Saving the South African Cape winelands

7th July 2010, 4:16pm

Gary Jordan, geologist and co-owner of award-winning Jordan Wine Estate in Stellenbosch, South Africa writes about his campaign to save the Cape winelands.

National pride has recently been at stake in the Cape Winelands. With the world's attention focused on South Africa in the 2010 FIFA World Cup the recent Prospecting Right Applications by state-owned African Exploration Mining and Finance Company (AEMFC) threatened not only the pristine Cape winelands but the very existence of the UNESCO registered Bottelary Conservancy.

I actually first heard that the AEMFC had applied for prospecting rights for tin, zinc, lead, lithium, copper, manganese and silver on Jordan Wine Estate, as well as other estates including Saxenburg, Zevenwacht and De Grendel, a few days after the public participation process had closed. The Johannesburg-based consultants had not followed correct environmental protocol, failing to consult landowners and timed the applications to coincide with the middle of the vintage.

Worryingly The Department of Mineral Resources had already provisionally accepted these prospecting rights whilst the AEMFC was exempted by the Minister of Minerals and Energy from many provisions of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act. A speedy reaction was therefore essential, faced with a classic situation of the fox in charge of the hen-house.

Hundreds of people turned up to the meeting organised to strategise and plan the way forward to save the Cape winelands. When it comes to prospecting, there is an inevitable trade-off between conservation and a mining company's objectives. In many cases, conservation inevitably loses out. I should know - I used to be a geologist.

A Facebook site 'STOP Mining our Winelands' was set up and following weeks of overwhelming pressure from producer groups including Farmworker Forums, the Cape Winemakers Guild (CWG), Wines of South Africa (WOSA), and conservation groups such as the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) as well as influential international wine writers, heritage groups from all over the country and the public at large around the world, the Department of Mineral Resources ultimately advised AEMFC to officially withdraw.

Hailing the news as "a victory for social justice and democratic rights" the Winelands Action Group had been cautiously optimistic on hearing reports that the Director General of the Department of Mineral Resources, had announced that the applications would be withdrawn. However subsequent communication with the AEMFC revealed that despite the assurances given in a press release issued on behalf of the organisation's Chairman, the state company and their consultants were still going ahead with the application process. Staff of the Regional DME office in Cape Town also confirmed that the applications were continuing and that 'the statement issued was incorrect'.

The Cape Town and Stellenbosch communities were outraged at the about-turn by the state mining company and vowed to fight on, uniting to form the 'Winelands Action Group' and aligning themselves with WWF, The Endangered Wildlife Trust, the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA), and amongst many others. They called upon all affected parties country-wide to join forces to oppose the indiscriminate issuing of prospecting and mining licences in economically, ecologically and environmentally sensitive areas of South Africa. News arrived that large farming areas in Worcester, as well as hundreds of properties along the Garden Route near George were also affected.

Was there more to the prospecting right applications than met the eye? It certainly seemed so. Geological research indicated that the concentration of minerals such as tin wasn't high enough to warrant any prospecting activity in the first place.

Had there been a deliberate attempt by AEMFC to distract both the media and the public at large by informing them of the application withdrawal, but then still continuing with the process hoping there would be no comments received by the objectors to the plans? Which individuals stood to gain as so many have in recent years? The media in South Africa continued to highlight the issue, and only after concerted legal and social pressure were all the prospecting rights applications by the state mining company in the Western Cape withdrawn.

The Winelands Action Group continues to remain active, calling on all interested non-governmental organisations and groups affected by the indiscriminate issuing of prospecting and mining permits to join together in calling for a National Forum on South African Mining Policy. Currently at stake is the original and oldest Pinotage vineyard in South Africa, where commercial brick-making company Corobrik has been given clay mining rights.

While job creation, tourism, conservation and sustainable farming were all threatened in the Cape winelands by these various prospecting applications, by issuing them in the first place, the Department of Mineral Resources has assisted in damaging South Africa's image and credibility abroad.

The furore surrounding these particular prospecting applications has highlighted the need for a fundamental change in the way that applications are accepted by the department – in the Cape winelands case the state was acting as both player and referee. With the department's ability to deal with environmental matters currently at an all-time low, it is now of vital importance to act quickly and decisively to prevent the rape of South Africa's assets.

Click here to submit a comment!

Have your say!

To comment on this article, simply enter your name and email and send us your views. Please note that your comment will appear publicly below this article once it has been processed. For enquiries please email info@eatoutmagazine.co.uk.

Name

Leave blank

Email

Comment (max 800 characters)