UBULUNGISA KWEZOLWANDLE

The document provides a comprehensive guide for small-scale fishers in South Africa to exercise their environmental rights. It details the legal protections offered by the Constitution and acts like NEMA and MPRDA, explains the risks associated with oil and gas exploration, mining, and energy projects, and provides practical steps for engaging in Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) and legislative processes to ensure community voices are heard in ocean governance.

• Environmental justice in South Africa is defined as a fundamental right that allows people and communities to influence decisions affecting the ocean and environment, ensuring that all affected parties are represented and that nature is protected for current and future generations.
• The South African Constitution provides the highest legal protection for environmental rights, specifically Section 24, which guarantees the right to an environment that is not harmful to health or well-being and the protection of the environment for future generations through legislative measures.
• The National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) and the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) require that developments—including oil and gas exploration and mining—undergo Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) to mitigate negative impacts and ensure sustainable development.
• Oil and gas exploration and production pose significant risks to marine biodiversity and the livelihoods of small-scale fishers, including noise pollution that disrupts animal communication and the potential for catastrophic oil spills, as exemplified by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster.
• Climate change disproportionately affects coastal and marginalized communities in South Africa, leading to shifts in fish migration, increased storm surges, and catastrophic events such as the 2022 Durban floods, which caused 459 deaths and approximately 40 billion Rand in infrastructure damage.
• Communities can legally challenge environmental authorizations if the public participation process is flawed; for example, residents successfully used the courts to block seismic surveys by Shell and Searcher due to inadequate consultation and risks to cultural heritage.
• The Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) allows citizens to request information from government and private bodies to protect their environmental rights, and the government is prohibited from denying access to information regarding the environmental impact of a product or assessment.

APA

Natural Justice (2025). UBULUNGISA KWEZOLWANDLE. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/OCEANJ1-1.pdf

Chicago

Natural Justice. UBULUNGISA KWEZOLWANDLE. 2025. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/OCEANJ1-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Natural Justice |title=UBULUNGISA KWEZOLWANDLE |date=March 2025 |url=https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/OCEANJ1-1.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{naturaljustice2025ubulungisa, author = {{Natural Justice}}, title = {{UBULUNGISA KWEZOLWANDLE}}, institution = {Natural Justice}, year = {2025}, month = mar, url = {https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/OCEANJ1-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }