Wild Coast Special Economic Zone (Sez): Mthatha
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DRAFT CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT PLAN: WILD COAST SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE (SEZ) : MTHATHA DRAFT CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR THE WILD COAST SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE (SEZ) MTHATHA, EASTERN CAPE PROVINCE DRAFT CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT PLAN Prepared for: COEGA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION COEGA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (CDC) Prepared by: CES EAST LONDON 25 Tecoma Street Berea, East London, 5214 043 726 7809 Also in Grahamstown, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, Johannesburg and Maputo (Mozambique) www.cesnet.co.za SEPTEMBER 2019 DRAFT Conservation Management Plan REVISIONS TRACKING TABLE CES Report Revision and Tracking Schedule Document Title: DRAFT CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR THE WILD COAST SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE (SEZ) MTHATHA Client Name & COEGA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (CDC) Address: Status: Final Draft Issue Date: September 2019 Lead Author: Caryn Clarke Reviewer: Study Leader/ Registered Alan Carter and Greer Hawley Environmental Assessment Practitioner – Approval: No. of hard No. electronic Report Distribution Circulated to copies copies 0 1 Simphiwe Silwana Report Version Date September 2019 This document has been prepared in accordance with the scope of CES’s appointment and contains intellectual property and proprietary information that is protected by copyright in favour of CES. The document may therefore not be reproduced, used or distributed to any third party without the prior written consent of CES. This document is prepared exclusively for use by CES’s client. CES accepts no liability for any use of this document other than by its client and only for the purposes for which it was prepared. No person other than the client may copy (in whole or in [email protected] part) use or rely on the contents of this document, without the prior www.cesnet.co.za written permission of CES. The document is subject to all confidentiality, copyright and trade secrets rules, intellectual property law and practices of South Africa. CES Environmental and Social Advisory Services DRAFT Conservation Management Report ii DRAFT Conservation Management Plan PROJECT TEAM Dr Greer Hawley: Reviewer and Conservation and Botanical Specialist Dr Greer Hawley has a BSc degree in Botany and Zoology and a BSc Honours in Botany from the University of Cape Town. She completed her PhD thesis (Microbiology) at Rhodes University. Greer has been involved in a number of diverse activities. The core academic focus has been in the field of taxonomy both in the plant and fungal kingdom. Greer's research ranges from fresh water and marine algae, estuarine diatoms, plant species classification in the fynbos and forest vegetation and fungal species identification and ecology. Greer has been involved in environmental and biodiversity impact assessments and environmental and biodiversity management projects both in South Africa and other African countries. Greer has recently assisted with the completion of the Eastern Cape Biodiversity Conservation Plan (2019), the Eastern Cape Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan and assisted with the generation of the Western Cape State of the Coast Report. She is currently involved with finalising the Environmental Management Framework for the King Cetshwayo District Municipality. Ms Caryn Clarke: Project Manager and Report Writer Caryn holds a M.Sc. Environmental Science (2012), B.Sc. Hon. Environmental Science (2010), and a B.Sc. Environmental Science and Economics (2009) from Rhodes University. Her M.Sc. thesis was titled “Responses to the linked stressors of Climate Change and HIV/AIDS amongst vulnerable rural households in the Eastern Cape, South Africa”. Her B.Sc. Hon. thesis investigated climate change perceptions, drought responses and views on carbon farming amongst commercial livestock and game farmers within the Great Fish River Valley, Eastern Cape, from which a paper was published in the African Journal of Range and Forage Science 2012, 29(1):13-23. Caryn has further completed a Carbon Footprint Analysis Course (2013). Caryn’s expertise includes project management, feasibility studies (aquaculture), environmental impact assessments including public participation, MPRDA applications, environmental compliance monitoring, various licensing and permit applications, and GIS mapping. Caryn is a registered Candidate Natural Scientist under the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions. Ms Jaclyn Smith: Aquatic and Wetland Specialist Jaclyn has a BSc degree in Geology and Environmental Science and a BSc (Honours) Degree in Geology. Jaclyn has worked as an environmental consultant for over 5 years. She has experience in managing and undertaking Environmental Impact Assessments for both NEMA and NEMWA applications. She has prepared Environmental Screening Reports, aquatic and wetland assessments, managed water use licence applications and she has extensive experience in construction compliance auditing. CES Environmental and Social Advisory Services DRAFT Conservation Management Report iii DRAFT Conservation Management Plan TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 1 1.1 BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................... 1 1.2 PROJECT DESCRIPTION .................................................................................................. 1 1.3 LOCATION ..................................................................................................................... 2 1.4 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES .................................................................................................. 1 1.5 METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................ 1 2 LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE FRAMEWORK .............................................................. 2 2.1 RELEVANT LEGLISATION ................................................................................................ 2 2.2 RELEVANT POLICY AND PLANS ....................................................................................... 8 2.3 RELEVANT DOCUMENTS ................................................................................................ 8 3 ROLES AND INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS ............................................................ 9 4 CONSERVATION VALUE ASSESSMENT ...................................................................... 10 4.1 BASELINE ASSESSMENT ............................................................................................... 10 4.1.1 BIODIVERSITY PLANS AND STRATEGIES ........................................................................ 10 4.1.2 VEGETATION AND HABITAT ASSESSMENT .................................................................... 12 4.1.3 WETLAND HABITAT ASSESSMENT ................................................................................. 13 4.1.4 SPECIES OF CONSERVATION CONCERN ......................................................................... 15 4.1.5 LAND USE ...................................................................................................................... 16 4.1.6 SUMMARY OF EXISTING PRESSURES AND THREATS ..................................................... 16 4.2 SITE ASSESSMENT........................................................................................................ 18 4.3 CONCLUSION............................................................................................................... 22 5 MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK .................................................................................. 23 5.1 CONSERVATION OUTCOMES ........................................................................................ 23 5.2 MANGEMENT ACTIONS ............................................................................................... 23 5.2.1 CO 1: The Open Space: Grassland area within the Mthatha WCSEZ is conserved and further degradation is prevented .................................................................................................. 24 5.2.2 CO 2: The Open Space: Wetland areas are rehabilitated and conserved ..................... 27 5.2.3 CO 3: Land use activities within the adjacent areas must not contribute to the further degradation of the Open Space: Grassland and Wetlands areas ................................................. 32 5.2.4 CO 4: The Open Space: Grassland and Wetlands areas are regularly monitored and evaluated against the baseline. .................................................................................................... 35 5.3 COSTING PLAN ............................................................................................................ 37 6 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................... 39 7 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................ 40 CES Environmental and Social Advisory Services DRAFT Conservation Management Report iv DRAFT Conservation Management Plan LIST OF TABLES Table 1-1: Methodology .......................................................................................................................... 1 Table 2-1: Legislative overview ............................................................................................................... 2 Table 4-1: Key conservation context of the study area (taken directly from Eco-Pulse, 2018). .......... 10 Table 4-2: Summary of baseline