coast resources and culture
I have been working in Ebenhaeser, Olifantsdrif, Papendorp, Genadendal and Stilbaai in South Africa. Here I have been researching and learning more about the importance of the Khoisan culture and how this relates to the use of coastal resources today. I am amazed to see the great richness in Khoisan culture along the southern Cape and West coast, yet am surprised at how undervalued it is. Caves are neglected and communities struggle in a society still linked to previous dispensations in South Africa. Findings at the Blombos Cave near Stilbaai show evidence that human beings originated here in South Africa. That means Khoisan people are the first people to have existed on the planet. Why then, is this culture and the phenomenal sites that exist today, so undervalued?
coast resources and culture
Jonathan makes the point of cultural resources being undervalued. This is a very serious issue. One mistake that environmentalists have often made is to look at environment without proper recognition of the human dimension, just like developers have considered economic growth without taking into account the environment. When you only look at the environmental aspects of sustainability, you can easily set conservation back and miss entirely what you had hoped to achieve. I am glad that increasingly do people not only view sustainable development as having three main pillars, namely economic, social and environmental concerns, but they are starting to add a fourth one, that is culture. Lots of talk about that, but still much have to be put into practice. Let's get away from narrow point of views on conservation, development, etc. and realise that humans and their diversity of cultures are not only part and parcel of the problem of a global system that is degrading by the day, but very much also part of the solution.
RE: DLIST Benguela: coast resources and culture
Good point Francois!
In Swakopmund we are also challenged by inappropriate developments, in the sense of inappropriate for site and location of some of these.The cultural dimension to the sustainability debate is indeed valid, in some cases relating not only to the heritage component of culture, but rather to the form of commercial culture we wish to attain in future, for the world of our children..
Good luck with CDLAP!
RE: DLIST Benguela: coast resources and culture
Thank you Frank for the voice from the Namibian coast. I understand that the Namibian coast is important and unique and that people are even considering to nominate it as world heritage site. I have not been there yet but I read on DLIST that the coast is rich with biodiversity and has beautiful landscapes that you cannot find it else in the world. I think is important to make sure that these developments are not destroying and changing our cultural and heritage environments for the benefit of local people but also for the rest of us, especially if the Namibian Coast is as important as people say it is . It would be good to hear more views from Namibians on what is actually happening there and how we should protect this coast .
RE: DLIST Benguela: coast resources and culture
Aligned with the ongoing discussions regarding coastal/marine development, below is one article, from a daily newspaper in Namibia (http://www.newera.com.na/articles/45130/Concerns-over-Phospate-Mine-not-...). The article highlights the ongoing debate regarding the proposed phosphate mining activity - 120 kilometre off Walvisbay.
Concerns over Phospate Mine not going away
22 May 2012 - Story by Desie Heita
WINDHOEK - Namibian Marine Phosphate (Pty)Ltd, the company that has attracted controversy over its plans to mine phosphates from the bottom of the ocean, says it is not worried that government will cancel its mining licence.
The company’s executive, in the first ever media interview, told New Era that contrary to all the negative reports, the company did follow the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process to the letter. The executives were in the country last week to update government on progress with the mining project, meeting with the fisheries, enviornment and mining ministries, as well as the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister Marco Hausiku.
Namibian Marine Phosphate (Pty) Ltd, a joint venture between Australian companies Minemakers Limited and UCL Resources Limited, and Namibia’s Tungeni Investments. The company has endured nearly a year of bashing by concerned groups made up of coastal residents and environmentalists.
The biggest concern is the dredging process, which will be required to mine the phosphates at the bottom of the ocean and its impact on marine life, which concerned individuals and organizations contend the company has done precious little to minimize. The complaints have led the government to conclude that “more public participation is required” on the issues raised by the lobby opposed to the project. However, the project manager David Wellbeloved remains adamant that the project will go ahead.
“We have followed the process to the letter. We have done what is required,” he said in an exclusive interview recently. The company has asked the ministry to clarify its position on how much more public consultation is required. Mining is set to commence next year [2013] if everything proceeds as planned.
“What more assurance can we give to the public? We will obey the conditions attached to the EIA, since it is up to us to protect the environment and to put up rehabilitation programmes,” said Wellbeloved, adding that with the long-term mining projection of 20 years in the first mining phase, the company “is not here to dig up the seabed and be gone in a couple of years”.
“We did submit the final report to the government, and they have not come back to say they are not satisfied, but have asked us to do more public consultations. We did write them in reply to that, explaining what we did and asking how much more can be done,” said Wellbeloved.
The envisaged multi-billion dollar phosphate mining venture is located in the Namibian waters of the South Atlantic Ocean. The deposit is situated 120 kilometres off Walvis Bay in the Namibian continental shelf.
The water depth in the area varies from 180 metres to 300 metres. The licence area is 25.2km wide and 115km long, covering roughly 2,233 square kilometres.
By far the largest use of phosphate is in fertilisers, accounting for around 85 percent of total consumption. Because of its high value as a nutrient, phosphate is widely used in the manufacturing of animal feed supplements. Food grade phosphates are used in many foods including dairy, meat and bakery products and soft drinks.
The concerns raised, besides the threat to fish, is the disturbance of the ocean floor and the natural marine ecology, as well as possible acid pockets that would be damaging to marine life. However, the company says the dredging or sucking up of the sea-bed would be done in the most environmentally sensitive way, equal to the manner in which marine diamonds are currently being mined off Oranjemund.
The company further says only about two tonnes of fish were caught in the area where it would start mining in the next five years, a vast area where mining activities would only be limited to about three square kilometres per year. Other undertakings by the company include measures to leave re-colonisation areas and conducting scientific tests during the mining operations to get a better understanding of marine life, instead of relying on guess work.
“I do not think [the concerned group] speaks for all Namibians, but are people who have time. They are a pretty select part of society, [who are] not looking for jobs. I also do not think Namibians are so naïve, to be fooled by a mining company,” said Wellbeloved, adding that all operations at the mine would be in accordance with international law, specifically the guidelines on financing given that the project raised the bulk of its capital from foreign investors.