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

STATE OF MANAGEMENT OF SOUTH AFRICA’S MARINE PROTECTED AREASAssessing Management Effectiveness, andFinancial Planning and Management.During the visits made to all the MPAs in this assessment a total of 24 MPA personnel whohad completed the course, or were in the process of completing the course, wereencountered. Results from discussions held with these personnel indicated the following:The most useful modules varied widely between participants depending on their ownbackgrounds and interests. The general opinion was that every module had useful aspectsthat either refreshed previous courses undertaken, took their current level of understandingof issues to a new level, or provided new information.The main benefit derived from the course was the opportunity it offered to participants tonetwork and build relationships with other role players and MPA staff. Some of the contentsof the course have been shared by participants amongst other team members, therebyimproving the basic level of understanding of the team as a whole and not just those on thecourse. The course manuals and a reference disk have been useful as a reference point foraddressing issues. Furthermore the course broadened the perspectives of participants as towhat is involved in MPA management and what their role is.The opinion of the participants on the delivery and structure of the course was that iswas well designed and structured but pitched at a level that was sometimes too high and fastfor some.There were requests that the course be repeated for certain MPAs (Table Mountain NationalPark MPA, West Coast National Park MPAs) and that a simpler bridging course bedeveloped specifically for field rangers. A marine ranger’s course has recently been pilotedand could potentially serve as an entry level for marine rangers in future.Pg 45