Post by cjm on Dec 14, 2015 17:09:30 GMT
The article is also available in Dutch, here
Water be damned, the mines are what count
20 Nov 2015 00:00 Sipho Kings
Past experience has shown that the government will continue to permit industry such as mining that destroys water supplies.
Faan Botha fears mining will affect the water that is the lifeblood for farmers in the fertile area, which produces double the average maize yield of other areas. (Fredrik Lerneryd)
South Africa is in its second year of drought. A strong El Niño has exacerbated this, leaving the agriculture sector devastated and water shortages in many municipalities. Entire provinces have been declared disaster areas.
The 8% of the country’s surface area that captures and cleans half of its water has been particularly hard hit. But, rather than securing water catchments, the government is continuing to entertain initiatives such as coal mining in areas that capture the country’s water.
“Nothing changes. We do our bit to feed the country but the government will favour any sort of industry over food,” said Faan Botha.
...
20 Nov 2015 00:00 Sipho Kings
Past experience has shown that the government will continue to permit industry such as mining that destroys water supplies.
Faan Botha fears mining will affect the water that is the lifeblood for farmers in the fertile area, which produces double the average maize yield of other areas. (Fredrik Lerneryd)
South Africa is in its second year of drought. A strong El Niño has exacerbated this, leaving the agriculture sector devastated and water shortages in many municipalities. Entire provinces have been declared disaster areas.
The 8% of the country’s surface area that captures and cleans half of its water has been particularly hard hit. But, rather than securing water catchments, the government is continuing to entertain initiatives such as coal mining in areas that capture the country’s water.
“Nothing changes. We do our bit to feed the country but the government will favour any sort of industry over food,” said Faan Botha.
...