Coastal Communities on Frontline of the Climate Crisis — Dwesa-Cwebe in Hobeni, Eastern Cape

This series of photo essays explores the relationships between the people living in various coastal communities and the ocean, in each of South Africa’s coastal provinces.

This work was supported by the Pulitzer Center. Daily Maverick will publish a series of four photo essays. This is part one.

Hobeni is a small village on South Africa’s Wild Coast, in the Eastern Cape. It forms part of the seven Dwesa-Cwebe communities. Ancestors of its current residents settled at the Mbashe River, which flanks the village, centuries ago. From that time onwards hunting in the forest, fishing, and harvesting of shellfish was governed by customary law. In addition to their livelihood, they’ve relied on the ocean for their spirituality because their ancestors are in the ocean. 

The people living at Dwesa-Cwebe have suffered multiple dispossessions. Forced removals under the guise of conservation began in the 1890s, and continued until the 1970s, when the Dwesa-Cwebe reserve was fenced off. In 2000 the area was declared a marine protected area with a no-take ruling prohibiting residents from fishing and harvesting mussels.

There have also been a few victories. A land claim was awarded to the Dwesa-Cwebe villages in the form of a monetary settlement in 2001. However, in 2010, Malibongwe David Gongqose was arrested for fishing at the Mbashe River. In 2018, the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled that customary law and conservation can co-exist. “… The Dwesa-Cwebe communities have a greater interest in marine resources associated with their traditions and customs, than any other people. These customs recognise the need to sustain the resources that the sea provides,” the judgment reads.

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So, when Shell began its third seismic survey in waters off the Wild Coast, the Dwesa-Cwebe Communal Property Association was one of the applicants that approached the courts to stop Shell. 

They argued that, as affected parties, Shell had failed to meaningfully consult them before beginning its third seismic survey. On 1 September 2022 the high court ruled that Shell’s exploration right was granted unlawfully. 

The judgment, delivered by Judge President Selby Mbenenge, included the following text: “… It is incumbent on them to protect the natural resources, including the ocean, for present and future generations; the ocean is the sacred site where their ancestors live and so have a duty to ensure that their ancestors are not unnecessarily disturbed and that they are content.”

Climate change, accelerated by fossil fuel production, is making the lives and cultures of people who rely on the ocean more and more precarious. Coastal communities are therefore at the frontline of the climate crisis, which South Africa’s push for marine oil and gas extraction threatens to exacerbate.