Mountaineers find mountains attractive for several reasons - solitude, challenge, clean air and water, unspoiled nature are a few of the reasons. Unfortunately, the telecommunications community also finds mountains inherently attractive for very different reasons - mountains provide suitable locations for the construction of telecommunications masts. Lately, with the rapid growth of the cell phone industry, we see mountainous areas being sacrificed for the construction of masts at an increasing rate.
While we all accept the need for effective communications infrastructure, as members of the MCSA we have committed ourselves to the protection of mountains that we love. The last thing we want to see is the spines of our mountain areas bristling with masts.
Masts not only create a direct visual impact by breaking the skyline. They also create secondary impacts. Masts require access roads, which firstly create additional visual and physical (e.g. erosion) impact on the environment, but also allow increased access to people, which puts further pressure on the natural resources of mountainous areas. These access roads for instance allow illegal hunters and irresponsible 4x4 owners (as frequently happens in the Magaliesberg) to get access to mountain areas.
There are ways of preventing masts from going up in the wrong places in our mountains. One of the most effective legal instruments the public can use is the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) regulations. Briefly, these regulations, passed under the Environment Conservation Act (Act 73 of 1989), require the environmental impacts of certain development proposals to be investigated before the developments can be approved by the relevant environmental authorities. These regulations list several activities which need EIAs, of which "structures associated with communication networks .... as well as access roads leading to these structures" is listed as one.
All interested and affected parties have a right to have their concerns addressed in the EIA process. The MCSA, as the most prominent voice for conservation in mountain areas, will certainly qualify as an affected party in a case of a planned mast in a mountainous area.
One of the recent cases of masts on mountains is the construction of a telephone communication panel in the Golden Gate Highlands National Park in the Free State. This panel was put up by Telkom on request of SA National Parks. The huge panel was put up next to this park's best known scenic asset, the Brandwag, and is well visible from the main camp site of the park. It appears as if no authorisation was obtained for this structure. The MCSA is currently contesting this development with the support of the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism.
If you know of any planned mast construction on mountain areas and want to contest this development, inform yourself about your rights under the EIA regulations and other environmental legislation. Details can be obtained from me at the e-mail address or phone numbers below.
Reuben Heydenrych
Tel: (012) 348-3078 (h a/h)
E-mail: reubenh@lantic.net