Since February 2022, Wongeka Xatasi, a 2022 Green Connection Legacy Programme participant, started turning over a new leaf for Duncan Village in East London, by raising awareness about the importance of a united advocacy voice in the community’s fight for environmental and social justice. The public outcry regarding the oil and gas exploration seismic activities conducted by Shell in the Wild Coast as well as the Searcher court case launched to oppose these extractive activities. The activities highlight a severe lack of public participation in the planned oil and gas mining activities in these regions. Moreover, they are evidence of how important it is to consult the affected members of the public decision-making processes about the environment.
Xatasi says, “I want to ensure that people know about their environmental rights and how important this is for protecting their livelihoods and cultural heritage. To achieve this, I will raise awareness through locally based environmental summits and community dialogues, which highlight our right to a clean and safe environment.
“South Africa must make the transition to renewable energy now, if we have any hope of effectively addressing the intensifying climate crisis, which will likely affect women from impoverished communities the most. Coastal communities continue advocating for clean energy and oceans free from oil and gas exploration. The research proves that continuing to drill for oil and gas is in contradiction with reaching net-zero emissions by 2050,” she adds,
Xatasi applauds The Green Connection’s Legacy Programme for providing her with advocacy skills that have already been “useful and effective in educating communities about the environmental issues that affect them and for providing the tools to show how they can defend their rights.”
Written By: Lisa Makaula and Natasha Adonis
The Green Connection Legacy Programme equips the Green Connectors with advocacy skills to fight against environmental and socio-economic injustices through workshops and mentoring.
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BENDING OVER BACKWARDS, DMRE GIVES KARPOWERSHIPS ANOTHER BREAK
30 September 2021 was supposed to be the commercial close – a date set by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) – for bidders in the Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme (RMI4P).
TOSACO EIA MET WITH PUSHBACK FROM CIVIL SOCIETY, TO PROTECT THE OCEAN AND SMALL-SCALE FISHER LIVELIHOODS
This week, The Green Connection submitted its comments critiquing several aspects of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process, particularly the lack of procedural fairness, as well as the conclusions reached – notwithstanding information gaps and scientific uncertainty – that should form part Tosaco Energy’s request to undertake various activities in Block 1, off the West Coast.
RECENTLY GRADUATED GREEN CONNECTORS, EQUIPPED FOR THE POLLS AND READY TO WEIGH-IN ON COP26
Following their recent graduation from The Green Connection’s Legacy Champions Programme, these newly empowered Green Connectors say they feel equipped with the necessary advocacy skills to make positive changes in their communities, starting with their vote in the local elections (1 November) and weighing in on the discussions around COP26 (which starts on 31 October) – as part of their efforts to oppose oil and gas developments in the country and offshore.
GREEN CONNECTION’S ‘FUNERAL FOR THE CLIMATE’ (AFRICAN ENERGY WEEK) AND COMMENT ON YESTERDAY’S BUDGET SPEECH
This week (10 November 2021), we joined other environmental defenders in Cape Town to peacefully demonstrate outside the African Energy Week #AEW2021 conference venue demanding an end to fossil fuels and the immediate pivot toward the just transition to a renewable energy future.
CLOSE TO 200 PEOPLE RISE AT CRACK OF DAWN TO PROTEST THE ARRIVAL OF SHELL’S SEISMIC MONSTER, AMAZON WARRIOR
On Sunday morning, (21 November 2021), before the crack of dawn, nearly 200 concerned environmental defenders took to the Waterfront to get a glimpse of Shell’s seismic testing vessel, Amazon Warrior, as it made its way into Cape Town harbour. The vessel travelled down the West coast of Africa, on its way to the Wild Coast, to conduct seismic surveys for an estimated five (5) months.
ENVIRONMENTALISTS DOUBLE-UP ON EFFORTS TO OPPOSE UPCOMING AND FURTHER SEISMIC TESTING IN SOUTH AFRICA’S OCEANS
As the groundswell of opposition against Shell’s upcoming 3D seismic survey off the Transkei builds, the Green Connection – an ecojustice NGO that supports small-scale fishers in advocating for their livelihoods – reacted with astonishment to a press statement issued by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) on 9 December 2021.