Saving the Wild Coast: Challenging Shell’s seismic surveys
Natural Justice joins court action against Shell’s seismic testing off the Wild Coast
On the 1 September 2022, communities on the Wild Coast of South Africa came one step closer to protecting their environment and heritage when the High Court in Makhanda set aside Shell’s exploration right to conduct seismic surveys off their coastline. The court found that the right had been granted unlawfully.
The court case was instituted by Sustaining the Wild Coast, local residents and fishers and supporting organisations following Shell’s announcement in late-2021 that it would being exploration for oil and gas based on an exploration right granted by the Minister of Mineral Resources in 2014.
The communities argued that Shell and the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) had flouted their legal obligations to respect citizens’ rights to consultation and public participation. In granting the exploration right, the DMRE did not consider climate change, the right to food, or take account of the Integrated Coastal Management Act.
Following the victory, Shell, DMRE and Impact Africa appealed the judgment at the Supreme Court of Appeal. On 17 May 2024, the community and supporting organisations will be in court to make arguments as to why the High Court judgment should stand.
Read our fact sheet to learn more about the case
To access court papers
The sea is also a mystical place to me, a place where our ancestors reside and a place of prayer. Some view the sea as a place of worship and congregate as churches on the shores.
Court action
The positive judgment in the Supreme Court of Appeal will set an important precedent because:
- It will set a far-reaching legal precedent, declaring that no seismic surveys can be undertaken without proper consultation with affected communities and that public participation processes must not be a “tick box exercise”.
- It will recognise the importance of the ocean to coastal communities – particularly the link with cultural and customary beliefs.
- It will prevent the exploration of oil and gas off the coastline without due process and the inclusion of the voices of the public. The exploration would disrupt fragile ecosystems and migration patterns – and would harm fish, mammal, and bird species in the area. These are all species that coastal communities rely on for sustenance and livelihoods.
- It will help mitigate the climate crisis. Oil and gas exploration and extraction will lead to more burning of fossil fuels. Governments and scientists agree that keeping global warming to 1.5°C is only possible if there are “no new oil and gas fields approved for development”.
If you destroy the ocean, you destroy human life. Our livelihoods as indigenous people will be history if the South African Government allows Shell to mine our ocean, our spiritual healing place. Communities have the right to choose and we have the right to live in a healthy environment. As the Amadiba Crisis Committee we say no to any kind of extractivism. Let’s put people before profit.
What can you do?
We need your support! Like, Support, Comment and Love our social media posts. Share information on your local groups.
Organise, mobilise and take direct action! With people power and solidarity, we can advance a just transition, defend people and planet, hold duty bearers accountable and uphold the rule of law.
Join local demonstrations in your area or take part in pickets outside the court room.
The ocean is a commonage for all of us. It is sacred to us and we use it for rituals. Extractivism and oil exploration hinders our right to practise our religion and threatens our cultural heritage. Oil and gas will lead to more emissions, and in the face of climate change, this is wholly irresponsible. We as Amadiba people unanimously oppose this oil exploration and destruction of our sacred land.
