It is a treasure of biodiversity, protected so far from any industrial predation. In South Africa, on the east coast, bordering the Indian Ocean, there is the Wild Coast nature reserve, the Wild Coast, of which Sinegugu Zukulu, 51, is the number one protector.
Born and raised here, he leads the association for the preservation of the coast and, for the past year, he has been re-enacting the mythical battle of David against Goliath. The Goliath in question is the oil multinational Shell, the fifth largest turnover in the world: 261 billion last year and record profits in recent months. Its engineers have spotted possible gas and oil deposits under the ocean floor, just in front of the Côte Sauvage. The Anglo-Dutch firm requested exploration permits from the government, which granted them without flinching.
The objective was to locate pockets of hydrocarbons using the seismic wave technique, which consists of generating explosions under water with compressed air. These explosions take place every ten seconds, 24 hours a day, and were to be spread over five months. What considerably disturb the underwater life, that of the whales and dolphins which move thanks to their sonars, but also that of the turtles, sardines, of all the fish.
Sinegugu Zukulu filed a complaint, on behalf of the nature reserve. The local fishermen followed, then the village chiefs, taking with them their entire community, and, finally, the lodge owners, up against the idea of seeing the whales that attract tourists go. To win, they relied on the South African constitution which defends the rights of indigenous peoples to dispose of their lands and to preserve everything that allows their subsistence: fauna, flora, forest, bush and ocean.
The Amadiba community, the main one concerned, lives from fishing. But, Zukulu recalls, “oil and gas cannot be eaten. The ocean belongs to the peoplehe said, the government has no right to sell it without consulting the first concernedAnd indeed, after months of battle, the Estearn Cape High Court of Justice has just declared the exploration permits illegal, as they were issued without consultation with the population and to the detriment of the underwater fauna. Sinegugu Zukulu and the small fishermen have won: Shell no longer has access to this maritime zone, “and it’s a win that’s not only good for us, concluded the defender of the environment after the statement of the judgmentbut for the whole planet”.