ALL RISE - Attorneys for Climate and Environmental Justice

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A climate catastrophe in the making.... "But there is also a more alarming application in the wings: to remove or destroy more than 650,000 protected trees that include 10,000 baobabs, 100,000 Shepherd’s trees, 120,000 marulas and 428,058 leadwood trees. Apart from the significant scale of biodiversity damage from tree felling, the plan to develop a new heavy industry zone in Limpopo has also raised concern about whether there is enough water and electricity available in the region to support a mega-scale scale development centred around steel smelting, coal washing and other metallurgical processes." "Acting on behalf of several parties strongly opposed to any development that could jeopardise biodiversity in the Unesco-designated Vhembe Biosphere Reserve in northern Limpopo, attorney Kirsten Youens sent a letter to the department on August 13, requesting copies of any tree removal permits in the MMSEZ area." ALL RISE is acting for the Living Limpopo, the Herd Reserve, and the Centre for Applied Legal Studies at Wits University. Thank you Daily Maverick and Tony Carnie for sharing this important story. #climatecrisis #biodiversity #coalkills #baobab https://lnkd.in/dhXxsU2j

The extensive coal mining and industrial development of the MMSEZ in Limpopo, a water-scarce region, poses a catastrophic threat to local water resources. The plan to source 125 million cubic metres of water annually from the Limpopo River, its tributaries, and local groundwater jeopardises the entire river basin and its dependents. This could severely impact farming and rural households who rely on these water sources. Additionally, the transboundary nature of the Limpopo River raises political risks, especially regarding water access for downstream users in Mozambique. Have your say at livinglimpopo.org/join-us before its too late #climatecrisis #watercrisis

The South African Energy-Metallurgical Zone of the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone will concentrate on steel production in a ‘connected sequence’ from raw coal to coking coal; power generation; pig iron; ferroalloys and ultimately, 5 Mt/a of steel output….. Large-scale coal mining and heavy polluting industry is not the right economic growth path for the Vhembe. Have your say before it’s too late to save the wild heart of Limpopo - livinglimpopo.org/join-us.

And one day someone said: “this looks like a perfect place to blast to smithereens for coal”. And so it was. 😭 #injustice #MCEJO #environmentaljustice #climatecrisis #southafrica ALL RISE - Attorneys for Climate and Environmental Justice Janice Tooley MACUA WAMUA ActionAid South Africa Mary Lawlor SAHRC SA

WE NEED YOUR HELP TO SAVE THE WILD HEART OF LIMPOPO South Africa is about to create a new Sacrifice Zone for coal and steel in the remote Vhembe region of Limpopo. This is an urgent call for members of the public to register as stakeholders in decisions related to the green-lighting of the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone. The MMSEZ, a joint China-South Africa state-backed industrial mega-project, is ultra-high risk, high-cost and its cumulative impact on untouched, wild spaces in Limpopo and its surrounding communities will be catastrophic. HOW YOU CAN HELP You can register directly as an Interested and Affected Party to participate in the Public Participation Process via the Living Limpopo website. Complete the form below, click submit and your registration will be sent directly to the appointed Environmental Impact Assessment practitioner at Gudani Consulting. DEADLINE – 12 NOVEMBER 2024. Register here before its too late: https://lnkd.in/dWDgchJF https://lnkd.in/dWDgchJF

We spent the last two days with some of our clients who have to leave their land and homes to make way for Tendele’s open cast coal mine. As can be seen from the photos, they are left with no choice as they are being constructively evicted as mining begins around them and they are being isolated in their homes. Most were grandmothers with their grandchildren. Tears were shed by all of us. Especially when we discussed their ancestral graves being exhumed. One woman sobbed as she told us how she heard her neighbour screaming and ran across to see what was wrong. Their graves were being dug up, and a young child was watching and waiting for her grandfather to “wake up so I can spend time with him again”. She is so afraid of having to dig up her husband. It is such an appalling degradation of human rights. It is brutal and inhumane to relocate people without a proper resettlement plan, in-depth knowledge sharing and consulting and pre and post-resettlement counselling. SAHRC SA Nikki WalshThato Gaffane Lawyers for Human Rights Global Witness MACUA WAMUA Tembeka Ngcukaitobi Mail & Guardian Global Citizen Daily Maverick Greenpeace 350.org UN Environment Programme UN Women #Tendele