Game park joins the fight against coal mine
During the construction of a 3km temporary road, hundreds of Aloe marlothii plants, estimated to be between 80 and 110 years old, were allegedly uprooted and destroyed.
AS the ongoing fight against Ibutho Coal’s proposed Fuleni Coal Mine picks up steam and gains international support, KZN’s conservation authority and custodian of Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park (HiP) has stepped into the fray.
Despite the impartiality with which EKZNW’s Integrated Environmental Management (IEM) unit has approached this mining application, their findings are overwhelmingly in favour of rejecting mining activity.
After the Department of Environmental Affairs rejected Ibutho Coal’s scoping report, a compliance investigation is now underway into the company’s alleged non-compliance with the Environmental Management Plan for prospecting activities.
During the construction of a 3km temporary road a mere stone’s throw from the HiP boundary, several hundred Aloe marlothii plants, estimated to be between 80 and 110 years old, were allegedly uprooted and destroyed.
Those involved in the fight against Fuleni say that if the mine is given the go-ahead, the consequences for HiP would be catastrophic.
It is claimed the dust, water pollution and vibrations from explosives would depress the living conditions of local communities, and the iMfolozi Wilderness Area, the first established wilderness area in Africa, would be lost forever.
Principal Conservation Planner for EKZNW’s IEM unit, Jenny Longmore, said the application to mine within 100m of the park’s boundary showed a complete disregard for this flagship protected area.
Furthermore, Somkhele Mine resisted mining a viable seam of coal adjacent to the wilderness area.
‘They acknowledged the value of the wilderness area and moved to the north and east, which significantly lessened the impact,’ said Longmore.
Given this precedent, Longmore said the IEM unit strongly advises Ibutho Coal to voluntarily retreat from the HiP boundary.
Community opposition to the mine has increased dramatically as community members have asked EKZNW’s Community Conservation Officers to highlight the pros and cons of mining vs eco-tourism.
‘Ezemvelo has a responsibility to not just provide planning oversight, but also to look after the long-term interests of our people living on the borders of our protected areas,’ said Phindile Xulu of the Social Ecological Research Unit.
‘People are the single most important consideration in the entire roll-out of conservation in KZN’.
