Reckless awarding of permits and licences for mining activities, coupled with insufficient research when granting such permissions, threatens not only South Africa’s agriculture but also the sensitive fauna and flora in areas already suffering from pollution, environmental mismanagement, and a lack of protection for fragile ecosystems.
Research by the environmental conservation organisation, Living Limpopo, has revealed the staggering extent of the proposed mining-related development of the MM-SEZ project.
The disregard for South Africa’s rich heritage of fauna and flora, bureaucratic obfuscation of the true scale of natural heritage loss, and opaque handling of impact studies—studies that should be approached with far greater responsibility and expertise—have left the people of Limpopo and environmental experts in South Africa astounded, says Dawid Maree, chairperson of TLU SA’s Environmental Management Committee.
The announcement that 600,000 protected trees could be destroyed to enable coal mining in northern Limpopo has sparked widespread objections and resistance to the proposed mining activities, Maree adds. “The entire bushveld north of the Soutpansberg faces the destruction of its fauna and flora.” Not only is the sustainability of agriculture at serious risk, but the proposed intervention in the natural environment could also severely impact tourism and the hunting industry.
Maree further calls on all stakeholders and concerned residents to join the objectors against the proposed development. According to Lauren Liebenberg, more than 125,000 hectares of indigenous vegetation in the Vhembe Biosphere Reserve are threatened by the planned MM-SEZ project, which involves ten new open-cast coal mines.
Living Limpopo has obtained documentary evidence related to permits allowing the destruction of protected trees on MM-SEZ sites. Of the 658,058 protected trees, at least 10,000 baobabs are earmarked for destruction in the southern mining area. Another 10,000 baobabs in the northern area are also at risk. Records obtained from the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment, through a request under the Promotion of Access to Information Act, indicate that two of the many licence applications by MM-SEZ since 2020 have already been granted for mining activities in the northern extraction zone. These permits aim to destroy 1,000 baobabs and other protected and ecologically sensitive trees.
TLU SA adds its voice to those opposing the ecological impact of the proposed development, highlighting that environmental impact studies were fundamentally flawed, yet the necessary environmental permits were still issued. Bennie van Zyl, general manager of TLU SA, notes that rezoning the Vhembe area from a natural fauna and flora zone to one for coal mining and heavy industrial activities could cause permanent damage to sensitive ecosystems. It could also devastate agricultural properties, harm the health of nearby communities, and inflict lasting damage on savanna and other ecosystems.
TLU SA expresses its appreciation for Living Limpopo’s research and firm opposition to the proposed mining activities, urging stakeholders and community structures to stand against the planned interventions that threaten South Africa’s fauna and flora in the Vhembe region.
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