Example for a Letter to South African Leaders
Name
Address
Date
Mr. Marthinus van Schalkwyk
Minister of the Environment
Republic of South Africa
Private Bag X447
Pretoria 0001
South Africa
Fax-Message 0027 (0)12-322 0082
Mr. Thabo Mbeki
State President of South Africa
The Presidency
Private Bag X1000
Pretoria 0001
South Africa
Fax-Message 0027 (0)12-323 8246
Re:
Mining and N2 Construction Plans on the Wild Coast
Your Excellency/Dear Mr. President:
We would like to draw your attention to an environmental protection and conservation issue of
international importance. As an internationally active environmental organization, we are troubled by
current plans for the completion of Toll Road N2 and by plans to expand strip mining operations along
the Wild Coast.
The Wild Coast is not only a priceless natural resource for South Africa. It also serves as wintering
grounds for countless migratory birds. If the plans become reality, an important building block of
European ecology will be irretrievably lost. The region’s significance is reflected in its mention in the
book Hotspots Revisited. Published in Washington, D.C., the book names the Maputaland-Pondoland
region as one of only 34 global biodiversity hotspots.
South Africa is a signatory of the Convention on Biological Biodiversity. Article 6 of the convention
supports general measures for conservation and sustainable development and demands that
signatories develop national strategies, plans, and programs for conservation and sustainable
development of biological diversity, and that these be integrated as broadly as possible into
appropriate programs. Not long ago, South Africa developed a National Biodiversity Strategic Action
Plan as part of its responsibilities under the Convention.
South Africa has also signed the Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals. Beyond the
protection of migratory species, a further goal of the convention is to support “range states” in reaching
agreements for the preservation and management of species included in the convention’s Schedule 2.
We ask you and appeal to you to take all necessary steps to ensure that the natural wealth of the Wild
Coast in Pondoland is not sacrificed to short-term interests. Please allow it to remain a significant
natural heritage site for future generations. Let it fulfill its age-old function as an ecological basis for
the global web of bird migration.
The planned construction of the Toll Road N2 at the current site should be abandoned and an
alternative sought farther from the coast. In our experience, this would also bring advantages for the
local population.
We hope that you will be able to use your influence to save the Wild Coast.
Very truly yours,
cc:
World Heritage Site Program
UNEP (United Nations Environmental Program)
Prof. Dr. Klaus Töpfer
Executive Director
PO Box 30552
Nairobi, Kenia
Fax: 0025 42 217119