IN a blatant disregard for the South African environmental legislation, several construction projects are ongoing in Umgababa and Ilfracombe in a very sensitive area along the coast that is supposed to be protected.

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Vegetation has been cleared, and dunes are being flattened to make way for people’s homes. Houses have also been built inside the Umgababa River flood plain. Environmental consultant Laura Taylor said it is illegal to build on primary dunes without authorisation and without having done a proper environmental impact assessment.

“More and more, we will find that extreme weather events will result in severe consequences for this lack of planning in development. Those who are degrading the primary sand dunes for the pleasure of a sea view, may find their houses washed away by sea storms that can produce unusual wave action as well as flooding,” said Laura.

The area of Umgababa and Ilfracombe falls under Ingonyama Trust and is administered by the local chief and his tribal council.

According to a document called the Conservation Management and Rehabilitation Plan Redevelopment of Umgababa Beach Node, which was published in 2013 on behalf of eThekwini Municipality, the coastal area of Umgababa has valuable environmental assets that require conservation and rehabilitation.

Laura said the damage caused to some homes during the floods in April was an example of inadequate planning and building methods. A number of houses built on the unstable ground were damaged by landslides.

“Often they have not built adequate retaining walls in sandy soil. Primary sand dunes may have taken centuries or millennia to establish, and they provide incredibly important environmental and economic services that are being degraded by reckless building practices. The responsible authorities should be doing much more to prevent this and to protect our fragile environments,” she said.

Questions sent to eThekwini Municipality had not been replied to at the time of going to press.

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