OPEN LETTER: CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS CALL ON ATTORNEY, DENNIS SIBUYI AND HIS CLIENTS TO RESPECT THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS
In an extraordinary show of public solidarity for ALL RISE, 38 civil society organisations have come out in support of an earnest call on the National Union of Mineworkers; Mpukunyoni Traditional Authority; Mpukunyoni Community Mining Forum; the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union to and their representative attorney to: • Respect Pretoria high court Judge […]
Coal mining onslaught threatens the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park on an unprecedented level
By Kirsten Youens The southern white rhino has been to the brink of extinction and back, but even as it continues to be under threat from poachers, its survival is largely thanks to the conservation work of one park. Today, most of these rhinos can trace their ancestry back to the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park (HiP) in […]
Community Rights Vindicated against Unscrupulous Department of Minerals and Energy and “Egregious” Mining Company
Judgment in the long-standing matter of MCEJO and Others v Minister of Minerals and Energy and Others was handed down on the evening of 4 May 2022. In her well-reasoned 48-page judgment Judge Bam finds in favour of the Applicants by rejecting all of Tendele’s arguments and declaring Tendele’s mining right invalid. The Minister’s decision […]
Let Earth Day Be About Ending Exploitation – Of People and The Planet
By Kirsten Youens and Janice Tooley This article appeared in the Daily Maverick on the 212 April 2022 As we observe Earth Day, KwaZulu-Natal is struggling to recover from the torrential rain that fell over 9 to 12 April resulting in the loss of 448 lives (so far) and wide-spread damage to service infrastructure and […]
Moratorium on awarding more licences for Ship-to-Ship Bunkering in Algoa Bay to remain in place
Recently our client, Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism, became aware of the decision made in the Bunkering Stakeholder Forum Session (“BSFS”) in December 2021 to lift the moratorium on the awarding of bunkering licences in Algoa Bay that has been in place since August 2019. Bunkering is the process of refuelling vessels by transferring liquid fuel […]
Radio Life & Style: Interview with Kirsten Youens
Listen to Kirsten Youens on Radio Life & Style in celebration of Human Rights Day, where she and LeahG spoke about why environmental rights ARE human rights and how the two are undeniably linked. Kirsten spoke of the ongoing case in which ALL RISE is representing the community against Tendele Coal Mine on the border […]
DISAPPOINTING DECISION BY MINISTER CREECY
On 7 March, the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) Barbara Creecy, dismissed four separate appeals against the environmental authorisation granted by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) to the Zululand Anthracite Colliery (ZAC) for its new Mngeni Adit located in Nongoma, northern KwaZulu-Natal. The concerns raised by the four appellants […]
New proposals to restrict public participation on environmental impact decisions? Janice Tooley interviewed on Cape Talk.
Janice Tooley speaks to Pippa Hudson of Cape Talk about the Environment Minister’s proposed changes to the S24H regulations.
MINISTER’S PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE S24H REGULATIONS WILL HAVE A CHILLING EFFECT ON APPEALS
Written by Janice Tooley Section 24H of the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) allows for the establishment of a registration authority to regulate the practice and conduct of environmental assessment practitioners (EAPs). The sector has long identified the need for a formally recognised body to promote the professionalism of environmental consultants by ensuring EAPs meet […]
STOPPING SHELL: IT’S A WIN FOR COMMUNITIES AND THE ENVIRONMENT!
By Kirsten Youens In a well-received judgement handed down on 28 December 2021 by Judge Bloem, Shell was ordered to immediately cease its seismic survey along the Wild Coast of South Africa. The urgent interdict was granted pending the hearing of an application for Shell to be interdicted from conducting its surveys until it has […]