Wildlife photographer and nature guide Jeni Smithies is gearing up for a showdown with environment minister Barbara Creecy’s department for allowing a French energy company to build a wind farm near Addo Elephant Park in the Eastern Cape.
Smithies’s online petition in protest against the approval of a wind farm near the park, which she says will imperil wildlife and tourism, is gaining traction.
This week, the company, Engie, confirmed it has the “rights to develop a wind farm in the Bayview area in the Eastern Cape”.
In the petition, started in June, Smithies describes the development as “nothing short of ecocide — a destruction of the natural environment by deliberate negligent human action”. Smithies is looking for 10,000 signatures; more than 9,000 people have already signed the petition.
“Elephant attacks are common in Kruger National Park and the elephants are very much less tolerant of vehicles. If the constant drone of low-frequency sound from the turbines has a similar effect on the Addo elephants, we fear their tolerance levels will decrease dramatically due to frustration [over] not being able to communicate effectively and irritation will lead to aggressive behaviour,” she said in the petition, referring to the impact of engine noise on elephants in Kruger.
“As a guide, I am certainly not keen on guiding international tourists through a wilderness area where elephants are agitated and frustrated, and I believe my fellow guides will agree.
“Is it fair to use Addo as a guinea pig and expose these animals to constant low-frequency sounds that they do not understand? In humans, this exact process is used as torture and can lead to insanity. Renewable energy is possible without harm to the ecosystem. We cannot fix one issue by creating a new one.”
Addo Elephant National Park was established in 1931 to protect elephants from hunting and poaching. In August, Addo relocated some of its 1,350 elephants to prevent overpopulation.
Kelly Davids-Phillips, spokesperson for Engie, said the Bayview site was zoned for development and the company had conducted a comprehensive due diligence investigation and permitting processes as required by the National Environmental Management Act.
“This includes undergoing compulsory and stringent environmental and social impact assessments on the full scope of environmental impacts of the intended development, without which an environmental authorisation cannot be issued,” she said.
Davids-Phillips said the company had undertaken ecological, visual, agricultural and bat impact assessments, a noise impact study and a palaeontological heritage report.
“In line with our environmental impact assessment, we have compiled an environmental management programme report to provide mitigation, monitoring and implementation measures to be undertaken to build and operate a wind farm on the site,” she said.
“This report outlines the measures to eliminate, offset and minimise adverse social and environmental impacts. These parameters are legally binding under our environmental authorisation to build and operate a facility on the site, as enforced and authorised by the department of forestry, fisheries & the environment [DFFE].”
Davids-Phillips said the company would work with South African National Parks (SANParks) once development work starts on the site to “continually monitor and assess the impacts of any turbine-generated noise on animals in the Addo Elephant National Park and to apply adaptive management where required”.
She added: “The Coega special economic zone has highlighted energy as one of the key industries for development, as the area is prime for wind energy, with many farms already in operation and some in the development phase by numerous other renewable energy developers.
“Before selecting a site for development, Engie conducts thorough investigations on the proximity to the grid, the natural energy resources and the environmental conditions.”
Davids-Phillips said before Engie was awarded the rights to develop the site, the DFFE had held a public consultation process where all parties with concerns were invited to share their objections.
“No material concerns were raised,” she said.
Approached for comment, SANParks said: “SANParks is an entity of the DFFE and all application approvals or decline of projects are dealt with at the department level.”
Joyce Poole, the co-founder and co-director of ElephantVoices, who has studied the social behaviour and communication of elephants for more than 40 years, said: “Wind farms emit substantial low-frequency noise in the range that is audible to elephants.
“Where I work, elephant calls often overlap with vehicle traffic and air traffic, but these are not a constant backdrop to their communication the way a wind farm would be.
“I believe that a wind farm in the vicinity of an elephant population would have a negative impact on their ability to communicate and on their mental health, but I don’t have evidence for this.”
Wilderness Foundation Africa and the Indalo Private Game Reserve Association appealed the department’s decision to Creecy last year. But Creecy dismissed the application.
This week, Creecy’s spokesperson, Peter Mbelengwa, told the Sunday Times that her decision was contained in a 98-page ruling.
“The minister has nothing more to add,” he said.
“Appellants who are dissatisfied with the minister’s appeal decision have the right to take the matter on judicial review.”
In the report, Creecy says that after perusing various reports and comments on the issue, she was satisfied that the noise impacts of the proposed wind farm "have been investigated, assessed, appropriately mitigated and considered" by the chief directorate of integrated environmental authorisations prior to making a decision to grant [authorisation] to Engie.
"In my view, the [directorate] compiled with its responsibilities," she wrote.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.