Mining threatens Mapungubwe heritage site. On 8 April 1933 a remarkable discovery was made in the Transvaal. A grave of unknown origin, filled with gold work, was found on a natural rock stronghold in a wild region. This site was Mapungubwe Hill, which serves as the capital of the ancient Mapangubwe Kingdom, situated on the borders between ...
The Vele mining area, situated on 8 500ha, lies less than 6km from the borders of the Mapungubwe National Park and is adjacent to the Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape, which has been declared a World Heritage Site. The area is a national treasure, given its enormous historical and archaeological significance as well as the abundant biodiversity ...
people at Mapungubwe we too are facing various environmental and social crises and second, diverse populations in this area interacted, cooperated and fought with one another, long before South Africa was colonised. This adds to our understanding of South Africas history and can shape the way that we interact with one another today.
The Vele mining area is situated on 8500 ha and lies less than 6km from the borders of the Mapungubwe National Park and is adjacent to the Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape which has been declared a World Heritage Site. The area is a national treasure given its enormous historical and archaeological significance as well as the abundant biodiversity ...
A rush of coal prospecting applications raises new fears about mining around Mapungubwe National Park, a world heritage site of cultural and environmental importance. Yolandi Groenewald investigates Mining threatens the transfrontier conservation area that already has too many elephants for its shrinking space. Photo: Yolandi Groenewald At least 23 prospecting licences have been granted around...
National and international heritage laws played a secondary role in the approval of Coal of Africas application for the mining licence. The approving authority, the department of mineral resources, decided on the application seemingly without adequately considering the comments from the departments of environmental affairs, water affairs, and arts and culture. This effectively meant more attention was paid to mineral resources than heritage value. It highlights the low value of heritage laws, national or international. Years later, the revised buffer zone for Mapungubwe has still not been approved. The existing mining applications continue to be a threat to the Mapungubwe landscape, particularly in the absence of a framework within which they are to be reviewed and decided on.
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The UN World Heritage Committee should have done more to protect the legitimacy of their decision to inscribe the Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape. The international body should have ensured that the sites buffer zone was approved as per recommendations from the International Councilon Monuments and Sites. This was never done. The committee sent two missions to South Africa to help resolve the conflict arising from the licence being granted, but never took responsibility to ensure a fully operational buffer zone when inscribing the site. Had they done what was recommended, legal wrangling over mining rights would have been avoided.
Another concern is that heritage in the Mapungubwe area has been used as a convenient weapon to fight any form of mining. Coal of Africas licence was approved for activities located at a fair distance from the core of the site. In my view, the significance of the inscribed area was not directly affected. But the structure that should have been a commenting authority in the mining application, the Limpopo Provincial Heritage Resources Authority, has been all but dysfunctional for many years. This has left a decision making void. The national South African Heritage Resources Authorityhas stepped in and made decisions, but their legality is questionable. The mining company had followed the requirements of the heritage laws by appointing an independent scholar to undertake an impact assessment. Wrangling among archaeologists led to a second report, increasing hostility. Governments are generally mandated to create enabling opportunities for economic development to help address various...
What these three issues around the Mapungubwe case illustrate is that its not as simple as just supporting mining or opposing mining. The reality is that not all heritage can be adequately safeguarded, as every part of the world has been an active cinema from which various human activities have been performed. What South Africa needs is to have a sensitivity map for heritage covering the whole country. Such a map will highlight areas of high heritage sensitivity which should then be used to inform the nature of recommendations and decisions we take to protect our rich archaeological past. Without a clear single framework within which decisions are made, the ongoing challenges with the management of heritage resources in the country will continue to exist and heritage resources will forever be threatened.
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Mining threatens Mapungubwe heritage site The Green Times
Mining threatens Mapungubwe heritage site. On 8 April 1933 a remarkable discovery was made in the Transvaal. A grave of unknown origin, filled with gold work, was found on a natural rock stronghold in a wild region. This site was Mapungubwe Hill, which serves as the capital of the ancient Mapangubwe Kingdom, situated on the borders between ...