- Two Namibian community conservancies and a tourism operator have turned to the courts to block development of a tin mine.
- The conservancies say the environmental impact assessments for the open-pit mine are flawed and will disturb wildlife, including critically endangered southern black rhinos.
- In a similiar case in the //Huab Conservancy, a copper mine disturbed wildlife in the area, forcing rhino-based tourism to shut down.
When a copper mine started operating in Namibia’s //Huab Conservancy in 2021, blasting of rock and heavy machinery disturbed the area’s critically endangered southern black rhinos, and they moved out of the area. When mining activity was temporarily stopped in early 2022 due to investment problems, the rhinos returned. Two other conservancies referred to this as they filed an urgent interdict to try to block a new open-pit tin mine in the northwestern Kunene region.
The Uibasen Twyfelfontein Conservancy and the Doro !Nawas Conservancy, alongside tourism operator Ultimate Safaris, say they’re concerned that if the mine goes ahead, what happened in //Huab — confirmed in a mapping report commissioned by the Namibian Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism from Save the Rhino Trust Namibia — will happen again in their jointly managed conservation area. The mining-related displacement of black rhinos (Diceros bicornis) in //Huab resulted in Ultimate Safaris shutting down its camp and the conservancy losing its sole source of income.
The first signs of disturbance by the proposed new mine have already become apparent, said Uibasen conservancy manager Laurensia //Naobes. “There used to be a quiet riverbed where the mining is happening, with different wildlife like antelopes, ostriches, springboks. They moved out because of the human disturbance,” she told Mongabay by phone. She said they’re seeing the black rhinos becoming stressed and starting to move away.
The Doro Joint Management area covers 19,000 hectares (47,000 acres) and is run by three community conservancies — Uibasen Twyfelfontein, Doro Nawas and Sorris Sorris — and Ultimate Safaris, which relocated its black rhino tourism operations from //Huab after the rhinos there were displaced. The conservation profile of the three conservancies is similar to //Huab’s, where a population of southern black rhinos had been reintroduced under an environment ministry program in 2008.
//Naobes and her co-complainants say there are major flaws in the environmental impact assessments (EIA) and the issuing of environmental clearance certificates (ECC) for 18 mining claims held by two miners. They also say the consultation process was inadequate, as neither affected communities nor other stakeholders, such as the Save the Rhino Trust or Ultimate Safaris, were considered.
Ottilie Ndimulunde and Timoteus Mashuna were each granted environmental clearance by the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism in 2023 and 2024, and awarded their mining claims in June 2024.
Since August, when heavy vehicles first arrived to build a road to the mine site, the conservancies have filed a series of urgent interdict applications against the two miners, asking the court to order a halt to mining while their mining claims are reviewed. While an interdict remains in place against Mashuna, the one against Ndimulunde was lifted after Environmental Commissioner Timoteus Mufeti issued a compliance order in October.
In his inspection report responding to the interdict against miner Ndimulunde in October, Mufeti wrote that Ndimulunde had “fulfiled minimum requirements regarding the consultations of Interested and Affected Parties and stakeholders.” He also concluded that she was generally compliant with the conditions set out in the environmental clearance certificate.
Mufeti’s decision voided the interdict against Ndimulunde, which had temporarily halted her mining operations, prompting the conservancies to seek another one based on the “imminent and ongoing threat caused by the mining activity.”
“We hope that the court hears the cry of local rural communities to stop this mining as it is not beneficial to the community while also damaging the environment. We are losing out,” //Naobes said.
On Dec. 2, the court granted the interdict. Both miners are now forbidden to carry out any further work on the road to the disputed claims or any mining activity until the High Court reviews them. The review is expected to take between 12 and 18 months.
Banner image : A rhino on the //Huab Conservancy: the Namibian government introduced black rhinos to several community conservancies in 2009. The animals have thrived, allowing the establishment of successful tourism enterprises. Image courtesy of Marcus Westberg Photography/Save the Rhino Trust.
Namibian community protects its rhinos from poaching but could lose them to mining
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