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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.”
South Africa to get another commission, this one to tackle the climate crisis
The cabinet has plans to establish a presidential commission that will examine the country’s climate crisis, according to Dr Thuli Khumalo, the deputy director general for climate change and air-quality management at the department for the environment, forestry and fisheries.
Climate change poses a health risk to our society. This risk may come from extreme weather conditions like droughts and storms, such as the recent cyclone Eloise, which claimed 21 lives in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, eSwatini and South Africa.
“The cabinet approved the establishment of the Presidential Climate Change Co-ordinating Commission (PCCC). The commission’s overall objective is to advise on South Africa’s climate-change response to ensure the realisation of the vision for effective climate-change response and the long-term just transition to a climate-resilient and low-carbon economy and society,” Khumalo
This week, civil society acknowledges the contribution of women to the response to Covid-19, and the unjust burden they bear. South Africa’s upcoming local and general elections are in the spotlight, as well as Chile’s looming constitutional reform.