State of Management of South Africa’s ... - WWF South Africa

STATE OF MANAGEMENT OF SOUTH AFRICA’S MARINE PROTECTED AREASacknowledged that the plan was in need of revision and required improvement with regard todefining long-term visions and adaptive management. A revision process for the plan underthe Garden Route Initiative had recently commenced.SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS (42%)There was inadequate consultation with local stakeholders during the compilation of themanagement plan. The plan was made available to locals once, and only those who had aninterest in the MPA and the capacity to respond were involved. The social systems andcultural and historical features in the MPA were described, however the traditional practiceswere not considered in the plan. Local stakeholders were informed of planning processes,but seldom had meaningful input.PLAN CONTEXT (46%)The management planning process made use of available biological and socio-economicinformation. No formal threat analysis was conducted; however threats were identified andaddressed in the plan. There was insufficient information regarding social and biophysicalconditions for planning, while resource use statistics and a partial biological resourceinventory was available. An analysis of the threats to the MPA would be undertaken duringthe revision of the plan.6.5.5 Management systemInputSTAFF NUMBER (61%)The current number of staff members was below the optimal number for critical managementactivities. There was a total of 10 CapeNature staff members (four field rangers, fourconservation assistants, one clerical and one Conservation Manager) dedicated to themanagement of the nature reserve and MPA. In addition, there was an unfunded but welltrained nature conservation student assisting with all the activities in the MPA. There weretwo field ranger posts available, however people with sufficient skills and capacity had not yetbeen sourced. The two additional roles were needed particularly for enforcement andmonitoring in the MPA.In addition there was an ecological co-ordinator (terrestrial), a data co-ordinator and atourism officer shared between Goukamma and Robberg Nature Reserves.STAFF SKILLS (35%)The conservation manager was still new to the MPA and a new team was in the process ofbeing developed. Most of the staff members were aware of the role and function of the MPA,however very few had an understanding of the applicable legislation and were aware of thePg 93