Durban activist wins international environmental prize

DESMOND D’Sa, one of Durban’s environmental activists, was awarded with the prestigious 2014 Goldman Environmental Prize at the San Francisco Opera House on Monday night.

D’Sa joined five other fearless leaders from around the world who are working against all odds to protect the environment and their communities. The 2014 recipients, chosen by the US based Goldman Environmental Foundation, come from India, Indonesia, Peru, Russia, South Africa and USA.

Currently celebrating its 25th anniversary year, the Goldman Prize is awarded annually to environmental heroes from each of the world’s six inhabited continental regions. Two other South African environmental activists have previously won the prize, Bobby Peek, who won in 1998, and Jonathan Deal, who won the prize last year.

David Gordon, executive director of the Goldman Environmental Prize, said from fracking to palm oil development, the 2014 Goldman Prize recipients were not only tackling some of the world’s most pressing environmental problems, they are also achieving impressive environmental victories and inspiring others to do the same.

D’Sa has been awarded for rallying South Durban’s diverse and disenfranchised communities to successfully shut down the Bulbul Drive landfill – a toxic waste dump that exposed nearby residents to dangerous chemicals and violated their constitutionally-protected right to a safe and clean environment.

“Desmond carries an enormous amount of respect in the south Durban community. He has a natural ability to inspire and energize residents, uniting them as one in the fight to protect the environment – an incredible feat given the racially divided communities in the region,” said Gordon.

Des D’Sa said: “As activists we all work tirelessly, against extreme odds and in frustrating circumstances to achieve our goals, and we don’t expect accolades for this work. I am really honoured by the acknowledgement this award provides not only for me but for the people I work with and the communities who have benefitted from the closure of the Bulbul landfill site. As an international award it reminds us of the global fight we have against exploitation of the poor and the duty we have to the environment.”

Paying tribute to South Durban residents D’Sa said: “The closing of the Bulbul Drive landfill is a remarkable triumph and a deserving victory for the hundreds of tenacious and brave residents who campaigned tirelessly for years to close down the landfill.”

D’Sa said almost 70 percent of Durban’s industry is in south Durban, home to more than 300 industrial-scale facilities such as crude oil refineries, paper mills, and agrochemical plants. It is also home to 300,000 residents, who were forcibly relocated there by the apartheid regime to create a cheap labour pool for the emerging industrial economy. “They bear the brunt of industry’s toxic chemicals, leading to the basin’s infamous label of ‘cancer valley’—a reference to the area’s high rates of cancer, along with unusually prevalent cases of asthma and bronchitis,” explained D’Sa who in 1996, co-founded the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (SDCEA), where he started as an unpaid volunteer.

D’Sa has now turned his sights on fighting the expansion of Durban’s port, a R250 billion project that stands to displace thousands of people without compensation and exacerbate problems such as waste management, pollution, and traffic.

A ceremony at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC will follow on Wednesday, 30 April.