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

STATE OF MANAGEMENT OF SOUTH AFRICA’S MARINE PROTECTED AREAS1.2.3 The evolution of MPA ManagementThe first MPA in South Africa was established in 1964 in Tsitsikamma. In 1977 agovernment-established task group developed a policy on MPAs that set out criteria for MPAmanagement (Lemm & Attwood 2003) and declared that the management of a MPA shouldbe assigned to one competent authority (Attwood et al. 2000). Hockey and Buxton completeda review on the State of MPAs 1989 and found that: The legislation relevant to MPAs was too diverse and in need of consolidation.A decentralised system whereby Provincial authorities have the ability to designateMPAs would be more effective.The awareness and enforcement at MPAs was not sufficient.From 1990 onwards South Africa declared many MPAs (Bewana 2009). By 1996 there werea listed total of 112 marine and coastal protected areas, and, in response to conflict overresources, ambiguous goals and requests for additional protected areas, a Marine ReservesTask Group was established (Attwood et al. 1997). This task group was commissioned toreview the administration, management, design and representativity of MPAs and to preparea policy for MPAs in South Africa (Attwood et al. 1997). The review, which involved aquestionnaire survey, identified the following weaknesses in management: The absence of a national MPA coordinating body.Inadequate legislation (Sea Fisheries Act) – which could not control non-fishingrelated activities in MPAs.MPAs mainly focused on preservation of ecosystems and enhancement of fisheries,at the expense of multiple-use of MPAs.Lack of management plans.Objectives for MPAs not documented or publicised.Lack of participatory process that involve consultation of users and adjacentcommunities.Insufficient numbers of dedicated enforcement staff.Inadequate monitoring programmes.The lack of public awareness.The shortage of funds.The Marine Living Resources Act No 18. of 1998 was created to replace the previouslegislation pertaining to MPAs and fisheries. In 2000, 19 MPAs were declared under this Act.In 2003, an assessment of the state of management of MPAs was conducted by Lemm andAttwood. This was more exhaustive than the previous reviews as it involved site visits andinterviews with those most involved in MPA management (Lemm & Attwood 2003). Theassessment indicated that there had been considerable improvement, notably through newnational legislation that governs both fisheries and MPAs and the assignment of a nationalcoordinating body (Marine and Coastal Management). However it was reported that most ofthe weaknesses found in the previous assessment still needed substantial improvement.Pg 10