GRAAFF-REINET NEWS - Reverend Petrus Gysman of the Uniting Reformed Church of Southern Africa in Graaff-Reinet achieved a notable milestone when a chapter that he wrote was included in a book published by the Christian Literature Fund (CLF).
The book, CARE FOR AFRICA: Witnesses of Earthkeeping and Ecological Justice, is an essential contribution to the growing call for ecological justice, offering a powerful African response to environmental crises that are threatening both people and the planet.
Ecological theology
The book moves beyond Western paradigms in pursuit of an approach informed by African spiritualities and indigenous wisdom, and positions ecological theology within the context of biblical interpretation, theological discourse, and everyday lived realities.
The chapters explore themes that include community-based conservation, the ecological leadership of rural African women, the value of traditional knowledge, and the call to integrate creation care into the church’s spiritual life, communal practices, and public mission.
It offers concrete paths toward healing and hope, ranging from food gardens and recycling projects to critiques of consumerism and calls for prophetic advocacy.
Shale gas exploration
The chapter written by Gysman contains a case study on the collective efforts of Karoo communities in resisting shale gas exploration in the region.
It focuses specifically on groups like emerging farmers, farmworkers, indigenous Khoi and San communities, the Rastafarian community, and the faith-based community of the church, whose opposition to fracking has not been widely acknowledged or amplified in the media.
These communities have been working actively alongside the Support Centre for Land Change, a land reform organisation, to prevent hydraulic fracturing – commonly referred to as fracking – in the Karoo.
Anti-fracking team
To this end, they established the Karoo Anti-Fracking Task Team in 2012 to inform local communities about fracking and its potential impact, highlighting the transient nature of promised financial gains compared to the irreplaceable value of the environment.
This task team transitioned into the Karoo Environmental Justice Movement (KEJM) when it came to light that the Karoo faced not only the risk of shale gas exploration but also the impending threat of uranium mining.
SCLC and KEJM continued to raise awareness and secure public support in opposition to both fracking and uranium mining.
Gysman is a member of KEJM, and his decision to focus on the role of the movement in the fight against fracking stems from his belief that their story deserves to be shared globally.
Despite his belief that the role of these communities has not been adequately amplified, Gysman’s chapter gives recognition to the important role played by the Graaff-Reinet Advertiser in keeping Karoo communities informed and providing a platform for the voices of those opposing shale gas exploration to be heard.
CARE FOR AFRICA: Witnesses of Earthkeeping and Ecological Justice is a book for everyone who longs to live faithfully amid ecological breakdown – educators, students, activists, ministers and believers.
It will equip them to respond with courage, creativity, and commitment to God’s call for earthkeeping in Africa today.
The book is available on CLF’s open-access platform, where they aim to make a wide range of new books freely accessible, especially for students who cannot afford to purchase them.
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