ECOPEACE Party | |
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| Founded | 1995 |
| Headquarters | 101 Queen City, 54 Queen Street,Durban,South Africa |
| Ideology | Environmentalism |
| Political position | Left-wing |
| Regional affiliation | Federation of Green Parties of Africa(Observer) |
| Environmental movement in South Africa |
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| Organisations |
| Conferences |
TheECOPEACE Party is a nationalenvironmentalistpolitical party inSouth Africa founded in 1995. The party was formerly known aseThekwini ECOPEACE andeThekwini Ecoparty—eThekwini is theZulu name forDurban, where the party is based. The Zulu party motto isBuhlakuleni uButhi, Yitshaleni iMithi, which translates to "Uproot Poisons, Replant Trees (or Medicine)".
ECOPEACE entered municipal elections in 1996 but failed to win a seat. In 2000 it won one seat in the eThekwini Municipal Council;[2] this was the onlyGreen seat in South Africa. ECOPEACE was not re-elected in the 2006 local elections,[3] but its sister organisation Operation Khanyisa Movement (OKM), a fellow member of theSocialist Green Coalition (SGC) gained a seat in theJohannesburg City Council that year.
Although ECOPEACE is environmentalist in the broadest meaning of seeking sustainability of natural, built, social, economic, and political aspects etc. Global climate disruption and renewable energy production are major concerns.
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As implied by its name, the party isanti-war, and supports peace based on freedom, equality, and justice for humans and the environment.
ECOPEACE is dedicated to environmentalsustainability in areas such aseconomics,land development, andenergy policy.
The party supportsconsensus decision making, as expressed in practices such as parliamentary reforms andparticipatory,direct, andconsensus democracy. In order to strengthen voter influence and accountability of public officials, ECOPEACE supports theright of recall of elected officials and transparency incampaign finance.
The party seesrational science as a necessary component of informing political action and finding remedies for dangers to society and the environment, though it opposes the abuse of science to advance specific political goals.
The party opposes attempts by theANC government and theDAopposition[4] to continue financing of fossil carbon exploration and extraction, such asfracking in theKaroo,[5][6]offshore drilling, and creation of newcoal mines, even near theCradle of Humankind where the danger ofacid mine drainage exists.[7] ECOPEACE contends that these parties dedicate only token sums torenewable energy and support policies which worsenglobal climate disruptions.[8]
As an alternative, ECOPEACE supports changes in environmental policy and challenges againstwealth concentration, such as theGreat Transition.[9][10][11] The party's ideal energy policy would involve a distributed mix ofwind andsolar power, with storage on asmart grid. Other renewable technologies would supplement these primary sources, such asbiogas,ocean power, andtidal power. In particular, ECOPEACE supportsocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC), a renewable energy technique with the potential to mitigate global climate disruption andmass extinction of marine life by taking heat directly out of oceans.[12][13][14]
The ANC government has threatened to revoke the electoral position of the ECOPEACE Party for protesting against the eThekwini Municipal Council, together with community members from Merebank; ECOPEACE helped elect Merebank local councillor Raja Naidoo, who was laterassassinated.[15][16]
ECOPEACE is a member of the Socialist Green Coalition.[17]
