July 25, 2014
2013 Goldman Prize winner Jonathan Deal and his team at Treasure the Karoo Action Group (TKAG) are calling for the South African government to place a new moratorium on shale gas exploration in the country.
Deal was awarded the Goldman Prize for leading a successful campaign against fracking in South Africa to protect the Karoo, a semi-desert region treasured for its agriculture, beauty and wildlife.
In an open letter addressed to South Africa’s president Jacob Zuma and nine ministers, Deal stated that if Zuma does not responded to TKAG’s request within 30 days, the group will “either approach the public protector or pursue legal action.”
Along with the letter, Deal presented new research, saying “there is sound reason to put an immediate and indefinite halt to all government activity to promote fracking in South Africa because of the potential to cause environmental damage, threaten scarce water resources and negatively impact on agriculture, tourism and the general health and wellbeing of people in the Karoo.”
