Another week, another set of environmental tipping points and crises

WO weeks ago, this column addressed the issue of thresholds, critical mass and tipping points, used in the environmental and scientific sense. Sadly, it seems as though little tipping points are being reached almost daily when it comes to our beleaguered natural environment.

Two potential tipping points materialised this week, one very local, one of potentially global importance.

The first was the decision on Wednesday by a full sitting of the City Council to recommend that the province approves the alteration of Cape Town’s urban edge to allow for the alienation of 280 hectares of the Philippi Horticultural Area. The city argues that this is a small part of the 3 200ha farming zone, land that is already degraded, polluted, invaded, and that the

Towners want to sell because of, among other things, lack of physical security.

While the practical considerations may favour the use of the land for housing, there is a much bigger principle at stake here. That principle is that the alienation of agricultural land close to the urban centre of one of Africa’s major cities is simply daft. It is a short-sighted, profit-driven and short term solution to a long term problem.

Cape Town is a magnet for in-migration from poorer parts of South Africa and the rest of Africa, and the sooner we come up with integrated housing solutions, the better. Like the rest of the planet, we face the challenges of climate change and changing water and food security scenarios. To start chipping away at one of our most productive farming areas, close to the city centre and not carbon hungry miles away, flies in the face of what it means to be an innovative world class World Design Capital.

OK. I’ve got that off my chest. Now to turn to the other tipping point.

The WWF is a global organisation not normally in the business of starting internet petitions. It is often criticised by more vocal groups for being too cautious and corporate in its conservation activism. Which is why it is a significant moment when it does launch a global appeal like the one announced yesterday, aimed at stopping oil exploration in the Virunga National Park.

For those who don’t know it, think Gorillas In The Mist: the park is in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and stretches from the Virunga Mountains in the south, to the Ruwenzoris in the North, and is bordered by Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and Uganda’s Ruwenzori Mountains National Park and Queen Elizabeth National Park (QENP) in Uganda.

It is Africa’s oldest national park, established in 1925, and a Unesco World Heritage Site. Although I haven’t been into the core Virunga area, I have explored the similar surrounding areas in the Ruwenzoris, the Ishasha area of QENP and the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda. It is a treasure trove of biodiversity.

But it is constantly under threat from the ongoing civil war in the DRC, poaching, land invasions, and now oil prospecting.

In its motivation for launching the petition, the WWF said, in a report released yesterday, that “Africa’s oldest national park could be worth US$1.1 billion a year if developed sustainably, rather than being given over to potentially-damaging oil extraction. Virunga National Park has the potential to generate 45 000 permanent jobs through investments in hydropower, the fishery industry and ecotourism”.

The WWF statement said that “in June, the Unesco World Heritage Committee called for the cancellation of all Virunga oil permits and appealed to concession holders Total SA and Soco International PLC not to undertake exploration in World Heritage Sites. Total has committed to respecting Virunga’s current boundary, leaving UK-based Soco as the only oil company with plans to explore inside the park… Environmental impacts from oil extraction could threaten Virunga’s freshwater ecosystems, rich forests and rare wildlife, the study found. The park is home to over 3 000 different kinds of animals, including critically endangered mountain gorillas.

“This is where we draw the line. Oil companies are standing on the doorstep of one of the world’s most precious and fragile places, but we will not rest until Virunga is safe from this potential environmental disaster,” said Lasse Gustavsson, executive director of WWF International. “Virunga has snow fields and lava fields, but it should not have oil fields.”

I don’t sign online petitions. I think they are generally a waste of time. But I signed this one. Sign it at www.wwf.panda.org

tonyweaver@iafrica.com