Marine protected areas of South Africa


A marine protected area of South Africa is an area of coastline or ocean within the exclusive economic zone of the Republic of South Africa that is protected in terms of specific legislation for the benefit of the environment and the people who live in it and use it. An MPA is a place where marine life can thrive under less pressure than unprotected areas, like underwater parks, and this healthy environment can benefit neighbouring areas.
There are a total of 45 marine protected areas in the South African EEZ, with a total area of 5% of the waters. The target is to have 10% of the oceanic waters protected by 2020. All but one of the MPAs are in the exclusive economic zone off continental South Africa, and one is off Prince Edward Island in the Southern Ocean.
People can take part in a wide range of non-consumptive activities in all of South Africa's MPAs, and some parts of some MPAs are zoned for limited consumptive activities. Some of these activities require a permit, which is a form of taxation.

Definition

The International Union for Conservation of Nature defines a marine protected area as:
A clearly defined geographical space, recognised, dedicated, and managed, through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values.

A marine protected area is a protected area of sea or estuary. These areas can range from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human activity for a conservation purpose, typically to protect natural or cultural resources. Such marine resources are protected by local, state, territorial, native, regional, national, or international authorities and differ substantially among and between nations. This variation includes different limitations on development, fishing practices, fishing seasons and catch limits, moorings and bans on removing or disrupting marine life. In some situations, MPAs also provide revenue for countries, potentially equal to the income that they would have if they were to grant companies permissions to fish.
As of August 2016 there are more than 13,650 MPAs, encompassing 2.07% of the world's oceans, with half of that area - encompassing 1.03% of the world's oceans - receiving complete "no-take" designation.

Purpose and function

If there is no defined long-term goal for conservation and ecological recovery and extraction of marine resources occurs, the IUCN does not recognise a region as a marine protected area.
The purposes stated for declaring South African marine protected areas include:
MPAs have been shown to protect biodiversity and stocks of economically important marine organisms, and are also considered to protect cultural heritage, provide educational and recreational opportunities, provide sustainable employment, and stimulate tourism, and may assist with resilience to climate change.

Planning

Planning scenarios for site selection analysis include seabed protection, pelagic biodiversity, threatened species, sustainability of small pelagic and demersal trawl fisheries, inshore, offshore and crustacean trawl bycatch management, a range of sector-specific analyses exploring areas where spawning or nursery grounds can be protected, as well as integrated analysis of all targets for all objectives including minimising and spreading impact on industry.
Scenarios also considered industry targets and spreadimg the impact fairly, and the impact on rights holders who operate in fixed areas such as diamond mining and petroleum extraction.
In recent planning, areas were considered in combination, with a recommendation to implement several new MPAs as a set, as this would speed up the process and allow a spatially efficient network that meets multiple combined objectives and minimises cumulative impact on industry. This plan was followed with the 2019 set of mostly offshore MPAs.

History

Several early MPAs were declared in terms of the Marine Living Resources Act, 18 of 1998, and they are currently declared through the
The South African Association for Marine Biological Research was established by marine scientists who in 1947 recognised the unique character of the northern Zululand coast, which was later described as the Delagoa inshore ecoregion. The Oceanographic Research Institute recognised that protection was necessary for effective conservation and in collaboration with the Natal Parks Board, established the St. Lucia Marine Reserve which was proclaimed in 1979, followed by the proclamation of the Maputaland Marine Reserve in 1986. These are now consolidated in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, which was proclaimed as South Africa’s first World Heritage Site in 1999. After nearly 20 years of work the Aliwal Shoal Marine Protected Area was proclaimed in 2004, along with the Pondoland Marine Protected Area, at the time the largest of South Africa's MPAs, and several others. By 2018, South Africa had 25 formally declared Marine Protected Areas, of which 24 are in the coastal waters of the continental territory, and one is in the waters of the Prince Edward Islands in the Southern Ocean.
On 24 October 2018, 20 new MPAs were approved by Cabinet, and were proclaimed by the South African government on 24 May 2019 This increased the area of the continental protected areas to 5%. To comply with the goals of the United Nations, another 5% of South African oceanic waters must be protected by 2020.

Extent

The coastal MPAs constitute 0.43% of the continental EEZ, and 0.16% of the EEZ is no-take zone. Offshore ecosystems are the least protected ecosystems of territory under South African management.

Legislation

The South African Constitution makes the national government responsible for protecting the environment. This is delegated to the Department of Environmental Affairs, which has management agreements with a variety of MPA management authorities, such as CapeNature, City of Cape Town, Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency, Nelson Mandela Bay Metro, South African National Parks, and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife.
South African coastal MPA’s are usually attached to a terrestrial national park or nature reserve, and the management of that park or reserve also manages the MPA, funded by the national government via the Department of Environmental Affairs.

Zonation

Zonation of marine protected areas in South Africa is classified by the Marine Living Resources Act and the National Environmental Management Act. An MPA may be divided into one or more types of zonation. Restricted and controlled areas are common.
;Restricted area:
;Controlled area:
;Wilderness area:
;Sanctuary area:

List of MPAs

The listed MPAs were individually proclaimed. Some were later consolidated with adjacent MPAs and may not still be generally referred to by the original name.
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