In 1995, Royal Dutch Shell bought out 23 properties to build two Shell Ultra City gas stations in Bryanston where Mariette Liefferink lived with her four children. She spent the next seven years campaigning against the development, culminating in Shell withdrawing its application. In 2002, groundWork, an environmental justice nonprofit, invited Liefferink to present the case at the World Summit for Sustainable Development. It was seen as a David versus Goliath battle. Then, in 2003, the 53 landowners of the farm Wes-Driefontein near Carletonville asked Liefferink to help them. They could no longer farm because it was dewatered and degraded because of mining activities. The outcome of Liefferink’s campaign was that they were bought out by Goldfields. The government intervened to address the legacy of mining on the West and Far West Rand. Liefferink read academic and governmental reports on gold mining in the Witwatersrand and became aware of the environmental and social impacts of 120 years of gold mining. Many more campaigns followed and with the support of the Federation for a Sustainable Environment (FSE) and other NGOs, her work expanded into other campaigns and programmes. “Active citizenry is necessary to speak out against threats to our environment and our people, environmental racism and injustices and to hold government and business accountable,” she said. These environmental struggles are arduous and may not always receive recognition. Liefferink likens the FSE’s and her own activism to the stitches on a garment held together by thousands of little stitches. “Our advocacy may not have resulted in one grand victory, but there were many small victories along the way”, which the environmental justice movement relevant.
What’s been your/the organisation’s greatest achievement in your field?
Drawing national and international attention to the legacy of gold mining within the Witwatersrand goldfields and influencing policies, laws, strategies and regulations to address environmental problems such as acid mine drainage; radioactivity and radioactive mine residue deposits; post-closure land use; financial provisioning for latent and residual impacts including the pumping and treatment of extraneous or polluted water; the retrospective application of the polluter pays principle; economic succession; irresponsible management of tailings and tailings storage facilities; environmental racism; and the mining industry’s externalisation of cost model. The environmental journey of the Federation for a Sustainable Environment can be described as a marathon, with obstacles but also successes along the way.
As the Federation for a Sustainable Environment matured over the years it transitioned from confrontational and oppositional activism to strategic engagement and cooperation with the government, the mining industry, academics and the news, albeit still upholding its principles and values. This synergetic approach has fostered a mutual understanding of the problems and has enhanced the prospect for the rehabilitation of degraded land to a predetermined and agreed standard or land use which conforms with the concept of sustainable development, and the responsible closure of mining operations.
Please provide specific examples of how your organisation’s practices and work have a positive effect on the environment
It is difficult to report on one’s own achievements. Allow me therefore to refer to a few of the comments of other parties on our achievements. When the Federation for a Sustainable Environment was formed in 2007, the Sunday Independent wrote: “The government and mining houses face a major challenge — and the strong likelihood of legal action — from a powerful new conservation alliance about to be formed by an array of environmental bodies that are concerned about the way precious parts of the natural environment are being destroyed.
The FSE has influenced major mining companies to conduct progressive rehabilitation; to ascribe to the Global Industry Standard for Tailings Management, the goal of which is zero harm to the environment and zero harm to people with zero tolerance for human fatalities; to implement the biodiversity principles of zero loss and net gain; to prepare communities for closure and to ensure sustainable future land use with sustainable livelihood opportunities; and to rehabilitate degraded and polluted areas (for example wetlands, which were affected by spillages from Mintails; operations are in the process of being restored).
Our practices and work have furthermore contributed and influenced international and national academic research and the publication of academic papers; collaboration with national and international institutions and nonprofit organisation; the relocation of communities from radioactive mine residue deposits; amendments to the national dust regulations, the mine water management policy, the national mine closure strategy, the financial regulations, the artisanal and small scale mining policy, the development of a plan for the remediation of radioactive mine residue areas by the National Nuclear Regulator, etc. These contributions have resulted and will result in long-term positive effects on the environment and our people.
The FSE’s advocacy included ensuring mining-affected communities know their rights and how to exercise these rights as well as:
• Informing interested and affected parties of the hazards, risks and impacts of tailings and tailings storage facilities;
• How to minimise the risks to communities from tailings and tailings storage facilities; Preparing the host communities in the event of a catastrophic failure of a tailings storage facility;
• Involving interested and affected parties in decisions regarding closure and closure objectives, post-closure and future land use.
What are some of the biggest environmental challenges faced by South Africans today?
Water scarcity and water pollution, air quality, irresponsible mining practices, the legacy of coal and gold mining (abandoned and derelict mines), climate change, the failure of our regulators to enforce environmental non-compliances, dysfunctional governance systems, the moral bankruptcy prevailing in South Africa’s water sector, and apathy.
Our theme this year is Celebrating Environment Heroes. What do you believe could be the repercussions for millions of people in South Africa and the continent if we do not tackle problems exacerbated by climate change, encompassing issues like drought, floods, fires, extreme heat, biodiversity loss, and pollution of air and water?
Poverty, homelessness, unemployment, human health risks, hunger, malnutrition and premature deaths; environmental refugees, wars.