Govt quells marine exploration concerns

THE national Department of Environmental Affairs (DEP) has responded to concerns raised by local activists regarding the commencement of Operation Phakisa’s offshore drilling.

Earthlife Africa Durban (ELA) and the South Durban Community Environment Alliance (SDCEA) reacted with apprehension at the announcement by President Jacob Zuma that the first phase of Operation Phakisa would focus on untapped marine resources and will include seismic testing and drilling for oil.

The DEP claims the drilling will be localised and contained and seismic activities will have limited impact on the environment. “If done according to the legislation and with avoidance of sensitive areas and times, the resulting limited impacts should not be problematic. These activities should certainly not cause natural disasters or wreak havoc,” said director of communications for the national Department of Environmental Affairs, Zolile Nqayi.

“The main precautions are to avoid sensitive times, such as the main migratory seasons of animals sensitive to sound like whales and for drilling to not be undertaken in sensitive or protected areas. This is one reason why the department is also fast-tracking a network of marine protected areas, aiming to increase the area under protection from less than 1% of our exclusive economic zone to over 5% in the next three years.

Through Operation Phakisa, efforts are accelerated to develop a marine spatial planning framework, which will address the multiple uses of the oceans for the various activities.”

Nqayi added that the government is committed to investigating other sources of energy. “These include coal, gas, nuclear, oil, solar, hydro, wind and nuclear. Wind energy is already being expanded rapidly, although mainly in coastal land areas. Other forms of renewable energy being examined for the ocean and coast include wave and current energy and pumped storage schemes.”

Another factor of concern for the activists was sustainable job creation for locals. “During exploration activities, few direct jobs are created. It is only a small number of local supply entities that may benefit by the services they are offering. Jobs are normally created during the production phase and mainly by service providers to the oil and gas companies. This is through local content. These numbers are likely to multiply as localisation of entire value chains intensify and begin to bear fruit. Furthermore, in order to improve education and health (as suggested), and future jobs, the ocean as an untapped resource holds good promise and this was a key motivator for Operation Phakisa, exploring economic opportunities within the ocean space,” said Nqayi.