The Paris Climate Agreement (COP21) has been adopted by 193 countries since it was introduced back in 2015. The Paris Agreement set out to improve and replace the Kyoto Protocol, an earlier international treaty designed to curb the release of greenhouse gases. Although the agreement aimed to reduce the effects of climate change, little progress has been seen on the global scale.

Environmental activists and organizations play a pivotal role in slowing the progress of climate change. Activists are often targeted for their roles in influencing political outcomes and shifting public attention to specific issues. Global witness reports that 1,540 land and environmental defenders have been killed between 2012-2020 with 2020 being the deadliest year on record. Although environmental activism is dangerous, it has not deterred activists and organizations from advocating for the protection of their homelands.

One inspiring organization is the Amadiba Crisis Committee (ACC). The committee formed in 2007 when an Australian mining company discovered titanium along the Wild Coast in South Africa. The proposed Xolobeni mine is a project by Transworld, an owned subsidiary of Australian corporation Mineral Commodities (MRC). It aims to be one of the largest titanium mines in South Africa.

In response, the ACC was created by those who would be directly affected by this mine in the Xolobeni community. The mine would have immediately displaced more than 70 families with the eventual displacement of another 200 families. Neighboring communities would lose direct access to the sea, have their water supplies contaminated, and be affected by the dust. The ACC has been fighting for community land rights and the environment, as well as trying to ensure human rights are not violated in the name of development.

In an interview with Busisipho Siyobi, Nonhle Mbuthuma, the spokesperson for the ACC stated, “We are not anti-development. We are for development, but mining is not the type of development that we want to see take place here. We do have agriculture here. We do have eco-tourism here. We have reasons why we chose those two. Those two are sustainable. They will sustain us. We know that once you allow mining, it’s short term, it doesn’t matter if it employs so many people, but the damage it is going to leave behind is too much and is irreversible. That is why we said we are not looking for benefits from mining, and we are hoping that the Australian company are going to listen when we say it, because we told them that we are not interested in this type of development. If they want to develop us, they must develop the eco-tourism and agriculture that we have here, not put a new development that is going to destroy the existing development that we have here.”

As a result of their work, the ACC has dealt with numerous security threats. One of the founders of the ACC, Sikhosiphi “Bazooka” Radebe, was murdered in March 2016. His leadership and his vocal opposition to ‘development’ projects that are supported by the South African government contributed to him becoming a target. Before Radebe was murdered, Mbuthuma was warned that she was on a hit list too. To this day, no one has been arrested for his murder and Mbuthuma needs a personal bodyguard because of the death threats she still receives.

The mine wasn’t the only project that was proposed in the area. Shell also petitioned to conduct seismic blasting to search for viable oil and gas reserves below the seabed. Protests from the community and environmentalists were successful in halting the survey for now. The ACC filed two applications to block Shell’s plan to conduct the survey and on December 28, 2021, South African courts halted Shell’s seismic blasting on the Wild Coast. This ruling was praised by environmentalists, but the case is far from over.

Safeguarding environmental activists is essential in the fight to mitigate climate change. Most often these activists are the ones that make the most difference when it comes to educating society about the dangers, risks, and actions that must happen to reduce the effects of climate change.

NGOs are essential in protecting environmental activists, they should adopt regulations that protect these individuals. Funding should be allocated to groups and organizations such as the Amadiba Crisis Committee so they can protect their land from powerful corporations such as Shell and the MRC.

Legislative processes should be implemented that protect environmental and human rights defenders. Most recently, The United Nations recognized that access to a healthy environment is a human right by adopting resolution 48/13. Countries should adopt this resolution to ensure that environmental defenders are protected.

The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) aims to support environmental activists through its Defenders Policy by:

• Denouncing the attacks, torture, intimidation, and murders of environmental defenders;
• Advocating with states and non-state actors, including business, for better protection of environmental rights and the people standing up for these rights;
• Supporting the responsible management of natural resources;
• Requesting government and companies’ accountability for the different events where environmental defenders have been affected / murdered.

The UNEP has set up an internal accountability mechanism to assess individual cases that are reported. The email account: unenvironment-defenders@un.org enables communities and individuals whose environmental rights have been violated - or are in danger of being violated - to contact UNEP directly and in confidence. In addition, they aim to provide resources and tools such as legal assistance to help protect environmental activists. The Defenders Policy seems to be a step in the right direction when it comes to protecting activists, but I was unable to find any published data on how many activists they have actively protected so far.

Governments around the world will continue to pass legislation aimed to mitigate climate change, but it is imperative that we acknowledge, support, and protect environmental activists. This can only be done if governments include protections for environmental activists when passing climate related legislation. The ACC continues to be an inspiration to all climate defenders through their successful efforts in fighting powerful and damaging corporations and must be protected.

The NGO JASS shot a 19-minute video highlighting the story and efforts of the ACC through the voice of Nonhle Mbuthuma. The link is included below:

https://youtu.be/BA8No0CoiYE

For more information about the ACC, please follow / like their Facebook Page:

facebook.com/amadibacrisiscommittee