- CER will participate in the 2026 Alternative Mining Indaba in Cape Town, reinforcing its role in environmental justice and accountability in the extractives sector.
- The organisation will spotlight legal reform, enforcement of environmental law and community rights as central to a just energy transition.
- CER will contribute expert legal insight to discussions on South Africa’s mine rehabilitation framework.
The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), a non-profit climate justice organisation and law clinic, will take part in the Alternative Mining Indaba taking place in Cape Town from 9 to 11 February 2026. CER’s participation reflects its ongoing commitment to environmental justice, corporate accountability and the protection of community rights within the mining and energy sectors.
Positioned as a community led and justice focused platform, the Alternative Mining Indaba aims to challenge dominant narratives in the extractives industry. The forum prioritises the lived experiences of communities impacted by mining and creates space for voices that are often excluded from formal policy processes.
This year, CER’s Mining Programme will play a central role in advancing discussions on environmental and climate justice in the extractives sector. The organisation’s work focuses on strengthening the implementation of environmental legislation and pursuing litigation on behalf of mining and production impacted communities, as well as civil society organisations.
Across South Africa, mining activity has contributed to severe water degradation, land pollution and long term social impacts, often in the absence of effective regulatory enforcement. CER has taken legal action against unlawful mine approvals, advocated for stronger enforcement of environmental laws and defended community rights to clean air and safe water.
According to CER Head of Mining Programme Tarisai Mugunyani, participation in the indaba forms part of a broader commitment to solidarity with communities and social movements.
“CER’s participation in the Alternative Mining Indaba reflects our broader activism and solidarity with mining affected communities and social movements who refuse to be sidelined while corporations and governments define their future,” says Mugunyani. “We stand with communities demanding accountability, transparency and true justice in the energy transition and beyond.”
Mugunyani will serve as a panellist at a roundtable discussion titled State of play Is South Africa’s legal rehabilitation regime fit for a just transition.
Mining impacted communities frequently experience social, environmental and economic harm during operations and long after mines have closed. The roundtable will bring together legal and policy experts from CER and other civil society organisations to assess whether South Africa’s mine rehabilitation framework adequately supports a just and equitable transition.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
