Community Action for a clean environment

Credit: Tony West, published in the Dailey News on Wednesday 21 April 2004.

The refinery is owned by Shell and BP in a 50-50 joint venture, but is managed using Shell's operational procedures. Local residents, supported by groundWork, have had numerous meetings with the local refinery management, the chairperson of Shell (SA) and have gone so far as purchasing a single share in Shell International so as to be heard at Shell's AGMs in London and The Hague. Chief amongst the south Durban community's demands is that the pipelines be replaced.(21)

The local community has always questioned SAPREF's public information claiming that they often misrepresent information on environmental impact. Finally in 2003, the local Durban Municipality stated that SAPREF's "statement regarding health impact is questionable"(22). This validated the community long held concern and perceptions.(23)

Dialoge without action SAPREF has been holding Community Liaison Forum meetings for a number of years. However, people in the community are tired of "talkshops" that have achieved nothing. SAPREF managers say they that want to build trust and move beyond an adversarial role with the community, but these managers have completely ignored the community's repeated admonitions that trust cannot be bought with so-called "social projects".(24)

Milieudefensie conclude in their report The Filthy Five about Shell and SAPREF in Durban that: "The history of this refinery reveals the urgent need for international binding regulations for companies, including on environmental issues. South African legislation (and the understaffing of local authorities who must enforce the regulations), in combination with voluntary guidelines such as those produces by the OECD, do not appear to be enough to motivate SAPREF to become a more responsible enterprise."(25) The battle to get Shell to clean up in south Durban has won allies around the world. Local community people from Nigeria, the Philippines, Russia, the U.S. and Japan have joined forces to catalogue their stories of environmental damage and pollution-related health problems caused by Shell's global operations. Together they are seeking to debunk Shell's "green image" and force the company to put health before profits.(26)

 

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All main information, except when referred differently, on this case are from the report Behind the Shine, the Other Shell Report, 2004, Friends of the Earth (England Wales and Northern Ireland), The groundWork 2004 Annual Report, and the report the Filthy Five, Milieudefensie (Friends of the Earth Netherlands). Information referred to differently are researched by Linda Nilsson, Friends of the Earth Europe. Editorial work is done by Linda Nilsson. Photos are from Bobby Peak, groundwork and SDCEA.

21. The groundWork 2004 Annual Report, cover page.
22. Letter to Sapref 19 February 2003
23. The groundWork 2004 Annual Report, cover page.
24. Friends of the Earth, Behinde the Shine, The Other Shell Report, p. 9.
25. Milieudefensie, 2003, Amsterdam, The Filthy Five.26. The groundWork 2004 Annual Report, cover page.