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

STATE OF MANAGEMENT OF SOUTH AFRICA’S MARINE PROTECTED AREASSouthern excluded sectionA boat is going to be acquired and based at St Lucia for offshore enforcement in this section.There is one set of diving gear available at St. Lucia. Other than this the available andneeded equipment listed above applies.INFRASTRUCTURE (89%)The facilities for visitors to the MPAs were regarded as fully adequate for current levels ofvisitation. The infrastructure was adequate for most management purposes; however it wasnoted that the office at Cape Vidal was in need of an upgrade and that a boat storage facilitywas required at Bhanga Nek. There were adequate facilities for staff accommodation in theareas near to the management stations and there were launch sites available formanagement to use. In addition, there were boat storage facilities and a workshop.There are two access points to St Lucia MPA, one at Cape Vidal and one at Sodwana, bothare tarred and controlled with booms. There was also guard house facilities that lead to thepublic launch sites. Permits were required to use the access points at Mbibi, Bhanga Nekand the Kosi Bay estuary. There were two launch concessions in the Maputaland MPA at thetime of the visit.BUDGET (67%)The budget allocated by MCM was regarded as adequate for most MPA management needs.It covered the costs of administration, operation, training and education, meetings,maintenance and capital purchases associated with the MPA. It however did not cover thecosts of staff salaries, which was covered by EKZNW.ProcessesBOUNDARY DEMARCATION (67%)The GPS co-ordinates of the boundaries of the MPA were provided in the proclamation anddemarcated by numbered beacons in the field. The signs were however outdated and stillreferred to the area as a ‘Marine Reserve’. Furthermore, adequate maps and GPS coordinatesindicating zones and regulations were not provided on signs at the public launchsites. However, it was noted that there were plans to update and improve the signs once theIMP had been approved.PATROL AND ENFORCEMENT (75%)The staff members had sufficient capacity and resources to enforce the MLRA andenforcement mechanisms were being implemented effectively; however it was reported thatfines issued to visitors to the area were being ignored. The enforcement activities includedPg 136