Evocative passages, historical revelations and necessary questions about the future. A must have for any Wild Coast enthusiast. - Heather Bennie, former Transkei resident.

Fascinating tales about shipwrecks and survivors, settlers and tribes, and colonial claims on the Transkei and Wild Coast over the past 400 years. An amazing tapestry in one easy-to-read composition. - Pat Goss, life-long resident and businessman in Pondoland.

Well researched and beautifully written. A fascinating read. - Jacque Baker, of an ‘old Pondoland family’.

Most interesting and well researched. I’m waiting for a sequel. - Dan Wardlaw, 3rd generation Wildcoaster.

Available from the author at dennison2@telkomsa.net.  R150-00 plus R20-00 packaging and postage. 

Also at BookWorld, Cascades, PMB, The Outspan Inn  at Port St Johns and Clarke’s Bookshop in Cape Town.

Environmentalists are up in arms over the decision by the minerals and energy department to allow titanium mining along the Eastern Cape’s wild coast, the company Mineral Commodities has been awarded mining rights for the so called Krinyana(PH) block which represents 1/3rd of the original area applied for . 1 min

5/8 RSG Nuus 17:00

The Department of Minerals and Energy has given the green light for the mining of titanium on the Eastern Cape Wild Coast. Mineral Commodities have acquired the right to mine. Environmental organizations originally opposed the mining operation. 1 min

5/8 R2000 News 17:00

Environmentalists are up in arms over the allowance of titanium mining on the Eastern Cape’s wild coast; Mineral Commodities have been awarded mining rights for the area, int. Sputnik Ratao Environmental Department. 1 min

5/8 SAfm News 18:01

Environmentalists are up in arms over the decision by the minerals and energy department to allow titanium mining along the Eastern Cape’s wild coast, the company Mineral Commodities has been awarded mining rights for the so called Krinyana(PH) block which represents 1/3rd of the original area applied for. 1 min

6/8 702 John Robbie 06:31

John comments about the St Lucia mining in that now there is another scandal that emerged about the Wild Coast now. Its an area that has been given mining rights- the Xolobeni Minerals Sands and anyone who knows anyone about this please give us a call. 1 min

6/8 Radio 702 John Robbie

07:45 Wildcoast Mining- the Xolobeni Minerals Sands

(int) Attorney for Wildcoast Community, Richard Spoor. He discusses about the problems with mining dunes for titanium at St Lucia with regards to the proposed mining of the Wildcoast. He talks about the environmental Impact Assessments, the ecological sustainability of the area as well as the potential for developing the area. The Minerals and Energy Department is very aggressive in developing mines in this country regardless of the cost to the environment, awards mining rights without water rights and environmental approval.

8/8 Radio 702 John Robbie

07:22 Wildcoast mining rights

[REPLAY OF RICHARD SPOOR INTERVIEW EARLIER THIS WEEK ABOUT XOLOBENI MINERAL RIGHTS]

07:23 Wildcoast mining rights!

(Int) Deputy Director General of Mineral Regulation at the Department of Minerals and Energy-Dosinto Rosha. He responds to the strong attack from Richard Spoor about the mining rights. He says they have not received any objection within this granting of the mining rights for the area. If there is an objection they would address with the land owners before putting the mining equipment on the land. He says that Richard Spoor-the lawyer of his standing and caliber, before he speaks to the media he must learn not to be economic with the truth. He says DME is pro development and that area is a poverty sensitive area.

07:46 Caller comments about the Wildcoast area mining rights issue. He says that there is a river in the Wildcoast area that has the kingship majestic fish and this river is a renowned sanctuary and questions whether the open cast mining for titanium will have an impact on this river.

The Jenny Crys Williams Show, on Radio 702 will feature the dune mining story on Monday from 2.30 pm.

Callers are invited. The show is available on audio stream.

One is tempted to call it Pondoland’s long walk for freedom. In essence, it was a coming together of diverse people and communities of the ‘Rainbow Nation’ to express their concern about proposals to open cast mine, for titanium, the coastal dunes of this pristine environment. All expressed apprehension that the mining proposal is an environmentally damaging type of development that none of them wanted, and that none could see much benefit from for their communities.

Eighteen kilometers is a long way to walk on beach sand, but the old and the young, the fit and the ‘could be fitter’, the poor and the better off, joined together in mutual comradeship and peace in an eloquent democratic protest to express support for development that shares prosperity amongst poor communities while keeping the environment intact.

The elders, headmen and chiefs of the five communities who live upon the land to be mined, and who therefore will be most immediately affected by the mining, expressed their concerns most eloquently. They talked of how the forefathers of their forefathers are buried in the earth there; of generational links to the land which the mining will rip apart; of the dependency of their culture and their lifestyle on an undamaged environment, with grass on which their livestock can feed, and healthy soil in which to grow their crops; of how they wish to pass their land and culture intact to future generations. They spoke with pride of a culture with deep connections and respect for the landscape, which was now threatened by a ‘foreign invasion’ from a foreign mining company. They spoke about how poverty prevented them from going to Pretoria in protest so they could have their voices heard, unlike those wealthier ones whose riches enable them to lobby for the mining in the corridors of power.
So it was also a walk about democracy; about the rights of common people and communities to be able to have a voice in the sort of future they want for themselves and their children.

Ironically, these communities managed to survive the worst ravages of the cultural and social breakdown of apartheid and they managed to survive the manipulations of the colonial era which would divest them of the power to choice over their land. Now, in the era of so called freedom, these communities face the greatest challenge yet in the form of a foreign invader who comes to exploit them in the name of ‘economic development’ and ‘poverty relief’, and with decisions made by far away politicians who will never have to live with the immediate consequences of those decisions. Those in the corridors of power who support such environmentally and socially destructive development as the proposed mining favour the foreign cash that the exports of minerals earns, which fills the coffers of GDP and makes the nation’s economy look good. But what those who hold GDP as hallowed neglect to mention, is that GDP does not measure how wealth is distributed, nor does it measure many of the negative costs that are unaccounted for in economic reckoning. Study after study shows that increased GDP does not necessarily result in poverty relief, and in many cases GDP is merely a reflection of increased wealth in some sectors, not necessarily a better quality of life across the board. In many cases, even when GDP is increasing, levels of poverty are also increasing if the wealth reflected by GDP is only going to a few.

Also, as the United Nations Millennium EcoAssessment report states, ‘the degradation of ecosystem services represents loss of a capital asset’, and points out that when the loss of natural capital through unsustainable use is factored into GDP, many countries that show a positive growth in GDP are actually experiencing a nett loss of capital. The impacts of loss of natural capital are felt most keenly and immediately by those with a subsistence way of life whose livelihoods depend most heavily on healthy natural systems.

The common people and elders of the Wild Coast Walk recognized this. They recognized that there can be no future prosperity for all unless there is a respectful use for the environment that upholds us all. They recognize that the mining might bring some wealth to some, but in all likelihood will bring greater poverty to many, and great social and environmental upheaval. They see that poverty relief lies in finding ways of using the resources of the earth with deference and wisdom, so that those natural systems that uphold human life are not destroyed but bring shared benefits to all.

It is a theme that is being repeated by common people in many, many areas of the world who are tired of environmentally exploitative practices that occur in the name of development and economic progress, but in reality leave locals and local environments worse off, while a few make a handsome profit out of the deal.
If authorities continue to take a short –sighted economic view ignores the rights of common people to have a voice in the future they would like to see, and the dependency of the well being of humanity on healthy functioning eco-systems, they do so at their peril.

Val Payn is a founder member of Sustaining the Wild Coast. She writes this in her personal capacity.

Please see the Wild Coast Conservation section and the following pages for Wild Coast planning documents and background information:

Heavy Minerals Mining

Xolobeni Mining
Xolobeni Tourism Cost Benefit Analysis

Cost-Benefit Analysis of Tourism Investments at Xolobeni, Wild Coast
Presented to the Wilderness Foundation July 2005 by Grant Thornton

>> NB ! download the final draft here .

Executive Summary
Grant Thornton has been commissioned by the Wild Coast Project to conduct a consolidated financial and socio-economic assessment of proposed tourism investment in the Xolobeni area in order to be able to compare the benefits from the proposed tourism investment with the proposed mining operations.

The consolidated financial and socio-economic assessment has been compiled for a period of 22 years in order to be compared to the lifetime of the mining operations. It should, however, be kept in mind that the tourism investments will remain after the 22 year forecast period to continue to provide benefits to the local communities in the study area.

Three scenarios have also been developed for the consolidated financial and socio- economic assessment with a base case, low road or pessimistic scenario and high road or optimistic scenario.

The results for the base case consolidated financial and socio-economic assessment shows that:

• The proposed tourism investment will directly contribute R28 million in the first year of operation, increasing to R50 million in year 22;
• The proposed tourism investment will directly employ 241 people in its first year of operation;
• The proposed tourism investment will indirectly contribute to a further 89 employment opportunities in the first year of operation;
• The proposed tourism investments will directly contribute R303 million to the GDP of the study area during the construction of the tourism investment and related infrastructure;
• The proposed tourism investment will contribute a further R110 million in indirect and induced expenditure during the construction of the tourism investment and related infrastructure;
• The proposed tourism investment will contribute R11 million in indirect and induced expenditure during the first year of operation of the tourism investment, increasing to R20 million in year 22.

The proposed tourism investment will also have various unquantifiable socio- economic benefits such as:

• Fostering of understanding between various people and cultures as touristscome in contact with local communities in the study area. The impact is not only that the tourists understand the local communities and their culture, but also that the local communities understand and get to know a variety of international cultures;
• Prevention of migratory labour with the creation of job opportunities within the rural areas that the communities live i.e. local communities can now work within the area that they live and does not have to migrate to other areas for employment;
• Facilities developed for tourism can benefit local communities with the improvement of infrastructure being a prime example;
• Preservation of local culture and traditions, with local communities repeatedly presenting their culture and traditions to tourists through performance, arts ancrafts;
• Raising environmental awareness and protection, with local communities seeing the financial return in preserving the natural environment;
• Simulation of other entrepreneurial activity, through learning from the market and enterprise operations in the area; and
• Individual and community empowerment through skills development and hands-on business experience, as well as through participating in local economic development.

In conclusion it can be stated that the proposed tourism investments will have significant financial, economic and socio-economic benefits for the study area that will remain long after the 22-year lifespan of the mining operation.

THE WILDERNESS FOUNDATION

www.wildernessfoundation.org

Introduction
“Our mission is the protection and sustainability of African wilderness and wild lands through integrated conservation, experiential education and social programmes, the benefits of which support cultural, biodiversity, scientific, socio-economic and spiritual values.”

Wilderness Philosophy
Wild areas relate to our people’s sense of humanity – and its loss in overcrowded living spaces, to our knowing of the natural web of life – or our desensitisation to it, and to our sense of place in the world beyond degraded townships and urban areas.

We have recently had a paper published in African Journal of Marine Science (see attached) on the ichthyofauna of the new Pondoland MPA. There were no new species discovered but a couple of range extensions which were quite interesting. We have another paper in press with the same journal documenting the invertebrate and algal biodiversity of the region. A possible new species of algae was collected and I can send you the PDF of the paper as soon as it is published.

Yours sincerely
Bruce Mann (Senior scientist)
Oceanographic Research Institute
P.O. Box 10712, Marine Parade, 4056
Durban, South Africa
Tel: 031-3288171
Fax: 031-3288188
Email: bruce@ori.org.za

Towards the declaration of a large marine protected area: a subtidal ichtfaunal survey of the Pondoland coast in the Eastern Cape, South Africa

BQ Mann *, LCelliers , ST Fennessy , S Bailey and AD Wood

Oceanographic Research Institute, PO Box 10712, Marine Parade, Durban 4056, South Africa

Gleneagles Environmental Consulting, PO Box 611, Port Alfred 6170, South Africa
* Corresponding author, e-mail: bruce@ori.org.za

Keywords: Eastern Cape, fisheries management, ichthyofaunal survey, marine protected area, point counts, Pondoland coast, underwater visual census

Excerpt :
“A subtidal marine ichthyofaunal survey was carried out on shallow reefs (130m deep) in the Pondoland region between the Mtamvuna River and Port St Johns in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The purpose of this survey was to provide the baseline data required for the zonation of a large marine protected area proposed for the region. Survey work was carried out in May and June during 2002 and 2003. A seafloor map based on earlier seismic-reflection profiling data, coupled with fishers’ co-ordinates of known reefs in the area, was used to plan the survey. An underwater visual census (UVC), using the point-count method, assessed fish diversity, relative abundance and size structure. During the UVC, a total of 261 point fish-counts, covering an area of 14 288m, was completed. Atotal of 138 fish species from 49 different families was identified and a relatively high proportion of endemic species (26.6%) were recorded. As a result of the turbid conditions encoun-tered south of Mbotyi, numbers and diversity of fish species observed declined with increasing latitude. Endemic sparid linefish species, which are overexploited in other areas, were particularly abundant in this region, and a number of new range distributions of various species were recorded during the survey. The results of this survey contributed towards the zonation of the Pondoland Marine Protected Area, which was proclaimed in June 2004.”

Download this paper as a printable PDF: Pondo Fish : Ichtfaunal survey of the Pondoland coast

BLUE CATERPILLAR GALLERY –BUTTERFLIES FOR AFRICA

PIETERMARITBURG – 7 APRIL to 7 May 2007

Would it be possible to forward this to people on your SWC mailing list, who may be interested in this current publication?

Don’t miss this very special edition of PlantLife!

PlantLife’s special, full-colour combined Issue 33 and 34 is an engrossing account of the Pondoland Centre of Endemism, which extends from just north of Port St John’s to the Msikaba Formation sandstone gorges of the Oribi Gorge.

This issue is the work of Tony Abbot, who has devoted his attention for many years to this wonderful floristically diverse area, famous for its many endemics and its particular spirit of place. His lively writing presents an actual story of the area: its geological origins; its history and people; its botanical exploration and discovery; and its forest, grassland and succulent habitats and flora. It is also a very timely publication, considering the crucial decisions in the making for this region.

Generous sponsorship by the Durban Botanic Gardens Trust, the HB Nicholson Trust of WESSA and the Friends of the Pondoland Centre, has kept the cost to the reader to just R72.00 per copy (R60.00 for Botanical Society members) including VAT and postage.

Should you wish to receive this issue please send a cheque made out to “PlantLife”, together with your details to: PlantLife, P O Box 30544, Mayville 4058. A direct deposit can be done into the PlantLife account held at Absa, acc. No. 6202429329. Please put your name in the reference field.

Thank you.
Kind regards
Sandra Dell (secretary)
Botanical Society of SA KZN Coastal Branch
Tel : 031 201 5111 Fax: 0866 518 969
P O Box 30544 Mayville 4058
http://www.botanicalsociety.org.za
http://www.indigenousplantsale.org.za