For almost two and a half years, Samara led the charge on behalf of the people and the biodiversity of the Karoo against Bundu Oil & Gas, an Australian shale gas exploration company. Along with the appointment of Derek Light, Samara has fought for the safety of the Karoo against fracking.
According to Derek, a Karoo attorney who represents farmers and conservationists against the method, the biggest risk is to the water and the contamination of that water. Farmers’, communities and Environmental NGO’s livelihoods would be largely affected.
The recent Cabinet announcement of a moratorium on the approval of new shale gas exploration (so-called fracking licenses) permits in the Karoo vindicates the two and a half year battle that was initiated by Sarah and Mark Tompkins of Samara Private Game Reserve. They led this fight on the basis of their conviction that “fracking” would lead to major threats to the economy and biodiversity of the Karoo.
The repeated efforts over two and a half years have finally had some effect and Samara, after leading the battle, is proud to announce theysucceeded in having Samara and the surrounding neighbouring reserves excluded from the exploration area. Sarah Tompkins says “Together with Derek Light, we consulted every expert we could find in South Africa, and this gave Derek the time and funds to fully investigate the legal battle.When Shell entered the fray, it became an even larger battle over a much bigger area, and again Derek represents a huge number of interested parties.”
Professor Graham Kerley of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, says “Environmental challenges, like any other challenge facing society, require strong, committed and visionary leadership, and we are fortunate that Mark and Sarah Tompkins provided this leadership in taking on the fracking issue. Ultimately, they were able to argue for environmental justice on behalf of both the people and biodiversity of the Karoo”
In a statement issued by Cabinet on 21 April 2011,"The Department of Minerals will lead a multi disciplinary team including the Departments of Trade & Industry, Science and Technology, amongst others, to fully research the full implications of the proposed fracking. We are pleased that the minister has put together a multi-disciplinary team and that fracking will not take place at least until the science is better understood. We are confident that improvement in the knowledge of what fracking in the Karoo would mean will lead to the current exploration applications being rejected. We will continue to monitor activities connected with fracking both here in South Africa and around the world. We thank all those who have contributed to the opposition to Shell and the other O&G companies for their decisive input to the campaigns that have raised awareness, particularly at government level.”
Since 1997, Mark and Sarah Tompkins, owners of Samara, have made it their mission to rehabilitate the Eastern Cape’s Great Karoo and have been successful in reintroducing a number of species into the reserve to ensure their survival on the Great Plains. They have been working closely together with a number of wildlife and conservation organizations in order to preserve the natural diversity. Samara Private Game Reserve is committed to maintaining the natural habitat and to restoring the bio-diversity of the reserve.
For more information, please contact Sarah Tompkins sarah@samara.co.za
