OCEAN JUSTICE

The document provides a comprehensive guide for South African small-scale fishing communities to navigate environmental laws and participate in decision-making processes. It details the legal framework—including the Constitution and the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA)—and explains the risks associated with oil and gas exploration, mining, powerships, and hydrogen plants. The guide outlines how to engage in Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs), appeal authorisations, and use the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) to hold developers and the government accountable.

• Environmental justice in South Africa is defined as a state where all individuals have "equal use, enjoyment and protection of their environmental resources", ensuring that those affected by decisions are represented and consulted.
• The South African Constitution provides the supreme legal basis for environmental rights, specifically Section 24, which guarantees the right to an environment that is "not harmful to their health or well-being".
• The National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) mandates that environmental justice be pursued to ensure negative impacts do not "unfairly discriminate against any person, particularly vulnerable and disadvantaged persons".
• Industrial developments such as oil and gas exploration, mining, and hydrogen plants pose significant risks to marine biodiversity, including the disruption of animal communication and breeding through "Loud noises, human activity and vehicle traffic from drilling".
• The oil and gas industry is identified as a major driver of climate change, contributing "over 42% of global greenhouse gas emissions".
• Climate change specifically impacts South African fishing communities by altering "the migratory patterns of fish, their locations and populations", which reduces available catches and threatens livelihoods.
• The 2022 Durban floods serve as a case study for climate-related disasters in South Africa, resulting in 459 deaths and infrastructure and business damage estimated at "around R40 billion".
• Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) are required for potentially harmful activities; those causing greater harm require a "Scoping and Environmental Impact Reporting (S&EIR) process" which typically takes 300 days.
• Meaningful public participation in EIAs requires that information be provided in "languages spoken by affected communities" and that vulnerable groups, including women and youth, are encouraged to participate.
• The Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) allows citizens to request state-held information, and specifically prohibits refusing access to information regarding "serious public safety or environmental risk".
• Court cases against Shell and Searcher demonstrated that consulting only with village chiefs is insufficient, as "the community is a separate entity from the Chief and “Chief” does not speak for the community."

APA

Natural Justice (2025). OCEAN JUSTICE. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Ocean-Justice-booklet_hi-res-FINAL.pdf

Chicago

Natural Justice. OCEAN JUSTICE. 2025. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Ocean-Justice-booklet_hi-res-FINAL.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Natural Justice |title=OCEAN JUSTICE |date=March 2025 |url=https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Ocean-Justice-booklet_hi-res-FINAL.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{naturaljustice2025ocean, author = {{Natural Justice}}, title = {{OCEAN JUSTICE}}, institution = {Natural Justice}, year = {2025}, month = mar, url = {https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Ocean-Justice-booklet_hi-res-FINAL.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }