Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Law, regulation and treaties · South Africa · 2022–2024

Court cancels Shell's Wild Coast seismic exploration rights

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 2 none on record · 1 not measured See the gaps

A South African court cancelled Shell's rights to carry out seismic exploration on the Wild Coast, according to a Legal Resources Centre timeline covering 2022 to 2024. The sources reviewed do not describe the environmental effects of the exploration.

What?
Shell's seismic exploration rights on the Wild Coast were cancelled. Legal Resources Centre
Where?
Wild Coast, South Africa Legal Resources Centre
When?
2022 to 2024, per the LRC timeline Legal Resources Centre
Who?
Gained
None on record
Lost
Harmed
None on record
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Court cancellation of the exploration right. Legal Resources Centre
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

The Legal Resources Centre timeline records that a South African court cancelled Shell's seismic exploration rights on the Wild Coast.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    1. Overturned on appeal
      Shell Wild Coast seismic exploration right case
      South African court (not named in the sources reviewed) · Civil · Not named in the sources reviewed → Not named in the sources reviewed

      A South African court cancelled Shell's seismic exploration rights on the Wild Coast, per the LRC timeline. Legal Resources Centre

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Record

    • None on record The sources reviewed do not name the court, the parties to the case, or the grounds of the ruling.
    • None on record The sources reviewed do not name the communities or groups involved in the case.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts— Press and investigations✓ Communities and civil society— Researchers

    Communities and civil society

    1. Timeline of the Wild Coast Shell case
      Legal Resources Centre · 2024

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
    Terms used on this page

    Law and courts

    Arbitration
    A private dispute process in which an appointed arbitrator, instead of a court, decides the case.

    Insurance

    Underwriter
    An insurer, or a person at an insurer, who assesses a risk and decides whether and on what terms to insure it.
    Similar cases
    Law, regulation and treaties · Peru · 2025
    Lliuya v RWE
    Same type: Law, regulation and treatiesCourt: lost by claimantHarm to nature not measured
    Law, regulation and treaties · Water use · Spain · 2022–2026
    Mar Menor legal personhood (Spain)
    Same type: Law, regulation and treatiesCourt: lost by claimantHarm to nature not measured
    Law, regulation and treaties · Kenya · 2025
    Kenyan court rules seed-saving and seed-sharing penalties unconstitutional
    Same type: Law, regulation and treatiesSame regionHarm to nature not measured
    Law, regulation and treaties · France · 2019
    Socfin and Socapalm defamation suits against French media and NGOs fail
    Same type: Law, regulation and treatiesCourt: lost by claimantHarm to nature not measured
    Law, regulation and treaties · Mali · date not stated
    Mali fire ban did not end burning and produced conflict
    Same type: Law, regulation and treatiesSame regionHarm to nature not measured
    Law, regulation and treaties · Australia · 2024–2025
    Australian regulator loses case against Woolworths over biodegradable claim
    Same type: Law, regulation and treatiesCourt: lost by claimantHarm to nature not measured