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Other recreational activities are of more concern. There is reportedly also some use of the
estuary margins by quad bikers that may be causing environmental damage. Aircraft such as
gyrocopters and microlights have been observed flying low over the estuary, and causing
disturbance of birds.
With increasing development pressure in the area, disturbance of wildlife is likely to increase.
Appropriate management measures such as protected areas and zonation could be developed
to guard against impacts associated with increased use.
5.7 Potential for protected area status
Legislative context
The White Paper on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of South Africa’s Biological Diversity
(1998) recognises the importance of estuaries and commits the government to a number of
strategies to protect wetlands in general, such as facilitating the development of appropriate
legislation to secure their conservation, promoting the establishment of a National System of
Protected Wetlands, preventing inappropriate activities and development around wetlands,
finding ways to recognise wetlands in planning and decision-making, determining the impact of
fishers and developing guidelines for managing them.
Marine reserves were previously proclaimed under the Sea Fishery Act 12 of 1988 or under the
National Parks Act 57 of 1976. Now all marine reserves have been re-proclaimed under the
Marine Living Resources Act. However, this only affords protection up to the high tide mark.
Estuaries can also be protected within regular protected areas (see below), though the latter
do not have jurisdiction over the use of estuarine living resources. Estuaries may also be
protected within World Heritage Sites under the World Heritage Convention Act 49 of 1999.
The General Policy in terms of the Environment Conservation Act – Terrestrial and Marine
protected areas (1994) categorises protected areas into 7 categories (based on IUCN and one
additional category). It prescribes the management objectives and criteria for selecting and
managing each category. The policy suggests that estuaries, fish, spawning areas and
seascapes should generally be treated as Category IV – Habitat and wildlife management areas,
regardless of who owns those resources. In reality, estuaries could fall into any category.
Those such as Kosi could be classified as Category V – Protected land/seascapes, while others
could be classified as Category VI - Sustainable Use Areas. Each estuary should be classified on
the basis of the management objectives of the estuary (Smith & Cullinan 2000).
The Biodiversity Act (2004) provides for the conservation of biological diversity. It requires
identification of important landscapes, ecosystems, ecological process and species for
biodiversity conservation, and promotes monitoring of these. It also provides for the
proclamation of protected areas, recognising South Africa’s obligations to international
conventions. The Protected Areas Act (2003) provides for the declaration and management of
protected areas, and can also provide for co-operative governance, the sustainable utilisation
of protected areas that preserves their ecological character, and the participation of local
communities in the management of protected areas, where appropriate. A consultation and
public participation process is outlined in the Act. It also contains the requirement that marine
and terrestrial protected areas with common boundaries must be managed as an integrated
Uilkraals Estuary Situation Assessment
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