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Transkei, South Africa: Community Tourism Development

By – James Mardall, 0285981

Due Date – November 26, 2004

This paper will examine Amadiba Adventures, a multi stakeholder tourism

project in the Transkei, South Africa. Many development agencies believe

Amadiba Adventures is a groundbreaking community based tourism project in

South Africa.

• Tourism and Poverty Alleviation in South Africa…

According to the Secretary General of the World Tourism Organisation (WTO),

“The phenomenal rise of tourism over the past fifty years is one of the most

notable economic and social developments during this period. Its sustained

growth rate (worldwide) of around 7 per cent has been higher than that of

other traditional economic sectors such as heavy industries, automobiles,

agriculture, or the petrochemical industry.” (WTO 2, 2003, pp.1)

According to the WTO, tourism is an important export for developing countries

and Lesser Developed Countries (LDC’s). The WTO, rank tourism as the most

significant foreign export earner in the world, after petroleum products. In

order to spread the development benefits of tourism to the poorest members

of LDC’s, the WTO encourage a multi stakeholder approach. To this end, they

suggest that the Government Sector, Private sector, Poor (Society), Civil

Society and Donors form tourism partnerships as a way to alleviate poverty.(WTO 1, 2002)

The WTO, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the European

Union (EU) all encourage sustainable tourism development, which focuses on

ecological, social and economic factors. South Africa are an active member of

EDRD 4010: Transkei Coastal Community Development Student: James Mardall – 0285981



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the WTO and the UN and accept aid from the EU. According to the Secretary

General of the WTO, the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development

(WSSD) held in Johannesburg, South Africa, afforded the tourism sector a

predominant position. However, the WTO has criticized South Africa for not

having an integrated national tourism development plan that builds on

sustainability principles. (WTO 2, 2003) This could however be attributed to

the legacy of South Africa’s particular development paradigm.

• Africa, South Africa, Eastern Cape, Transkei, Pondoland…

South Africa is a country of development extremes, with highly developed

infrastructure and cities, surrounding areas of extreme underdevelopment and

poverty. As illustrated by Figure 1 in the Appendices, South Africa socially

engineered a landscape of ethnic segregation (apartheid) during the 1948 –

1990 period of white Afrikaaner, National Party rule. Black tribes were confined

to autonomously administered areas called “independent tribal homelands”

(See Figure 1 in the Appendices).

These homelands were not included in the South African national fiscal

budgets or development programs during apartheid and as a result were very

poorly developed at its conclusion. The post-apartheid African National

Congress (ANC) led government, reintegrated these homelands into South

Africa geographically, fiscally and developmentally. One of these former

homelands, The Transkei, is now part of the Eastern Cape province It is the

ancestral home ground of the Xhosa speaking AmaPondo tribe who mainly

reside in an area known as Pondoland. It is in this region that the tourism

project known as Amadiba Adventures is based (See Figure 2 in the

Appendices).




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According to the mail and Guardian newspaper, “The diversity is mind-

boggling: in one area merely 3 260ha in extent, more than 1 300 vascular

plants have been recorded. In the whole of the Kruger National Park (two

million hectares) there are 1 400 plant species, comparable to all the plants in

Great Britain (308 000 square kilometres) at 1 440 plant species.” (M&G 1,

2003)

The regions forests are also an important habitat for a number of fauna such

as the rare Cape parrot as well as forest spotted thrushes and mangrove

kingfishers. The habitat also supports rare mammals such as samango

monkeys, tree dassies, giant golden moles and blue duikers. And there are a

number of rare and endemic butterflies. (M&G 1, 2003)

Pondoland soils have are not considered to have good agricultural potential

and are referred to as, “weakly developed, shallow, highly leached and acidic,

with a low moisture holding capacity” by the Mail and Guardian (M&G 1,

2003). The AmaPondo rely on the local ecology to provide grazing for their

cattle and subsistence level agriculture, over utilisation of the resources for

this purpose often result in soil erosion, however.

The Indian Ocean currents that travel along the Pondoland Coastline have a

low nutrient content and are unable to support major commercial fisheries.

The area is however, well known to recreational fishermen and provides a

livelihood option for the AmaPondo at a subsistence level. (M&G 1, 2003)

Politically…

According to Groenewald and as observed by the Author, the tourism industry

(as were many South African industries), was previously dominated by white

business people. However, the modern tourism industry has become a more

inclusive industry, strongly motivated by the ANC led governments affirmative




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action policies. Tourism is an area in which black economic empowerment

(BEE) has not been a rigorously monitored, however, and by comparison to

other sectors of the economy has historically received less political interest.

This has led to a skewing of the distributive benefits of tourism and has meant

that those who need the most support typically receive the least.

One of Groenewald’s strongest criticisms is that, “ Most of these black-owned

companies are huge corporations, however, whereas ordinary people, who so

desperately need the benefits of tourism, have been surviving on the small

crumbs that sometimes come their way.” (Groenewald. Y, 2004)

Socially

The AmaPondo people (as quoted in the Mail and Guardian) are well aware of

their social situation, “Our people are the poorest of the poor. They are mostly

subsistence farmers… About 80% of our people are illiterate and the

community's income comes mostly from a few migrant workers who toil on the

mines or in the KwaZulu Natal sugar plantations, and from government

pensions. When I was at school, I left home at 3am to arrive on time. There is

no clinic in the area - one has to walk 40km there and back. Our people still

honour the old culture, and initiation processes and traditional dances are still

very popular." says Velaphi Ndovela, a Pondoland local. (M&G 2, 2003)

Pondoland has a history of migrant labour (as do many of the former

homelands). As a result, the demographic profiles of the area are skewed

toward the old, women and children. Much of the income in the area is either

from remittances or social welfare grants. Recently, as South Africa has

struggled to find its place in the world economy after decades of sanctions,

many of the migrant labourers have lost their jobs and returned to the

Pondoland area.




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This has in effect reduced the livelihood diversity in the area and forced the

AmaPondo to rely on subsistence agriculture and the local economy to a much

greater degree. According to the Mail and Guardian, “…People still plough with

oxen, and cattle are still the major measure of a man's wealth.” (M&G 2,

2003)

As a way to alleviate poverty, the Reconstruction and Development

committees formed by the ANC government, encouraged the AmaPondo to

invite big business into the area. As quoted in the Mail and Guardian, “…They

came and spoke to us (in 1994) about game lodges and hotels.” (M&G 2,

2003) Having previously been exposed to the false promises of ‘big business’

tourism, the AmaPondo have become distrustful of them. As quoted in the Mail

and Guardian, "The Amakhosi (Chiefs) are still the custodians of our land and

while people were happy to hear about development, their next question was

what was going to happen to our land. The only example we had of tourism

was the Wild Coast Sun (a multinational hotel group), where our people lost

their land and became servants to the tourists." (M&G 2, 2003)

As a result, the tourism industry in the region has remained largely unchanged

apart from one interesting development.

• Amadiba Adventures…

The formation of Amadiba Adventures has an air of fiction about it, and the

truth, is that the development of Amadiba Adventures has been a slow and

painstaking process. But through personal affiliations, the author can attest to

the fact that the origins of the story are factual. As quoted in the Mail and

Guardian article, A ride through real Africa, "One day, Wonderful [the current

chairperson of the Amadiba Coastal Development Association] met an

imbamba (Wanderer/Hiker) and started talking to him. They ended up talking

about development. The imbamba said our area was one of the most beautiful




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he had hiked in and we could make money from hikers. We consulted the

government officials about the idea and they were not enthusiastic. So we

decided to invite this man to come and talk to us. He said we did not have to

lose our land and we did not have to build any hotels. He was working for

PondoCrop and all he did was brief us and leave. About six months later, our

committee decided to invite PondoCrop to talk about the real issues involved in

setting up a hiking business." (M&G 2, 2003)

With assistance from PondoCrop, a local NGO (working in partnership with the

EU), the Amadiba community opened horse and hiking trails that attracted

both local and international tourists to the region throughout the year (See

Figure 4 in the Appendices). According to Enslin the EU has allocated

substantial funding toward the project (€13 million Euro’s (R111.8 million))

and is using local tourism ventures to uplift the local communities. (Enslin. S,

2003)

Amadiba Horse Trails became one of South Africa's first tourism initiatives to

be entirely owned and run by an indigenous community. The community offers

basic accommodation built by the AmaPondo community and derives the direct

benefits of tourism receipts. “The trails have become a big hit with foreigners

over the past few years”, According to Groenewald, “About 500 people benefit

from the trails”. (Groenewald. Y, 2004)

Originally the AmaPondo were wary of the idea and refused to sign attendance

registers at meetings with PondoCrop, believing that they would lose their land

if they did. But as reported by the Mail and Guardian, "Now the project works

beautifully. We use only our natural resources and existing facilities to service

our tourists. The people at the homesteads set up campsites for our groups

and dismantle them when they leave.” (M&G 2, 2003)




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This development has not been without controversy from government, as

reported in the Mail and Guardian, "The government officials still don't

understand what we are doing here. They complain they don't see big houses

and cars that we have bought with the money we make, which is their way of

measuring progress. Our idea of business is not to make a few people rich, but

to add to what people already have, to change their lives. When people have

enough money to send their children to school, they change the lives of the

next few generations. We have used the money in the community trust fund to

build a dip for cattle, we have added two classrooms to an existing school and

we are building another school." (M&G 2, 2003)

Not only has Amadiba Adventures uplifted the local community, the trust fund

that Amadiba Adventures set up, directs 5% of the profits toward community

development. It has also provided a diversified livelihood strategy to the local

AmaPondo who are involved in the project. The AmaPondo provide

accommodation, guides, horses, meals and other tourism services to the

foreign and local tourists in return for a share of the payments received. While

at the same time being able to continue with their other livelihood strategies,

because they no longer have to seek an income outside of their own area.

(M&G 2, 2003) (IDS 1, Ntshona. Z and Lahiff. E, (2003))

With respect to criticisms directed at the low level of impact the project is

having on the development of the AmaPondo community. According to Mike

Haynes, (the programme development officer for the EU's Wild Coast

Community Tourism Initiative), as reported in the Mail and Guardian, "Most of

the money generated from community ecotourism projects remains in the

area. Although the income is modest, it is distributed fairly widely." (M&G 2,

2003)




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• Amadiba Adventures a critical Revue:

The main issues in the planning of this case have been well researched and

documented in the Institute of Development Studies Report by Ntshona and

Lahiff (IDS 1, Ntshona. Z and Lahiff. E, (2003)).

Their study reveals the following key findings:

o The AmaPondo are capable of combining and sustaining tourism

activities with other livelihood activities.

o The interface between the formal tourism and informal tour operation

requires:

Ongoing training

Supervision (from NGO’s)

Pre-negotiated realistic reward structures

o External organizations have a key role to play with respect to

identification and initiation of community tourism.

o The informal, ongoing and open ended nature of the relationship

between the community and NGO’s is important for project success.

o The interests of the community and the organizations assisting them

need to have clear and transparent goals and interests.

o Excessively tight deadlines and unrealistic goals can stifle project

progress.

o The flow of income can become contentious if it is not done openly and

transparently.

o Community control is not well represented with a strongly centralized

power structure.

o But, in some cases a core of well skilled tourism professionals can be a

key asset.




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o Skilling can lead to tension if individual community members perceive

the differences in work or pay to be unfair.

o Trial and error or Adaptive management (evolutionary) techniques are

essential for project progression.

o Successfully operating a project in an area can provide experience and

an anchor for other project initiations that do not need to be associated

directly with one another.

o Community members seem to value personally derived benefits over

indirect community benefits that do not contribute directly to community

livelihoods.

o Central control of funds and funding can lead to misuse or non-

appropriate spending.

o External donor funding can distort organic growth and expand

organizational overheads.

o The growth of self generated revenues are preferable and must be

encouraged.

(IDS 1, Ntshona. Z and Lahiff. E, (2003)).

• The Tourists:

Coast to Coast, the Backpackers Guide to South Africa, have the following to

say about Amadiba Adventures and AmaPondo Trails, “If there’s only one thing

you do in South Africa, make this it!” and “Fantastic community owned and

operated horse trails.” (Coast to Coast, (2004))

The type of tourism offered is characterized as being ‘off the beaten track’,

‘remote’, ‘spectacular, and ‘untouched’. (Coast to Coast, (2004)) And

According to PondoCrop the aim of the venture is, “To introduce a particular

type of tourist to the region – someone who was genuinely interested in

meeting the people (See Figure 5 in the Appendices) and learning from them,




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in coming to understand the environment and history of the region, and in

leaving spiritually and culturally enriched.

For the local people, it creates an opportunity to participate in all aspects of

tourism, from planning and implementation to operation and management. It

presents an alternative to large scale investor driven development where large

resorts monopolise the benefits from the influx of tourists to their region.”

(IDS 1, Ntshona. Z and Lahiff. E, (2003). pp. 3).

To get a feel for the type of tourist engaging in the community based tourism

offered by the AmaPondo, it is insightful to read the following paraphrased

interview as reported by the Mail and Guardian in 2003;

“Yibin Chen, a medical student from Boston in the United States, is

about to embark on a six-day horseback trail before heading back to

Harvard University for his graduation… "I loved Cape Town, it was

beautiful and the people were very friendly. But it could have been a

city in any country. Whenever I asked people to take me out to the

places where they hang out, they took me to places like the

Waterfront and nightclubs that look just like the ones at home," Chen

says. "I began to feel that I was never going to see Africa. So I took a

township tour with a group of German tourists. It was terrible! "All the

tourists did was jump out of the minibus every time it stopped to take

a photo, then they got back in. They did not speak to anyone to find

out more about the place they had just seen. So I began to feel like I

was just intruding on people's lives and not really getting to know

them. "I really wanted to see what African life was like, so I found a

backpackers' guidebook that recommended Amadiba Adventures as

the best way of experiencing traditional life. I'm also excited because

I've never been on a horse in my life."Like all the other Amadiba

adventurers, Chen has to pack enough for six days in two small




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saddlebags. His dental floss fits in, but there isn't enough space for his

hair gel. "What do I do? I want to look good for these people. I've

been wanting to meet them for a long time," he says.Out comes a pair

of jeans, making space for more toiletries in his saddlebag. Bags slung

over his shoulder, he sets off down the beach with five French tourists,

two guides and a trainee guide. He asks Mxhuma a seemingly

inexhaustible list of questions. Chen has found "the real Africa" and he

is incredibly happy. But he isn't saddle-sore yet, Mxhuma points out

with a broad smile.” (M&G 2, 2003)

Thus, the kinds of tourists that are best suited for, and attracted to these kinds

of community based ventures, as reported above and confirmed by Ntshona

and Lahiff are those kinds of tourists that seek a genuine interaction with a

traditional rural community. (IDS 1, Ntshona. Z and Lahiff. E, (2003).

• The Future of Amadiba Adventures:

In multi stakeholder Tourism, support from NGO’s and other outside

organisations is crucial for the success of community based tourism ventures.

However it is the communities themselves who need to take ownership of the

operation of these ventures. Hand-outs from exclusive lodges do not seem to

offer the same level of benefits, or a real augmentation to their livelihoods.

Because this is foreign to investors and developers who are used to the idea of

controlling the tourism venture, community based tourism presents its own set

of unique development challenges. As pointed out by Groenewald, “Many tour

operators may be put off by the host of challenges: community in-fighting, the

financial risk, political interference in business decisions, as well their own lack

of experience. (Groenewald. Y, 2004)




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However as in the case of the AmaPondo community, the very real benefits of

direct participation in the Amadiba Adventures community tourism venture,

have generated enthusiastic participation from the community that must be

sustained to guarantee ongoing success.

References:

Coast to Coast, (2004), The Backpackers Guide to South Africa, The Wild Coast,

http://www.coastingafrica.com/Region.asp?RegionID=7&Level=2, Site Accessed November

2004.

Enslin. S, 2003, Mines and Communities Website, Tug of War Rages over mine toll road, from

the South African Press Association,

http://www.minesandcommunities.org/Action/press168.htm, Site Accessed November

2004.

EU 1, 2002, Europe: Gateway to the European Union, the Courier ACP-EU n° 195 november –

december Country Report: The Amadiba Adventure,

http://europa.eu.int/comm/development/body/publications/courier/courier195/en/en_082.

pdf , Site Accessed November 2004.

Groenewald. Y, 2004, Who owns tourism? As published in - The Mail and Guardian Online

30 November 2004,

http://archive.mg.co.za/nxt/gateway.dll/PrintEdition/MGP2004/3lv00000/4lv00001/5lv000

36.htm?f=templates$fn=document-frameset.htm$q=who%20owns

%20tourism$x=Advanced#LPHit0, Site Accessed November 2004.

IDS 1, Ntshona. Z and Lahiff. E, (2003), ‘Community-based eco-tourism on the Wild

Coast, South Africa: the case of the Amadiba Trail’, Sustainable Livelihoods in Southern

Africa Research Paper 7 , Institute of Development Studies, Brighton,http://www.ids.ac.uk/ids/env/PDFs/wRP07.pdf , Site Accessed November 2004.

M&G 1, 2003, The Mail and Guardian - Pondoland paradise in the pipeline, Date: 27 May 2003

http://archive.mg.co.za/nxt/gateway.dll/DailyNews/MGO2003/3lv06540/4lv06668/5lv0669

6.htm, Site Accessed November 2004.


http://www.coastingafrica.com/Region.asp?RegionID=7&Level=2

http://www.minesandcommunities.org/Action/press168.htm

http://europa.eu.int/comm/development/body/publications/courier/courier195/en/en_082.pdf


http://www.ids.ac.uk/ids/env/PDFs/wRP07.pdf

http://archive.mg.co.za/nxt/gateway.dll/DailyNews/MGO2003/3lv06540/4lv06668/5lv06696.htm


http://www.coastingafrica.com/Region.asp?RegionID=7&Level=2

http://www.minesandcommunities.org/Action/press168.htm



http://www.ids.ac.uk/ids/env/PDFs/wRP07.pdf





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M&G 2, 2003, The Mail and Guardian - A ride through real Africa, Date: 02 Jun 2003,

http://archive.mg.co.za/nxt/gateway.dll/DailyNews/MGO2003/3lv05516/4lv06481/5lv0648

2.htm, Site Accessed November 2004.

Reid. D, Mair. H, 2003, Tourism Planning in the Less Developed World, EDRD*4010, Course

Manual, University of Guelph.

Reid. D, Mair. H, George. W, Taylor. J, 2001, Tourism Planning in the Less Developed World,

EDRD*4010, Tourism Planning Guide, OATI Guelph Ontario.

Statistics South Africa, 1999, Provincial Profile 1999 – Eastern Cape, Report No. 00-91-02

(1999), http://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/Report-00-91-02/Report-00-91-

021999.pdf , Site Accessed November 2004.

UNEP 1, 2002, United Nations Environment Program, Production and Consumption Branch,

Tourism, Sustainable Tourism, http://www.uneptie.org/pc/tourism/sust-tourism/, Site

Accessed November 2004.

WTO 1, 2002, World Tourism Organization, WTO Commission for Africa, Publications, Tourism

and Poverty Alleviation, http://www.world-tourism.org/regional/africa/menu.htm, Site

Accessed November 2004.

WTO 2, 2003, World Tourism Organization, WTO Commission for Africa, Publications, WTO in

Africa 1996-2003, http://www.world-tourism.org/regional/africa/menu.htm, Site Accessed

November 2004.




http://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/Report-00-91-02/Report-00-91-021999.pdf


http://www.uneptie.org/pc/tourism/sust-tourism/

http://www.world-tourism.org/regional/africa/menu.htm






http://www.uneptie.org/pc/tourism/sust-tourism/





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Appendices – Figures, Tables and Articles:




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• Figure 1: The South African Apartheid period homelands. (Showing the Transkei on the South

East Coast). From - http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/africa/south_african_homelands.gif ,

• F

i

g

u

r

e

2: The Transkei on the South East Coast (Called Madiba Country). From -

http://www.wildcoast.org.za/wc/maps/11.xml,


http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/africa/south_african_homelands.gif

http://www.wildcoast.org.za/wc/maps/11.xml

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/africa/south_african_homelands.gif

http://www.wildcoast.org.za/wc/maps/11.xml



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• Figure 3: Photographs of landscape along the Amadiba Horse Trails (Pondoland Coast). From -

http://www.wildcoast.org.za/wc/33.xml,


http://www.wildcoast.org.za/wc/33.xml




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• Figure 4: Photographs of tourists on the Amadiba Horse Trails (Pondoland Coast). From

-http://www.wildcoast.org.za/wc/33.xml,






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• Figure 5: Photographs of locals working with the Amadiba Horse Trails (Pondoland Coast).

From - http://www.wildcoast.org.za/wc/33.xml,

Tables:






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Table 1: The South African Human Development Index, by Province (1996) From -

http://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/Report-00-91-02/Report-00-91-021999.pdf , pp. 58.

Table 2: The South African Human GDP 1991 & 1996, by Province. From -

http://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/Report-00-91-02/Report-00-91-021999.pdf , pp. 59.








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Articles:

Article 1: Environmental Concerns (Enslin. S, 2003)

Ecotourism clashes with industrialization, July 7, 2003, By Samantha

Enslin, South African Press Association

The Amadiba Coastal Community at Xolobeni in the Eastern Cape are caught in a

tug-of-war between an Australian company, Mineral Commodities, which is

planning to mine in the area, and environmentalists who are opposed to both the

coastal dune mining and the N2 toll road, which will cut through the area.

Velaphi Ndovela, a member of the Amadiba Coastal Community Trust, which is

situated in Pondoland, said that to reach a decision on whether to support the

mine and road would be a long process in which five villages and two imbizos

(gatherings) would be needed. The land on which this 500 homestead community

engage in subsistence farming and ecotourism is state land and Ndovela

conceded that their decision might have little influence on the final outcome.

But for the long-term sustainable development of the area crucial questions need

to be answered before mining on the coastal dunes of Xolobeni is given the green

light. One of these is whether the dunes can be rehabilitated after mining.

Mineral Commodities, which is listed on the Australian stock exchange, is

prospecting along 22km of coastline for titanium minerals for export. The mining

operation, if given the go-ahead, will have a lifespan of 17 years. The company

has estimated the deposit contains in excess of 16 million tons of heavy minerals

and 8 million tons of ilmenite.

Current ecotourism initiatives such as horse trails and fly-fishing tours run by the

Amadiba Coastal Community Trust employ 100 people and generate annual

turnover of about R600 000. These initiatives take place in some of the areas




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where the mining is proposed, which will be in five blocks along the coast divided

by five river estuaries.

Ndovela said: "From the trust's perspective, we are worried about these

developments and don't think they can go hand-in-hand with ecotourism.

Although jobs will be created during construction, we will lose land to big

developments."There is concern that large-scale developments along the horse

trails' route will kill ecotourism, which many consider to be more sustainable than

mining.

Alan Luscombe, the chief executive of Mineral Commodities, said the Xolobeni

Mineral Sands Project was situated in one of the most impoverished areas in

South Africa. The socioeconomic affects of the project related to employment,

training, health, infrastructure development and the upgrading or construction of

amenities. On site, 100 permanent jobs would be created and a further 170

positions at the smelter in East London. But this is only for the lifespan of the

mine.

What will the community be left with afterwards? Will it be possible to resuscitate

ecotourism initiatives or will the community inherit a barren wasteland? A former

environmental representative for the department of agriculture and forestry said

the difficulty in rehabilitating the dunes was due to the nature of the deposit,

which lines the fines-rich Berea Formation. Fines are silts and clays. Such

deposits required that waste be stored in slime dams to produce dumps like those

on the Witwatersrand. Unlike gold mine dumps, methods to satisfactorily

revegetate silts and clays in the Berea Formation had not been found, he said.

Luscombe disagreed. He said wet-mineral separation removed the fines and the

heavy minerals from the sand in a two-stage process. Only 6 percent of the sand

tonnage was removed as concentrate, the remaining 94 percent of fines and sand

were combined and returned to the mining excavation. Except for an initial




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storage area, which was required for the fines and sand until the mining area was

sufficiently advanced to allow them to be replaced, no ongoing dumps or dams

were needed, Luscombe said

"Rehabilitation of sand dunes includes correctly mixing the fines and the sand,

contouring the dunes to resist wind erosion, replacing top soil removed prior to

the mining and stabilising the dune by plantings and other protective measures,"

he said. "Mineral Commodities has also tested the Xolobeni fine and is satisfied

they can be settled to a density suitable for mixing with non-valuable sand."The

particular methodology will be determined during the feasibility study."

Another concern is the mining company may be planning to plant the exotic but

invasive Casuarina to stabilise the dunes after mining. This will be adjacent to a

180 000ha conservation hotspot identified by Conservation International. This

means that the area, which has 120 endemic plant species, is recognised as rich

in biodiversity and vulnerable.

The N2 toll road is another bugbear for environmentalists who believe its upgrade

and the construction of a new section, which will bypass its existing route through

Kokstad and instead run the length of the coast, will serve the mine. Both Mineral

Commodities and the department of environmental affairs and tourism denied the

road was linked to the mine.

Tony Abbott, a botanist who has lived and worked in the area for 20 years, said

the Pondoland Centre of Plant Endomism was one of only 235 centres worldwide.

"When you have a conservation hotspot you have to think long and hard about

any big developments such as a mine or a road near it."

The department of environmental affairs and tourism said it did not anticipate the

loss of any species would be a direct result of the construction of the N2 Wild

Coast Toll Road. But this could happen as a result of adjacent developments.




24

Cathy Kay, the conservation director of the Wildlife and Environment Society of

SA, said: "People that I spoke to in Pondoland do not seem to realise that they

are going to lose their land. When we walked the proposed route of the road, we

saw it goes right through people's houses and mielie fields." The road will be

fenced and this means the community, which does not have easy access to

transport, will have to walk many extra kilometres to access rivers and the sea.

This is despite the fact that the mining company will only mine from 600m inland

from the coast and 200m inland from the five river estuaries.

One environmentalist said the proposed road would have an unrestricted view of

a succession of barren windswept and dusty mine dumps for nearly 25km once

the deposit had been exhausted. "Furthermore the only way the Xolobeni deposit

can be profitably mined is if the road serving the mine is not paid for by the

mining company," he said.

Luscombe said it would be foolish for the company to base its plans on a road

that might or might not happen. "Without considering the N2, our financial

modelling as well as a desktop valuation by a third party demonstrate the project

is viable. Transport is a significant cost of the project and alternatives to reduce

the cost will be evaluated. Publication of cost estimates is premature at this

stage." Besides the environmental impact the concern was also about the social

and cultural pressures that the mine and road could bring. "The one thing the

Transkei has is the Wild Coast. If they destroy that, what marketable asset will

the local people have left?" Abbott said.

transkei tourism paper

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