Goldman Environmental Prize
Two Eastern Cape environmental activists have received global recognition for their efforts in stopping seismic testing for oil and gas off the Wild Coast.
Nonhle Mbuthuma of the Amadiba Crisis Committee and Sinegugu Zukulu, the director of the organization, Sustaining the Wild Coast, were winners of the 2024 Goldman International Environmental Prize.
They were among a group of environmental activists from different parts of the world to have received the award.
In the citation, they were lauded for protecting migratory whales, dolphins and other wildlife from the harmful effects of seismic testing.
Read More: Court rules against Shell in on-going seismic survey saga
Liz McDaid of the Green Connection, also paid tribute to Mbuthuma and Zukula, saying “We are very proud that South Africans are once again the recipients of the Goldman Environmental Prize.”
In December 2021, local communities and environmental justice organisations took Shell to court, first to request an urgent interim interdict to stop the seismic testing that the company had started in the Wild Coast, a few weeks earlier.
They returned to court in May of the following year to ask the court to review the decision to grant the exploration rights to Shell and this was eventually set aside by the court in September 2022.
The court further ruled that the decision to grant a further, second renewal, had also been set aside.
Shell was granted leave to appeal the ruling.
Also Read: Coastal communities win the fight against Shell
