THERE’S a rude phrase that is used to describe the feeling of helplessness one gets when taking up the cudgels over and over again against insurmountable odds – farting against thunder.
That’s what it sometimes feels like trying to highlight environmental abuse after environmental abuse, abuses that are fuelled by rampant greed and an acquisitive robber baron mentality that has scant regard for the sustainable use of resources.
It is this mentality that drives the habitat destruction that accompanies the mad rush to exploit more coal on the Highveld, to strip mine for copper in Zambia’s Lower Zambezi National Park, and that fuels rhino, elephant and pangolin poaching.
It is this mentality that creates climate change denialism, because accepting the fact of anthropogenic climate change leads to making less profit.
It is this mentality that promotes a fracking at all costs approach to the shale gas in the Karoo, despite the fact that there is more than enough natural gas already coming onstream in Tanzania and Mozambique to supply South Africa for decades.
And just when I thought I had run out of windmills to tilt against, and thunder to fart at, a new threat to our pristine wilderness areas landed in my inbox yesterday.
The e-mail came from the African Paddling Association (APA) Environmental Working Group. I don’t often give away big chunks of this column to other writers, or to media releases, but this one was special, and beautifully written:
“The Orange River runs like a golden thread across southern Africa, linking diverse climates, countries and people and sustaining life across our subcontinent. It is the biggest river in a region known for its aridity and desert landscapes and provides a lifeline for many. Rising in the snowy highlands of Lesotho as the Senqu, it winds its way through the deep gorges of the mountain kingdom before entering the grasslands of South Africa. From there it cuts across country, collecting tributaries until it enters the dry Kalahari and forms a border with Namibia before emptying its load of silt and diamonds into the sea at Oranjemund.
“Much has been written about this awesome river, many legends have been passed on from generation to generation and through it all, the river has continued to flow, adjusting to the huge dams built to control its waters and to the litter and pollution (from) human settlements on its banks. Its lower reaches have always provided a sanctuary – the river has remained free flowing and clean and the surrounding areas are wild and remote.
“And yet, only 10 percent of this mighty river remains pristine wilderness, including its two mightiest waterfalls, the Augrabies Falls and the lesser known but equally impressive Richie Falls. Both are considered of extreme biodiversity importance… Now, this is all under threat and we want to let the public know. This river belongs to all of the people of the subcontinent and it is threatened by profit seeking developers and their backers.”
I know that 10 percent of which they speak well. I have paddled the section from Vioolsdrift/Noordoewer to Ausenkehr, I have explored the Augrabies Falls and surrounds, and have spent days on end absorbing the incredible solitude and beauty of the Richtersveld.
And now that wilderness is under serious – no, critical – threat.
The APA says that several hydro power projects are on the cards for the Orange, including just above Augrabies where the plan is “to divert most of the river from the falls, reducing them to a trickle and channel the water through concrete canals blasted into solid rock to power turbines to generate electricity”.
The second is the Richie Falls, a pristine wilderness area with no road access.
“The plan here is to build a massive road, construct concrete weirs across the river and divert most of the water away from the gorge and the falls and into a concrete canal to drive turbines.”
Behind the two projects, and several others, is believed to be “a consortium between Hydro Tasmania (owned by the Tasmanian Federal Government) and a South African company, Hydro SA”.
I for one would like to know exactly how far these plans have gone, if any strategic environmental impact assessments have been carried out, what the SA government’s stance is on this, and who stands to benefit financially from the developments.
You can find more information on www.canoesa.org.za/orangeriver/
tonyweaver@iafrica.com