Cautious approach to fracking needed

RESEARCHER David Fig’s study on the social, environmental and economic effects of hydraulic fracking on the Karoo makes for sombre reading.

Fig argues that not only will fracking damage the economy of the Karoo, it will also ruin the charm the picturesque area is known for, leading to a tourism slump that could last for years.

If ground water is polluted by fracking this will in turn harm sheep farming and threaten the quality of “Karroo lamb” – which is one of the Karoo’s most successful exports. If agriculture is harmed, this would lead to massive job losses and increase homelessness in a province like the Eastern Cape which can ill afford it.

This study by Fig echoes the arguments of environmentalists who warn against the hazards of contamination of underground water sources, pollution and its concomitant effect on farming.

The government and big business have backed the call for fracking, arguing it would create more jobs and provide a much-needed energy source in an energy-hungry developing country.

Using this argument, President Jacob Zuma has called fracking “a game changer”, a view which is tentatively supported by the DA which argues that “fracking has the potential to create thousands of jobs. As such, we cannot just reject it out of hand. We need to do what is right for the environment and we need to do what is right for unemployed people who could benefit from fracking”.

In Germany, the environmentalists have the upper hand in the battle.

Despite the fact that business called for shale gas exploration to end the country’s dependence on Russia for its fuel, the German minister of economic affairs and the environment agreed on a fracking moratorium until 2022.

Our government needs to take a pragmatic approach which allows for solid baseline scientific research to be conducted to test big businesses’ claims of the pros of fracking.

And it also needs to ensure the environmental protection of the agricultural and tourism treasure that is our Karoo before any major gas exploration is embarked on.