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ReconAfrica, a Canadian company exploring for oil and gas in Namibia upstream of a world-famous UNESCO World Heritage site that’s home to elephants and other wildlife is disposing of wastewater without permits, according to a government minister. The company is also ignoring local concerns about the impact of exploration and drilling on water supplies, homes, and animals, according to interviews and official comments submitted by members of the public.
There was scant public awareness of ReconAfrica’s plans to search for oil in this region of more than 200,000 people before
National Geographic began reporting last October on the risks drilling could pose to water and wildlife.
Gerhardus Van Wyk will be laid to rest on Wednesday morning after a service at the Dutch Reformed kerk in the little Namibian bush town of Outjo.
Were it not for the coronavirus pandemic, hundreds of mourners would be expected to attend the funeral. Burly, bearded Mr Van Wyk was a popular figure in the remote north of Namibia, in southern Africa. A gentle giant , several friends have told the Mail.
He had led a life filled with great danger. As a young man during the Angolan Bush War (which raged from 1966 to 1990), he fought Soviet-backed guerrillas while serving in the apartheid-era South African Army. Later, as a park ranger and game-reserve manager, he battled poachers armed with assault rifles and faced charging elephants. He was a noted horseman.
Test drilling for oil in Namibia s Okavango region poses toxic risk msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Namibia is selling the wild elephants, despite the outcry. Photo supplied
The Namibian government will put 170 wild elephants up for sale today, 29 January, justified by false population statistics and disputed claims of human-elephant conflict. More than 100,000 people have signed a petition condemning the action… writes
Don Pinnock, Daily Maverick.
See petition here.
The Namibian government says it has too many elephants and that the 170 are problem-causing animals. According to professional guide and conservationist Stephan Scholvin, about 90 are to be captured on former indigenous San ancestral lands which have been seized and distributed to political elites. They sold logging rights in the area to the Chinese, who have “completely decimated” the endangered African rosewoods.