The plains of the Karoo are thought to have a huge volume of shale gas deposited in rock formations deep underground. The reserves are yet to be exploited. Hydraulic fracturing or "fracking" is a technique used to extract that gas. A high-pressure mixture of water, sand and chemicals is injected into rock causing cracks to form, sand particles keep the cracks open and that allows the gas to flow up to the surface for use. Local fears relating to possible impacts on ground water in particular and, I suspect, an additional element of "not in my backyard" to boot mean fracking is a contentious point in the Karoo.

The arrival of fracking in the Karoo is almost inevitable and on environmental grounds, at some point, this would regrettably be the right decision unless something very dramatic happens to the way in which we humans live. In this article I'm only considering the environmental implications and leave aside economic impacts such as job creation, tax receipts and domestic access to relatively cheap fuel for electricity generation in gas-turbine power stations. I'll consider how damaging fracking would be on the Karoo landscape around Prince Albert and what alternatives could be.

Will fracking damage the Karoo?

Let's start with the easy question. Would fracking damage the Karoo? Yes, it would. To fully comprehend the sensitivity of the landscapes near Prince Albert I asked retired botanist Sue Milton-Dean to show me evidence of historic human impacts in the area. The Khoekhoe, the region's indigenous pastoralists, created kraals for their fat-tailed sheep to shelter from predators. The archaeological record shows that one kraal, just outside Prince Albert, has not been used since a date prior to the arrival of Europeans in the area. Therefore, it has not been used in over 250 years. The footprint of the kraal, along with livestock trails leading to it,