Terms and conditions

These Terms and Conditions of use govern your use (as “the user”) of the Ripl public participation and comments portal (the “Portal”), which is owned and operated by Protect the West Coast (“we,” “us,” or “our”), a registered South African Not-for-profit (NPO) Public Benefit Organisation (PBO) Registration Number 930072349.

By accessing or using the Ripl Portal, you agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions.

Acceptance of Terms: By accessing or using the Portal, you agree to comply with and be bound by these Terms and Conditions. If you do not agree with any part of these terms, you must not use the Portal.

Registration: To access certain features of the Portal, you are required to register for an account. You agree to provide accurate and complete information during the registration process and to update such information to keep it accurate and current.

User Conduct: You agree to use the Portal only for lawful purposes and in a manner that does not infringe upon the rights of others or restrict or inhibit their use and enjoyment of the Portal. You also agree to use appropriate, non-inflammatory and civil language in any and all communications and comments you might offer or provide at any time.

Intellectual Property: All content and materials available on the Portal, including but not limited to text, graphics, logos, images, and software, are the property of Protect the West Coast or its licensors and are protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws.

SMS Communications: SMS will be the default method of communication with you relating to Ripl when signing up for the platform and from then on unless otherwise specified. However, you can check both email and SMS if you wish to receive either or both forms of communication. You may change these settings at any time once you are signed up. As a registered user confirmation will be sent once and you will be notified and reminded once to take action on all new mining applications. If you sign up as an Interested and Affected Party (I&AP) for a particular application you will be notified to confirm your registration as an I&AP and again in the case of any further updates and/or when you are required to take any further action relating to each specific application.

Email Communications: By supplying Ripl with your email address, you will automatically consent also to be added to the Protect the West Coast main email user database, to which we send newsletters, news updates, donations campaigns and other communications. You may unsubscribe from the Protect the West Coast database at any time, which will not affect any necessary correspondence through the Ripl platform. As a registered user confirmation will be sent once to your preferred communication method and you will be notified and reminded once to take action on all new mining applications. If you sign up as an Interested and Affected Party (I&AP) for a particular application you will be notified to confirm your registration as an I&AP and again in the case of any further updates and/or when you are required to take any further action relating to each specific application.

Interested and Affected Parties (I&APs): By signing up as an Interested and Affected Party for each mining application through the Ripl platform, you consent to allow Protect the West Coast to share your personal information vital to the South African Public Participation Process (name, email and/or phone number and your answers to any forms within the portal) with relevant parties, including but not limited to related Environmental Assessment Practitioners (EAPs) in the case of applications, and/or the South African Department of Minerals and Energy (DMRE) in the case of appeals, and their affiliates and legal representatives etcetera.

Privacy: Your use of the Portal is subject to our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated herein by reference. By using the Portal, you consent to the collection and use of your information as described in the Privacy Policy.

Disclaimer of Warranties: The Portal is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis, without any warranties of any kind, either express or implied. We do not warrant that the Portal will be uninterrupted or error-free, or that any defects will be corrected.

Limitation of Liability: To the fullest extent permitted by law, Protect the West Coast shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising out of or relating to your use of or inability to use the Portal.

Indemnification: You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Protect the West Coast and its affiliates, officers, directors, employees, volunteers, donors, sponsors and agents from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, losses, or expenses arising out of or relating to your use of the Portal or any violation of these Terms and Conditions.

Governing Law and Jurisdiction: These Terms and Conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of South Africa, without regard to its conflict of law principles. Any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms and Conditions shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the Republic of South Africa.

Changes to Terms and Conditions: Protect the West Coast reserves the right to modify or amend these Terms and Conditions at any time, and such changes will be effective immediately upon posting. Your continued use of the Portal following the posting of changes constitutes your acceptance of such changes.

If you have any questions about these Terms and Conditions, please contact us at mike@protectthewestcoast.org

Privacy Policy

Protect the West Coast is committed to providing you with a satisfying user experience, and we collect Personal Information (defined below) through the Ripl Portal and through our communication with you to provide us with information that helps us better understand and execute the products and services most helpful to you. Our Privacy Policy describes the types of information we gather and how we use this information.

By accessing the Ripl Portal and providing us with your information you agree to be bound by our Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time. Accordingly, you should check the date of this Policy (which appears at the bottom of this page) and review any changes since the last version. If at any time you do not agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy, please do not use the Portal and refrain from purchasing from us.

We may collect two types of information about users: “Personal Information”, such as your name, email address, mailing address, phone number, mobile phone number, and the information you supply when signing up to the Ripl Portal and/or as an Interested and Affected Party (I&AP); and “Aggregate Information” (such as information about how many users log on to our platform on a daily basis, for example).

We use this information to enable and improve your user experience and to communicate with you about our Portal, products, services and promotions. We may also use this information to present offers to you, to help us target specific products and services to you, and to help us develop and improve our Portal and/or website and tailor our site, e-newsletter and marketing efforts to your interests.

Personal Information is collected online by us when you voluntarily sign up to Ripl Portal, receive e-newsletters and use community and communication services, or if you engage with our digital properties, such tag us on social media, answer surveys, buy products and enter contests and partake in other promotional opportunities provided on www.protectthewestcoast.org or Protect The West Coast’s social media channels.

We also maintain a record of your activity via the Ripl Portal and via mobile SMS and email communication. When you register as a Ripl user or I&AP we collect information about you. We use this information to communicate with you or to market our products and services to you, by adding you to our email promotions and campaigns.

When you fill out any online promotional surveys, we may gather certain Personal Information, such as your opinions on specific products and/or services, in addition to identifying information, such as your name, address, telephone number(s), mobile number(s), email address(es), income, locations and employment status.

About cookies

Cookies are small text files that platforms or websites can send to your computer. A cookie can be thought of as an Internet user’s identification card, which tells a website when the user has returned. Cookies are not computer programmes, and can’t read other information saved on your hard drive. They cannot be used to disseminate viruses or obtain a user’s email address etc. They only contain and transfer to the site as much information as the users themselves have disclosed to that platform or website.

Cookies make the interaction between users and sites faster and easier. Without cookies, it would be very difficult for a Portal or website to allow a visitor to fill in forms, fill up a shopping basket or to remember the user’s preferences or registration details for a future visit.

Information on deleting or controlling cookies is available at www.aboutcookies.org.

Please note that by deleting our cookies or disabling future cookies you may not be able to access certain areas or features of our Portal or website.

Last updated June 2024.