By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK | 2 June 2024 (IDN) — Indigenous activists Nonhle Mbuthuma and Sinegugu Zukulu of South Africa are among this year’s recipients of the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize. The prize celebrates grassroots leaders who prove that ordinary people can have an extraordinary impact on the environment.
The South Africans are among six prizewinners who range from Australia, Brazil, India, Spain, and the U.S.
Nonhle and Sinegugu organized their community to confront harmful oil and gas exploration taking place in a particularly biodiverse area.
The two asserted the rights of the local community to protect marine environment in an area unusually rich in biodiversity known as the Wild Coast. The 360,000 acre Mpondoland marine protected area is a major sanctuary and benefit to species survival.
In October 2021, it was learned that Shell oil company planned to launch seismic surveys off the Wild Coast to prospect for oil and gas reserves below the seabed. The South African government had granted the company exploration rights in 2014 and renewed them in 2021.
The surveys included blasting the seafloor with high-powered sonic air guns that reach 250 decibels. The blasts can be heard for miles and directly harm marine mammals which can suffer hearing loss and disrupted communication. They also increase the likelihood of a potentially devastating oil spill along the Wild Coast.
Nonhle, co-founder and spokesperson for the Amadiba Crisis Committee observed: There is no distinction between people and nature and the ocean is a sacred place for us.
Sinegugu is a conservationist working with Sustaining the Wild Coast, a nonprofit that promotes environmental sustainability.
Together, they organized a seven kilometer “community walk” along the coast, summoning ancestors to support their legal case. In December 2021, the campaign submitted 400 pages of affidavits, including community and expert testimony that Nonhle and Sinegugu had collected. The High Court ruled in their favor, ordering immediate cessation of Shell’s seismic survey operations.
Award winners receive access to grants, networking and professional development, security support and strategic communications in addition to a check for $200,000. [IDN-InDepthNews]
Photo: Sinegugu Zukulu and Nonhle Mbuthuma from South Africa during the award ceremony of the 2024 Goldman Environmental Prize on April 29, 2024. CC BY-SA 4.0
