CoAL signs MoA to ensure the conservation of the Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape World Heritage Site

Coal of Africa Limited (CoAL) has signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) together with the South African Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA), South African National Parks (SANParks) to preserve the Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape World Heritage Site, which is near CoAL’s very controversial mining site in Limpopo.

The mine is controversial because it not only poses a threat to the Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape, but also to tourism, employment and the environment. In an opinion piece published on IOL, Nick Hiltermann, the chairman of the Mapungubwe Action Group, refuted most of the allegations made by CoAL with regards to the benefits the mine would bring to the region.
For instance, CoAL has claimed that the mine would bring in an additional R15 billion per year to the province, but Hiltermann says that most of that would go to offshore investors who hold most of the shares in the company. CoAL also claims that it will do its bit to ease unemployment in the region by creating 2500 jobs during peak construction. This then dwindles to 826 during the operational phase and down again to 250 “as the mine winds up”. However, Hiltermann contends that approximately 1110 permanent and 4650 temporary farm workers will lose their jobs as farm owners pack up and leave. He speculates that there will be further job loses in the eco-tourism industry. The MoA is designed to address most of the concerns raised by the Mapungubwe Action Group, as well as any other organisations worried about the mine’s effect on region’s biodiversity. Some of the key points of the agreement include:

• The development of biodiversity programmes to offset any potential harm caused by mining activities. These programmes will include the conservation of the natural and cultural heritage, tourism development and the proper management of water resources.
• CoAL, SANParks and the DEA will periodically review these programmes and adjust them as and when necessary.
• All key stakeholders, including local communities and the academic community, not to mention NGOs and the private sector, will be invited and encouraged to participate.
• CoAL, SANParks, and the DEA also undertake to provide financial, human and other resources to effectively implement the MoA.
Commenting on the agreement, CoAL CEO John Wallington said, “This agreement is a declaration of intent with the goal of creating and developing a sustainable model of co-existence which should set new and more inclusive standards to be aspired to. … With the help of the DEA and SanParks, we are seeking to be pioneers in finding the right balance between conservation and economic development.”
He added, “We have a responsibility to protect the natural and cultural richness of the Heritage Site, whilst substantially increasing the size of the economy and thereby creating jobs that our country desperately requires.”