPSA 11B/12B drilling application ( see details below.

TotalEnergies, along with its joint-venture partners[1], want authorisation to drill 10 offshore oil wells, and construct, using explosives, 109kms of subsea pipelines, in an extremely biodiverse and unique marine area, surrounded by multiple Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). TotalEnergies intend extending the operational life of the ageing F-A Oil Platform. Offshore Block 11B/12B is an area of 12000 km2 off the coast of the magnificent, touristic Garden Route.

Please sign this petition appealing to the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy and Minister of Environment, Barbara Creecy, not to authorise this Block 11B/12B project, because the risks to a marine, one-of-its-kind critical biodiversity region, subsistence and commercial fisheries, and the communities of Knysna, George and other touristic Garden Route towns are too high.

There is a very real risk of displacement of marine animals from feeding or breeding areas which could have far reaching effects not only for whole, and vulnerable, animal populations, but also on the fishing sector and our food security.

This is what is at stake:

1.     Threatened species: Critically Endangered blue whale, Endangered sei whale and Indian Ocean humpback dolphin, Bryde’s, sperm whales. leatherback, loggerhead and green turtles, plus Endangered African penguin; southern bluefin tuna, bigeye tuna, blue marlin, endangered Cape Gannet, Cape Cormorant, Indian yellow-nosed albatross and Atlantic yellow-nosed albatross, Vulnerable Spectacled petrel, Leach’s storm petrel. Of the 40 shark and rays species expected to occur in the area, most of which are threatened and no less than 20 species (half) are endemic to southern Africa.
2. There are 6 Marine Protected Areas near where they want to drill and their pipeline will smash through a unique Critical Biodiversity Area.
3. The F-A Platform was installed in the late 1980’s, and given the metocean conditions of its site, it has likely outlived the 25-year design lifeof most rigs. It is now proposed that it continue functioning in ever more extreme conditions for another 27 years. Older structures are more prone to accidents, especially fires, and are more dangerous for workers and the environment.  
   
   TotalEnergies has not responded to Oceans Not Oil’s request for an explanation for the leak of the existing offshore pipeline and the extent of environmental contamination, in the PetroSA condensate pipeline running from the offshore FA platform to the GTL refinery in Mossel Bay, 2022.  
4. Consequences of ablowout, or accidental release (which happen as a matter of course during offshore operations) to marine and coastal ecosystems, tourism, fisheries and recreational industries will be devastating.
5. Curtailing emissions from oil and gas operations must be a first-order priority to stop global warming and extreme climate events. Block 11B/12B project duration will likely span over 30 years. Last minute oil and gas production ambitions risk inconsistency with the South Africa’s binding carbon budget peak-plateau-decline emissions trajectory, pushing peaking well past Net Zero in 2050.

There is very clear jeopardy to the extremely biodiverse marine ecology, fisheries, tourism, recreation and hospitality industries. Let’s stop the pollution, the toxic wastes, the noise and cumulative effects that this project will bring to a delicate, busy marine area unlike any other. We do not want the devastation by an oiled coastline.Please share this. 

We need your urgent action as follows:

1.    Sign this petition to support our call on our Ministers not to grant this exploration right, and focus on developing renewable energy.

2.    In addition to signing the petition we are asking that you urgently submit objections.Any RSA citizen can become an Interested & Affected party – the ocean is our commons.

Address The Objections To:

WhatsApp (text messages only): 076 694 3842

Email: gld.teepsaesia@wsp.com

Tel: +27 (0) 11 254 4800

The more objections, the better! Our voices can make a difference to show our government that we demand that oil and gas operations stop and that renewable energy jobs and climate justice start. 
 
·       [1] TEEPSA(Total Energies Exploration and Production South Africa )– 45% ; Canadian Natural Resources International (South Africa) Limited – 20% ; QatarEnergy International E&P LLC – 25% & Africa Energies via Main Street 1549 – 10%

Niger Delta Command Book Launch

The author, Barry Wugale, first joined the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) under Saro-Wiwa when he was only 18 years of age. He fled to Benin Republic in the late 90s and subsequently became the spokesperson for over 2000 Ogoni activists. He escaped to South Africa after several attempts to eliminate him or rendition him to Nigeria.

The “Niger Delta Command”, a work of fiction will be launched at Bertha House in Mowbray, Cape Town on Wednesday the 23rd of November 2022 at 5pm. The book is based on the struggle of the Ogoni people, an ethnic minority, against Shell and the Nigerian government. The book is specifically crafted around the ideology of Ken Saro-Wiwa who was hanged with 8 of his comrades by the Abacha regime on the 10th of November 1995.

While the Niger Delta Command is a pure work of fiction, his experience in the struggle and close working relationship with the leadership of the Ogoni movement inspires this 31-chapter compelling story. Niger Delta Command is set in Bukhana, the original name of the indigenous Ogoni people, and holistically draws on the characteristics of their culture. The book also mirrors the fact that the Ogoni are one of Nigeria’s minority tribes whose lands are richly endowed with crude oil. This region, comprised of only 1000 square kilometers in size with a population of 832 000 people, has been ravaged by Shell and its partners since crude oil was first discovered there in 1958.

The book launch will be used to reflect on the state of the Niger Delta region 27 years after the gruesome murder of Ken Saro-Wiwa and his colleagues. Included on the panel, will be Prof. Isioma Ile, who is not only from the region, but also a niece of renowned Professor Claude Ake, a close associate of Ken Saro-Wiwa who was also assassinated by Sani Abacha’s regime. Prof. Ile and Wugale will be joined by Janet Solomon, a PhD candidate, has been researching and working on a documentary on the attempt by Shell to explore the Wild Coast of South Africa. She has been recently working on the links between the Ogonis and fishing communities along the South African coast.

Another highlight of the evening will be the debut screening of “Searching Serenity”, a short film (26mins) by Ndume Green, a prominent environmental journalist and CEO of Ogoni TV. This documentary recounts the story of the impact of Shell in Ogoni. Both the “Niger Delta Command” and “Searching Serenity” synchronise on the excesses of Shell and its joint-venture partners In Ogoniland which enabled them to extract 900 million barrels of crude oil over 33 years but left a cocktail of environmental hazards that encroached on farm lands and impoverished communities. The evening’s programme will recall the international outpouring of anger and shock in 1995 when the Nigerian military, sponsored by Shell, responded to peaceful Ogoni protest with lethal force that eventually resulted in the gruesome murders of Ken Saro-Wiwa and his comrades.

This painful history forms the backdrop to the beautiful stories woven into “Niger Delta Command”
by Wugale.

TotalEcocide – NO LIVES FOR OIL! Join the Resistance. We are marching in protest on Friday 11 November 2022. Starting 08:30am at Suncoast Promenade (KwaZulu-Natal) marching to Wedge Beach.

Oceans Not Oil (ONO), Climate Justice Charter Movement (CJCM) and Greenpeace Durban Local Group will be dovetailing with SDCEA during COP27 to raise awareness about the inundation of offshore oil and gas exploration we are currently facing. We are marching against the ecocidal licensing of fossil fuel extraction in South Africa. The increasing use of oil, coal and gas is exacerbating the climate ecological rift, and intensifying the pressure on our already vulnerable ocean ecosystem, communities, and our bid for Global Climate Justice.This will be a large march and we welcome all to join and help swell our ranks. We also challenge everyone to initiate their own coastal protest actions between the 11th and 20th of November to further raise awareness around this burning issue. ONO will is sharing posters on social media that target Total because of their recent influx of applications to drill and survey, although all previous posters ( To Hell with Shel etcl) are still relevant. Bring banners and promote on social media.

We encourage you to send your comments to Teepsa.

Have your say about Total’s intention to drill.

Bring your Friends, Banners & Flags. Download the link below for #OceansNotOil posters. (Poster can be scaled to any size for print)

The Festival of Alternatives Programme

Africa is extremely vulnerable and ill prepared

Rich industrialised countries in the global north were responsible for about two thirds of historic greenhouse gas emissions that brought this climate shift about. Climate extremes intensified climate apartheid in numerous countries in the global south and specifically Africa. According to the Climate Resilience Index (2022) all assessed nations in Africa were classified as lower resilient countries.

Africa’s climate related shocks:

• About 40 million people faced hunger in Southern Africa during the El Nino induced drought between 2015-2017;
• Cyclones Idai and Kenneth in 2019 devastated Mozambique, Malawi and eastern Zimbabwe. In Mozambique alone 2.2 million needed emergency assistance;
• A deadly flood in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, in April, killed almost 500 people and caused more than R17 billion in infrastructure damage;
• Flooding at the start of Nigeria’s rainy season in 2022 impacted about 43 000 people, with the elderly, women and children bearing the brunt of displacement;
• A four-year drought in the Horn of Africa, together with several conflicts, has resulted in almost 22 million facing starvation in 2022.

South Africa should have been trail blazing in terms of systemic adaptation and decarbonisation

The ANC government has not learned any lessons from these climate extremes and has not placed South Africa on deep just transition trajectory. Instead, it has had a discursive approach to climate policy and multilateral negotiations, for almost three decades, while continuing to support, and expand, a carbon-based minerals-energy complex.

According to the World Meteorological Organisation by 2030 it is estimated up to 118 million poor African’s will be exposed to floods, droughts and extreme heat. Gender inequalities will be exacerbated, and children will face serious risks. Climate apartheid is poised to intensify in Africa as African’s become expendable to Western countries and the wealthy on our planet responsible for the climate crisis.

South Africa is the twelfth highest carbon emitter in the world with the intensive use of coal since the late nineteenth century. Not the WHOLE country but only the top 10% put SA into such an extreme coal dependency that not only historically, but day-to-day SA ranks third most fossil-addicted economy per person (i.e. 500 megatonnes CO2-e emissions, per $345 billion in GDP, per 60 million people) among countries of 10 million or more. Third highest behind the Kazakhstan and Czech Republic.

Read more about the Climate Justice Charter Movement strategic perspectives to accelerate and deepen the just transition.

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NO SEISMIC BLASTING ALONG OUR COASTLINE! Join us in saying NO to Searcher Seismic at their “public participation” events. 25 July 2022 – 30 July 2022

Join us in saying NO to Searcher Seismic at their “public participation” events. Bring banners, placards and your friends. We need all hands on deck.

NOTIFICATION REGARDING OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORISATION APPLICATION PROCESS FOR THE PROPOSED SEARCHER SEISMIC SURVEY BASIC ASSESSMENT PROJECT LOCATED OFFSHORE EXTENDING FROM APPROXIMATELY 256KM OFFSHORE OF ST HELENA BAY TO 220KM OFFSHORE OF HONDEKLIP BAY, OFF THE WEST COAST, SOUTH AFRICA

Public Meetings
• Hout Bay Public Library, Monday 25 July 2022 at 16:00 – 18:00

• Cape Town Sea Point Civic Centre, Tuesday 26 July 2022 at 16:00 – 18:00

• Saldanha Hoedjies Bay Hotel, Wednesday 27 July* 2022 at 16:00 – 18:00

• Lamberts Bay Community Hall, Thursday 28 July 2022 at 16:00 – 18:00

• Hondeklip Bay Eric Baker Hall, Friday 29 July 2022 at 17:00 – 19:00

• Port Nolloth Municipal Hall, Saturday 30 July 2022 at 10:00 – 12:00

Check out our events page for more details on the public participation events near you. Link: https://facebook.com/oceansnotoilSouthAfrica/events/

For further information please do not hesitate to contact Environmental Impact Management Services (Pty) Ltd at the details below:

Contact Person: Qaphela Magaqa

EIMS Reference Number: 1518

Postal Address: P.O. Box 2083; Pinegowrie; 2123

Telephone: (011) 789 7170/ Fax: (086) 571 9047

E-mail: searcher@eims.co.za

Please include the project reference number 1518 in all correspondence

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MASS ACTION against IMPACT & SHELL over WILD COAST seismic blasting
Boycotts, March + Protests, 27 May 2022 – 1 June 2022

27 May

9am – 11 am
Beaufort West
Total Garage – Warren 060 3654700

28 May

8am
St Helena Bay Beach – Priscilla 073 9948156

9am – 2pm
Xolobeni
Mnyameni Beach- Nonhle 073 4262955

11am
Cape Town
Southern Sun Waterfront
1 Lower Buitengracht St – Liziwe 082 7315643

11am – 1pm
Knysna
Kathy’s Park – Fredericks 071 5275751

12pm – 2 pm
Gqeberha
New Brighton beach – Vuyiseka 082 2553503

12pm 
Sodwana
Mabibi Beach – Sikhulile 066 3969264

2pm
Port Nolloth Beach – Walter 084 0875199

30 May 

8am 
Gqeberha
March to High Court
Meet at Donkin Reserve
Walk down Athol Fugard Terrace, right into Bird Street – Bulelwa 063 1199060

8:30am
Durban Venues:

• SAPREF (Prospecton) – Mvuzo 078 391 7335 (mvuzo@sdceango.co.za)
• Beachfront (North Beach) – Cassandra 082 710 8320 (cassandra@sdceango.co.za
• Various Shell Garages in Durban and surrounds – Desiree – 065 850 2722
• Mthunzini / Richards Bay – Tanica – 074 827 7550 (tanica@sdceango.co.za
• Amanzimtoti – JP – 082 561 5321

30 May – 1 June 

Gqeberha (PE), 
Protest Outside Court House
Bird Street.

Environmental activists and concerned citizens will gather at the Southern Sun Waterfront, 1 Lower Buitengracht St, on Saturday, 28 May, at 11am, to protest against Shell and its black economic empowerment partner (BEE) Impact Africa Ltd’s planned seismic survey off our Wild Coast.

The protest is taking place at the Southern Sun because its majority shareholder Hosken Consolidated Investments (HCI) owns 49% in UK-based private oil and gas firm Impact Oil and Gas, which in turn holds a 50% stake in the Wild Coast offshore blocks through its subsidiary Impact Africa Ltd. The remaining 50% stake is owned by Shell.

From 30 May to 1 June, the South African High Court will deliberate whether to permanently revoke the right of Shell and Impact Africa to explore for oil and gas off the Wild Coast. This comes after the court on 28 December 2021 ordered them to halt their seismic survey in one of South Africa’s biodiversity hotspots.

The ruling in December was a major victory for South African environmental activists and small-scale fishing communities. The judge found that the firms had failed to undertake meaningful public consultation or an adequate environmental impact assessment. He ruled that there was a real threat of irreparable harm to marine life and a negative impact on small-scale fishers’ livelihoods.

But the court interdict is only temporary – the oil firms still have the licence to explore and exploit our beautifully pristine Wild Coast, which is home to many endangered and protected marine species as well as four Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).

A growing body of scientific evidence has shown that seismic surveys can cause immediate and long-term harm to marine mammals such as whales and dolphins, which rely on sound to navigate, communicate, feed and breed. It also kills plankton, which forms the basis of the food chain on which all marine life depends. So unsurprisingly, seismic surveys have been linked to decreased sightings of marine life and lower commercial fishing catch rates.

ANC politicians argue that finding gas resources off-shore will ensure energy security, create jobs and boost the economy. But the truth is that the ANC government is deeply vested in Shell’s planned survey and exploration. Its investment arm, the Batho Batho Trust, owns a 47% stake in the Thebe Investment Corporation, which in turn owns 28% of Shell Downstream SA.

A R2 million donation to Cyril Ramaphosa’s CR17 presidential campaign by HCI’s CEO Johnny Copelyn, who also is a non-executive chairman of Impact Oil and Gas, represents another conflict of interest.

Currently, almost the entire area of South Africa’s offshore territory is under lease for oil and gas exploration. But while the South African government’s Operation Phakisa is pushing ever harder to secure domestic gas supplies, the country’s main trading partners are moving away from fossil fuels. Soon South Africa will face economic penalties from Western economies in the form of carbon border taxes, which will make its exports uncompetitive. In May 2021, the International Energy Agency (IEA) concluded that fossil fuel exploration must end and that no new natural gas fields were needed beyond those already under development.

Impact and Shell say that their offshore exploration and extraction activities will create permanent employment opportunities for South African citizens. But this is an empty promise – most of the profits will be syphoned off by foreign investors, leaving Wild Coast residents with a ruined marine ecosystem and even fewer jobs.

The government’s free licence to oil and gas firms to exploit our oceans undermines its Paris climate agreement commitments. It also contradicts its pledge at the UN Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow to accelerate its transition to a low-carbon economy in return for R131bn ($8.5bn) in climate funding.

South Africa is warming twice as fast as the global average. If the government – and our energy minister Gwede Mantashe – really were committed to a Just Energy Transition, they would encourage renewables uptake rather than increase South Africa’s reliance on fossil fuels.

Impact Oil’s major shareholder HCI and Copelyn know that the burning of fossil fuels extracted from South Africa’s oceans will harm the country’s tourism industry and environment, and accelerate climate change, which threatens the planet and humanity’s very survival.

KwaZulu-Natal and the tourist city of Durban’s devastating floods in April, in which nearly 500 died and more than 40,000 were left homeless, was a stark warning of the catastrophic consequences of climate change that South Africa faces if we refuse to wean ourselves off fossil fuels.

We call on Copelyn as a former labour union general secretary to heed the plight of the poor and the working class by committing to help shift South Africa to a Just Energy Transition, which will empower grassroots communities through the creation of green jobs and access to renewable energy.

At the start of this week, Shell consultant Caroline Dennett resigned from Shell in a dramatic, public outing of “Shell’s double talk on climate” and “the extreme harms” that its continued oil and gas extraction will have on the environment. We call on Copelyn to emulate Caroline’s courage and abandon plans to plunder the Wild Coast Ocean for profit.

The very next day, the Shell shareholder AGM was disrupted by activists in London for two hours. Fossil fuel firms increasingly face the wrath of ordinary citizens worldwide over their corporate greed and environmental destruction.

We stand with these and other activists to call for an end to fossil fuel extraction. We urge Cyril Ramaphosa, Gwede Mantashe and Johnny Copelyn to heed the words of the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, on 4 April 2022.

“Climate activists are sometimes depicted as dangerous radicals. But, the truly dangerous radicals are the countries that are increasing the production of fossil fuels.”

SUPPORTING ORGANISATIONS:

– African Climate Alliance
– Eastern Cape Environmental Network
– Extinction Rebellion
– Green Connection
– Greenpeace Cape Town Volunteers
– Greenpeace Durban
– Oceaneers
– Oceans Not Oil
– South Durban Community Environmental Alliance
– Sustaining The Wild Coast

Elaine Mills (Greenpeace Cape Town Volunteers): +27 66 485 9785
Cassi Goodman (Extinction Rebellion Cape Town): +27 83 276 7596
Janet Solomon (Oceans Not Oil): +27 789 1067
Sinegugu Zukulu (Sustaining The Wild Coast): +72 428 5109
Margie Pretorius Sustaining (Sustaining The Wild Coast): +82 873 9053

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Join the Global Coastline Rebellion!
Resist Gas and Oil – Paddle Out. Sunday, 10:00 6 Feb 2022

Eastern Cape:

Gqeberha – Kings Beach

Jeffrey-s Bay – Main Beach

Nahoon Corner

Chintsa East Beach

Western Cape:

Strand – Pipe

Muizenberg – Surfers Corners

Big Bay Main Beach

Mossel Bay – Dias Beach

KZN 4th 8:00:

Cuttings Beach

Oceans Not Oil National coastal protest 4- 6 Feb 2022

Once again ordinary South Africans are coming out in their numbers all over the coastline in solidarity with a growing network of affected small-scale fishers and indigenous communities, environmental justice organisations, ocean and climate activists to demand the halting of oil and gas development in our oceans.

On Monday (7^th Feb) the application to halt the West Coast seismic survey by Searcher Geodata UK Limited (Searcher) will be heard in the Cape Town High Court. Their permit area is enormous, encompassing 297 089 km² located offshore between the South African/Namibian border and Cape Agulhas. The west coast fishing communities have contested the way in which the permit was issued by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy and the Petroleum Agency of South Africa, saying that they were not consulted and have a deep, vested interest in preserving the natural environment of the west coast, which is the source of their livelihoods.

The Shell survey, and now the Searcher survey, required no Environmental Authorisation when applying for a Reconnaissance Permit when they were submitted. Both applications have simply produced an Environmental Management Plan (EMP). Searcher has applied for a Reconnaissance Permit in terms of Section 74, specifically, of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (No. 28 of 2002) (MPRDA) thus differing importantly in that they do not have to do a full EIA in terms of National Environmental Management Act for their permit. 

Marine scientists Drs. Jean Harris, Jennifer Olbers and Kendyl Wright state in their report, ”Of specific concern is the impact on humpback whales and southern right whales which are still frequenting the west coast during the summer months (December – February), the impact on critically endangered (leatherback) turtles (migration routes in the area), the critically endangered African Penguin (changes in foraging behaviour and impacts on fitness) and the Cape fur seal (and consideration of current mass die-offs). Recent literature provides credible concern about ecosystem/food-chain impacts of seismic surveys, that may in turn have impact on fisheries, the severity and localisation of which will depend on coincidences with spawning and juvenile recruitment events.”

To begin development of offshore gas development at this stage of global warming makes the fundamental assumption that planetary tipping points and accelerating climatic events will wait, while South Africa adds gas to its reliance on coal, and that their consequential greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions will be benign. Given the existential issues at play that cannot be easily undone, and the enormous risk to ocean life that is already deeply compromised by ocean warming, acidification and deoxygenation, and that customary rights, heritage and livelihoods are becoming collateral damage, we are demanding an end to government’s push for oil and gas.

This ecological crisis demands ingenuity and imagination that only thinks with earth systems, replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, tidal, gravity and wave energy, hydroelectric, biomass and geothermal power. To get caught in the loop of using what gas reserves we have simply locks another fossil fuel in to our emissions trajectory. Like asbestos, fossil gas is a resource that climate science insists must stay underground.

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Snoek
Not ‘Searcher’ Seismic Blasting
Protest! – Sunday, 10:00 23 Jan 2022.
JOIN THE RESISTANCE. Stop West Coast offshore-gas Searcher Geodata UK Ltd Seismic Survey!

More than 18 Biodiversity areas will potentially be impacted. Protect our vulnerable fishing communities. Join the Protest.
10:00, 23 January 2022, at the following venues:

KZN:
– Durban Suncoast Casino Beach
– Umhloti Beach
– Cuttings Beach
– Anstey’s Beach
– Umkomaas Beach
– Mtunzini, Exit 283, Fairbreeze

Western Cape:
– Muizenberg Beach – expecting extreme heat wave – may be postponed. Pls watch social media.
– Saldanha, Multi Purpose Centre ( will start at 9:00 before Gas Amendment Bill Hearing)

Eastern Cape:
-Brighton Beach, Gqeberha

Bring your posters and banners!

Covid-19 Restrictions Apply. Please wear a mask and keep social distance.
For further event information: info@oceansnotoil.org
For more information on the collective spirit of defiance against RSA offshore oil
and gas: https://oceansnotoil.org/blog/

Poster ideas from Kerry, available for download:

Slogan and poster ideas care of affiliate Coastal Justice Network:

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Picket Shell Headquarters London – Saturday, 4 Dec 2021. STOP SHELL DESTROYING MARINE LIFE OFF THE WILD COAST, SOUTH AFRICA!

Meet Jubilee Park and Garden, Belvedere Road, South Bank (near Waterloo)

Organised by the Marikana Solidarity Collective. Sponsored by Anti-Imperialists for Global Justice, Women of Colour – Global Women’s Strike, and others. Email: mambushlives@gmail.com

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Take Action with us! Join the Nationwide Protests – Sunday, 5 December 2021. 

We OBJECT TO SHELL & CGG on South African coast! 

We will take to the Beaches in Protest! Sunday, 5 Dec 10:00am, Eastern Cape, KZN, Western Cape, Western seaboard and Johannesburg. The Beach Protest will be documented by our aviation warriors who will be flying overhead recording this massive nationwide outcry.

Location details below. Contact the WhatsApp number provided for any queries. Continue to check this page for event updates

Bring your posters and banners in protest! Stop Shell’s OFFSHORE EXPLORATION in seas 20kms off the Wild Coast, Eastern Cape. Shell plans to blast the Wild Coast during whale and hammerhead migration season. Object and make your voices heard!

Take Action with us by downloading the “I OBJECT” poster from our site, take a selfie and share it on social media, using the #oceansnotoil #tohellwithshell
Covid-19 Restrictions Apply. Please wear a mask and keep social distance.

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Youth 4 Climate Action March – Durban, 15 March 2019

Join us in a peaceful protest in Durban Central on Earth Day, 15 March 2019, and show your support in making South Africa’s Policy and Decision-makers make environmentally responsible and informed decisions.

Globally, the youth are making a stand and saying that the climate crisis is solvable, but some leaders and politicians are jeopardising our future by blocking real action. Climate change needs to be central to all policy and agendas, not a side-line issue.

For details on the Youth March, click here.
Don’t have a facebook account? See event details here

“The politics that’s needed to prevent the climate catastrophe—it doesn’t exist today. We need to change the system, as if we were in crisis, as if there were a war going on.” – Greta Thunberg

Public Meetings to oppose Offshore Oil and Gas exploration to take place in KZN (Richards Bay, Durban and Port Shepstone)

 

Join us for the public participation meetings, and have your say in Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration Drilling off the East Coast of South Africa

Eni South Africa BV (Eni), and Sasol Africa Limited (Sasol) hold an Exploration Right 12/3/236 (ER 236) off the East Coast of South Africa. Eni has the operatorship of Block ER 236. Eni and Sasol are considering the possibility of conducting an exploration drilling programme in Block ER 236 to assess the commercial viability of the hydrocarbon reservoir for future development. The project requires Environmental Authorisation (EA) from the National Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) under the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) (Act No. 107 of 1998), as amended, through an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process, which commenced in January 2018.

The Final Scoping Report was approved by PASA on 16 April 2018, and ERM have commenced with the preparation of the draft Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIA Report). Stakeholders are invited to attend one of the below listed open house meetings where the findings of the draft EIA will communicated. The meeting will follow an open house format and the participants will have the opportunity to interact with the project team, ask questions and provide comment.

The draft EIA is currently being finalised and registered stakeholders will receive notification  by ERM environmental consultants when the report is available for comment.  The draft EIA will be released for a 30 day comment period as per the requirements of NEMA.

Dates and details of the public meetings:

Day and Date	Location	Venue	Time
Wednesday 3 October 2018 Port Elizabeth	Port Elizabeth Open House isiXhosa translator to be present	Boardwalk Hotel, Beach Rd, Summerstrand, Port Elizabeth, 6019	15:00 – 18:00
Thursday 4 October 2018 East London	East London Open House isiXhosa translator to be present	Blue Lagoon hotel & Conference Centre, 21 Blue Bend Pl, Blue Bend, East London	15:00 – 18:00
Monday 8 October 2018 Richards Bay	Richards Bay Open House isiZulu translator to be present	Premier Hotel The Richards, 3 Hibberd Dr, Meer En See, Richards Bay	15:00 – 18:00
Tuesday 9 October 2018 Durban	Durban Open House isiZulu translator to be present	Gooderson Tropicana Hotel, 85 OR Tambo Parade, South Beach, Durban	15:00 – 18:00
Wednesday 10 October 2018 Port Shepstone	Port Shepstone Open House isiZulu translator to be present	Venture Inn, 366 Commercial Rd, Umtentweni, Port Shepstone	15:00 – 18:00

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PUBLIC MEETINGS – Gas Pipeline and Electricity Grid Infrastructure Expansion – Strategic Environmental Assessment

The Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) released a notification, informing all Interested and Affected Parties (I&APs), and stakeholders of public meetings, in which feedback on the draft findings of the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) which began in April 2017 will be given.

The SEA is being compiled to identify the most appropriate development corridors for the location of a Phased Gas Pipeline Network and expansion of the Electricity Grid Infrastructure (EGI). This SEA supports the objectives of the Operation Phakisa Offshore Oil and Gas Lab, as well as the Strategic Integrated Project (SIP) 10: Electricity transmission and distribution for all. It aims to pre-assess the environmental, social and economic constraints and opportunities for the gas transmission pipeline and EGI development, within the proposed corridors. The results of the assessment will serve to provide suitable routing options for gas pipelines and EGI expansion within these corridors.

Why is this important? Gas is being used as a transition fossil fuel in the move from coal energy to a more sustainable energy source. This is being actioned through a Just Transition by the South African government, which is not taking into account that we are effectively replacing one non-renewable energy source with another, and the equally detrimental effect on our environment.

Its a set of pipeline corridors (100km wide) stretching across farms, private property and potentially sensitive areas. Under, over and across rivers, including flaring facilities every 130km.

Below is a map of the corridors which were refined during stakeholder consultation and specialist assessments.

Public Participation Meetings will take place at various locations in South Africa to present the draft findings of the specialist studies. These meetings create a platform for the I&APs to provide input by identifying issues or raising concerns for consideration in the SEA Process. This can be anyone that might be affected. Oceans Not Oil encourages its members to attend and bring concerns or issues to the attention of the panel, regardless of how insignificant or unlearned you may believe your issue or concern is.

The meetings are as follows:

What can you do?

1. Register as I&AP’s by submitting your name and contact details (i.e. contact number, email address and postal address), to the following address: gasnetwork@csir.co.za or on the SEA website: http://gasnetwork.csir.co.za
2. Participate in the Public Meetings.
3. Share the above information with your networks and colleagues.

Protect our vulnerable coastline. Join the protest at the following venues: