SOUTH AFRICA

A wetland in
the St Lucia estuary on the
cast coast in KwaZUILI-Natal
province was saved from
devastation when the country's cabinet banned the
development of a mineral
sands project by Richards
Bay Minerals (RBM). The ban
brought to an end a six-year
struggle by environmental
groups to prevent exploitation of the area which is
claimed to be one of the
world's richest breeding
grounds for birds, and home
to the largest number of hippopotamuses in southern
Africa. The cabinet found that mining the eastern shore
would affect sustainable economic development of the
region and that the project
was incompatible with tourist
development at St Lucia. The
region will be registered as a
World Heritage Site and promoted as a tourist attraction.
The decision was accepted by
RTZ-CRA, joint owner Of RBM
with Gencor of South Africa.
The joint venture company
produces titanium dioxide,
used as a whitener in paint
and other surface coatings.