Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Willie Aucamp. (Photo: Gallo Images / Sharon Seretlo) The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment is moving to speed up the processing of appeals lodged against offshore oil and gas drilling and seismic exploration, a flashpoint of contention among environmentalists and coastal communities.
“This decision is intended to avoid any further ‘decision paralysis’. We have a legal and constitutional obligation to take decisions that promote inclusive economic growth and job creation, without compromising our constitutional mandate of protecting our environment,” Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Willie Aucamp was quoted as saying.
The move follows an announcement earlier this week of the launch of public consultations on proposals to streamline South Africa’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) system to cut red tape around projects seen as having low or insignificant environmental impacts.
“Projects with significant environmental risk, particularly in sensitive environments, will continue to undergo full Environmental Impact Assessments, including specialist studies and public participation,” the DFFE said on that front.
On the offshore exploration front, the department will set up an appeal panel to consider those that have been lodged against such activities and make recommendations to the minister.
“I have come to the conclusion that it would not be reasonable or procedurally fair to continue postponing the appeals. Allowing the matters to remain suspended pending lengthy litigation may stall decision-making within the environmental governance system,” the minister said.
Hornet’s nest
On these matters, Aucamp seems to be finding common ground in the Government of National Unity with Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister and ANC heavyweight Gwede Mantashe, who is keen on accelerating the exploration of South African oil and gas with an eye to production – even as his policies have undermined projects and turned off investors.
This may well stir a hornet’s nest of protest if the appeals are rejected and the process is regarded as hasty.
The issue of seismic surveys is especially emotive, but in the public debates and opposition around it, a key point has often been lost: the scientific jury remains out on the effects of such operations on marine life.
But the uncertainties alone, some conservationists would argue, call for caution and the hydrocarbon industry, while it remains critical to the global economy as the current conflict in the Middle East has underscored, is clearly at a crossroads given its role in climate change.
Such projects risk becoming “stranded assets” as the green energy transition gathers pace, while the wretched history of oil in Africa – and the corruption and conflict it has frothed up – stands as a warning in crime and graft-riddled South Africa.
Viewed through another prism, South Africa is a developing economy stuck in a slow-growth rut which desperately needs investment. Natural gas emits less CO2 than oil, while the move to hasten the EIA process for projects that are deemed to have minimal environmental impact will be perceived as sensible to business.
As with seismic surveys, the jury is out on such issues and the public in South Africa – with an activist green movement and civil society – is deeply divided. Aucamp has his work cut out for him. He can expect applause and opprobrium in equal measure. DM
