A South African high court on Friday dismissed environmental organizations which had taken legal action to prevent Shell from carrying out a search for oil and gas deposits by seismic campaign.
The appeal filed in a South African high court by environmental organizations against Shell was dismissed on Friday. The oil company is therefore authorized to begin a search for oil and gas deposits by seismic campaign.
This decision of the South African justice is harmful for the marine environment, plead the organizations. ” It doesn’t take much thought to understand that when you send a sound wave every ten seconds, at depth, for five months, without interruption, it has an impact on the marine environment, because animals use sonar to to reproduce and to spot their prey », Indignant the director of the campaigns of Natural justice Katherine Robinson.
The Anglo-Dutch company is to map the seabed off the Eastern Cape Province, known for its rich biodiversity. ” We don’t call it the “wild coast” for nothing. It has an incredible ecosystem and constitutes an important part of the biodiversity of the coast. This part of the rugged coast is considered sacred to local communities, who depend on the sea and the coast for their livelihood, for their survival. And that’s not all, she’s incredibly sacred when it comes to identity and heritage. Ms. Robinson adds.
It is with the help of air cannon fire firing every 10 seconds for five months that the firm intends to carry out its work. But despite this appeal rejected by the courts, the organizations intend to continue their fight against the oil project.
” We are still discussing the judgment with our legal advisers to decide whether or not we will appeal certain aspects of the judgment. But in the meantime, we will do everything in our power to support the request made on behalf of the communities of the “wild coast”, on the basis that Shell does not have an environmental clearance to undertake them. », She concludes.