Notably, iSimangaliso retains the ability to manage the environmental integrity of the system in line with its 2011/12 management plan, without the automatic trigger level or breaching as sought by UCOSP in its urgent application.
‘We are pleased the environment’s right to water is being recognised and no longer taken for granted,’ said iSimangaliso CEO Andrew Zaloumis.
iSimangaliso CEO, Andrew Zaloumis
‘The health of Lake St Lucia, Africa’s largest estuary, is material to the viability of local and national economic activities, and the greater good that all far outweigh the benefits of a few farmers who, over the years, have gained substantially from unsustainable and damaging practices’.
In a statement, iSimangaliso said UCOSP, which has been involved in the new management strategy for the St Lucia estuary since 2008, did not follow through on undertakings made to iSimangaliso to do the necessary studies and improve flood protection measures in line with the management plan.
UCOSP’s urgent application lodged in August was twofold, requesting the Mfolozi River mouth be opened, and an order directing iSimangaliso to comply with its statutory obligations and develop policies about the management of the river mouth.
UCOSP said that, while the organisation is totally committed to a neighbourly relationship with iSimangaliso and working for the good of the World Heritage Site and greater area, it did not want to comment until the outcome of the court case, which is still ongoing.
