Towards Integrated Coastal Management for Saldanha Bay and Langebaan Lagoon, South Africa*
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Africa Africa’ (1997)4 given me the opportunity totackle thisOceanography, issue. UCT, and tocomments the onFlemish a draft ofFundthis article.for I amScientific also indebtedResearch to Dr. Johnin Belgium, Largier of whothe Departmenthave of around the coast ofSouth Africa.3 One ofthese regions is the West Coast extensive processes ofinvolving interested and affectedformulation parties ofin regions a vision for the coast of South Africa identified through Environmental Affairs and Tourism and supported by the United Sowman of the Department of Environmental and Geographical Sciences, UCT, for their Sustainable Coastal set Developmentout South Act.2 Africa’s Kingdom’s futureIts Departmentpolicy for startingon International coastal Development. pointmanagement It is in supposedwas ato (CMPP). new the This programme was launched by South Africa’s productMinistry ofof an extensive process of public participation and specialist with the changing socio-political environment in South Africarevealed the studies carried out through the Coastal Management Policy Programme offact, the present Act only appliesto areas belowthe highwater mark. coastal development through integrated coastal management.1 As inadequacya matter of the existing Seashore Act (1935) to achieve sustainable point for virtually the whole spectrum ofhuman activities and is subjectto increasing development demands and urbanisation. This concern coupled The ecologically varied 3200-km South African coastal zone is the focal AFRICA* Jan Schrijvers** TOWARDS INTEGRATED COASTAL MANAGEMENT FOR 1 1 Introduction SALDANHA ANDBAY LANGEBAAN LAGOON, SOUTH 3 3 See generally CMPP 2 irism in March 1999. 1 1 See further J Glazewski ‘Towards a coastal zone management Act for South * A draft Coastal Policy White Paper was submitted in March 1999 as the as submitted by the Policy Committee to the Minister of Environmental Affairs and See generally CMPP MSc (Gent) PhD(Gent) postdoctoral researcherICZM, University ofGent, Belgium. I am indebted to Jan Glazewski ofthe Institute of Marine Law, UCT, and to Merle ) . SAJELP 2 1 0 2 d e t 1. a d ( Regional Vision Report Vision Regional Draft White Paper for Sustainable Coastal Development in South in Development Coastal forSustainable Paper Draft White r e h s i l b u P e h t y b d e t n (1998). a r g e c n e c i l r e d n u y a w e t a G t e n i b a S y b d e c u d o r p e R . regulations . is now in the final stage ofbeing formalised.7 Though regional Northern Cape and the Western Cape Provinces, to Bokpunt, near Atlantis Coast region. The West Coast Investment Initiative (WCII) is one ofthe result in specific and local but possibly far-reaching, biophysical, ha Saldanha Industrial DevelopmentMoreover, adjacentto the Zone harbour is an area(SIDZ) ideal for establishingthatthe Bay, 1350 shouldwhich enhance is the naturally deepest and safest under-utilisedharbour opportunities in agriculture,in mariculture, thetourism and fishing country. created by the mini mill ofSaldanha Steel Operations (SSO) as well as the onthe outskirts theof Cape Town Metropole (see map).4 stretching from the Olifants River mouth, at the boundary98 between the place, will in possibly resolved.fact The new Sustainablestill Coastal DevelopmentAct, whencharge in a diversity of departments and local Africa is still in progress, let alone the establishment of appropriate in the region.5 The region’s destiny is particularly coupled with Saldanha Spatial Development Initiatives (SDIs) and focuses on the opportunities recognised as having high growth potential for internationally competitive industries, usually the future. After highlighting key the conflictsconcerns, that might ithinder effective trieslocal management to ofthe coastal make some conflicts and issues surrounding it, are properlydevelopment identified, canaddressed onlyand function, if the variety of ecologicallylegal fragile Langebaanand Lagoon. institutional infrastructural as well as socio-economic impacts on SaldanhaBay and the in nature, the coastal character of the development initiative is full likely to action and the legalinstitutional anddecision legal arrangements for for its theimplementation, thecreation WCII is in of the SIDZ and its special facilitationof the control ofimports and exports (see map).6 areas and resources ofthe Saldanha Bay and Langebaan Lagoon system in developments, the relevant legislative and institutional arrangements and authorities with many day-to-day responsibilities for coastal management.8 strategy led by the national Departments ofTrade and Industry (DTI) and Transport (DoT). last SIDZ meeting, August24, 1999, West CoastTransitional Local Council, Vredenburg. linked to a port for easy trade access. The SDI programme is an interdepartmental investment In the meanwhile, however, development proceeds along this West Holistic, management of these water bodies in the light of future Whereas the White Paper for Sustainable Coastal Development in South This article therefore provides an overview of the anticipated 6 6 See further WCII n 5 Spatial Development Initiatives (SDIs) are regions (8 in total) that have been 1 For a detailed description , see CMPP See Summary- Draft for oModel f forIDZ regulations SouthAfrica ) . 2 1 0 2 d e t AppraisalDocument a d ( r e h s i l b u P e h t y Coastal PolicyCoastal GreenPaper (1997). b d e t n a r g e c n e c i l r e d n (2000) u y a (1998) at43. w in Minutes ofthe e t a 7 G t SAJELP e n i b a S y b d e c u d o r p e R framework and methods for coastal area management forarea coastal methods frameworkand indicated as a RACE technique, six meetings were attended during this framework forrapid appraisal ofcoastal environments’ in T Chua and L Scura (eds) dream to create an opportunity for rational investment decisions benefitingRecent major industrial investment however processingagain triggeredof thelocally producedlongheld agricultural, marine and mining products. from the infrastructure created inthe apartheidyears.10 postponed mainly due to previous sanctions. At present, the manufacturingrailway lines and an export harbour. The plan was however repeatedly sector is the leading industry in the region and is mostly based on the government made extensive investment in developmentinfrastructure point. such Inas ordera major to realiseAlready the predicted growth, in the national the 1970s, Saldanha Bay was declared an industrial 3 3 Anticipated development relevantto coastal management ofthe not guided by a semi-structured interview. Four thoseworkshops conversationswere attendedthat originated spontaneously and that were therefore and biophysical settings. duringthe studyperiod. They covered social, infrastructural, and economic study. study. Over the whole period, 123 interviews were undertaken excluding drives and during recorded walkingand/or photographed trips during numerousthroughout car and the public transportregion. Though not documents. Field objects, events, processes andassessment relationships were noted, reports, reports, mediagreen such as newspapers and and newsletters, were environmentalwhite impact implemented. papers, Literature and study consistedother oflegislative novels, non-fiction, beginning ofApril 1999, several techniques that form the core ofRACE Pido & Chua to fast track the diagnosis of coastal legislative and institutional issues.9 From the beginning (RACE)of was used Octoberfor this study. An1998 This exploratoryRACE until methodtype ofwas the ‘rapidintroduced appraisal by of coastal environments’ method recommendations as howto copewith these problem areas. 2 2 Approach CoastalZone Management for Saldanha Bay and Langebaan 9 9 See for further reading on RACE methodology M Pido and T Chua (1992) ‘A 10 10 WCII (1997) op cit n6 at 17. Saldanha Bay and Langebaan Lagoon system See generally CMPP (1999) op citn2. ) . 2 1 0 2 d e t a d ( r e h s i l b u P e h t y b d e t (1992) 37 ICLARM ConfProc 133-148. n a r g e c n e c i l r e d n u y a w e t a G Integrative t e n i b a 99 S y b d e c u d o r p e R Audit forAudit Saldanha the Industrial Development Zone programmes also have the potential to gain higher education qualifications for their local entry- and to adapt it in response to identified requirements for industry.' Industrial in-house training level recruits. For further reading on human resources see Le Roux Skills Development Act (1998) aim to create a framework to integrate education and training, WCII products try to attract foreign investment in the West Coast’s fishing Wesgro. For further detailed reading on possible industrial and infrastructural projects see employment as well. Proposals for value-added processing of fisheries’ Besides industry however, the creation of small, medium and micro services, tourism and agriculture enterprises is believed in to fields trigger asuch boost as in local fish rareprocessing, or is already employed in themariculture, fishing industry or service sector.14 outsourcing Career options in the region have until recently been limited to fishing and and its potential pollutant/waste housing A flows.13 and skills infrastructure,and humanand the to resourcesbest realistically economic projectmix, to industrial determine growth the future need for industrialthe land, SIDZ in that region. It was initiated to assess the competitive farming. Skilled labour for present and future industrialisation is therefore strategy is another tool to be used and was therefore recently audited. advantage of the SIDZ, to identify potential downstream industries with A study concerning