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. The Mpumalanga government has revoked the status of the Mabola Protected Environment, in a move that activists fear will open up the way for mining in the area. Former MEC for Agriculture, Rural Development, Land and Environmental Affairs Vusi Shongwe revoked the protected area status for a portion of the Mabola Protected Environment (MPE), a highly sensitive protected grassland and water catchment area. Zanele Shabangu, head of communication in the Department of Agriculture, Conservation, Environment and Rural Development, told GroundUp the decision had been taken “after intense interrogation and consideration of all the facts that were presented before him by the Voice Community, the SA National Botanical Institute (SANBI) and civil rights non-profit organisations.” ....
The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) has refused to take down its statement and response to the Mpumalanga provincial government’s decision to exclude certain farms from a protected area to pave the way for a coal mine. The CER expressed its displeasure on its website after former Mpumalanga agriculture and environmental affairs MEC, Vusi Shongwe, announced two weeks ago that he had excluded 27.503ha of land from the Mabola Protected Area in Wakkerstroom where an Indian company, Atha Africa Ventures, planned to open the Yzermyn Coal Mine. A coalition of eight environmental organisation, which the CER represents, had put up a strong fight to stop the mining project because the Mabola Protected Area is a fresh water source within the Enkangala-Drakensberg Water Source Area (WSA). It is part of only 22 WSAs in South Africa which produce 50% of the country’s fresh water. ....
Water reserve loses ground to coal mine 18 Feb 2021 Undermining: The Mabola Protected Environment in Mpumalanga, which supplies South Africa with half of its water, is once again being threatened by coal mining. (Robert C Nunnington) The protected status of a large part of the Mabola Protected Environment area near Wakkerstroom has been revoked by Mpumalanga’s minister for agriculture and environmental affairs. Now the way appears to have been cleared for a firm linked to Jacob Zuma’s relatives to mine for coal there. On 8 December, MEC Vusi Shongwe published a notice of exclusion “to promote the co-existence of mining activities and conservation” in the biodiversity-rich protected area, a strategic water source area. ....