Knysna River Estuarine Management Plan Draft 2017 Knysna Estuarine Management Plan i DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION Document title and version: Knysna River Estuarine Management Plan; Knysna Protected Environment Project Name: Western Cape Estuary Management Framework and Implementation Plan Client: Western Cape Government, Department of Environmental Affairs & Development Planning Royal HaskoningDHV reference number: MD1819 Authority reference: EADP 1/2015 Compiled by: Version 1: Coastal & Environmental Services (2010) Version 2: Royal HaskoningDHV (2017) Acknowledgements: Western Cape Government Environmental Affairs & Development Planning Chief Directorate: Environmental Sustainability Directorate: Biodiversity and Coastal Management Email: [email protected] Date: July 2017 Knysna River Estuarine Management Plan DOCUMENT USE The South African National Estuarine Management Protocol (‘the Protocol’), promulgated in May 2013 under the National Environmental Management: Integrated Coastal Management Act (Act No. 24 of 2008, as amended 20141) (ICM Act), sets out the minimum requirements for individual Estuarine Management Plans (EMPs). In 2013/2014, a review was conducted by the Department of Environmental Affairs: Oceans and Coasts (DEA: O&C)(DEA, 2014) on the existing management plans to ensure, inter alia, the alignment of these plans with the Protocol. This revision of the Knysna River Estuarine Management Plan (previously termed the Low Level Operational Plan), including the Situation Assessment Report and the Management Plan itself, is in response to the comments received during the review process only, to ensure compliance with the minimum requirements for EMPs as per the Protocol. In summary, this entailed: • Including the results of the Ecological Water Requirement study; • Providing further detail in respect to opportunities and constraints; • Providing further detail on human impacts on the systems; in the Situation Assessment Report; • Updating the terminology as per the Protocol; • Including a summary of the Situation Assessment Report; • Confirm the delineation of the estuary based on the Estuarine Functional Zone; and • Updating the description of institutional capacity and arrangements to manage elements of EMP provided as per the Protocol. The work of the original authors and input received from stakeholders remains largely unchanged. Historical information and data remains relevant and critically important for estuarine management in the long term and must be updated when new information becomes available. This revision does not represent, or replace, the full 5-year review process required to re-evaluate the applicability of the plan and to provide new information. This process is therefore still required. Nonetheless, this EMP must be considered a living document that should be regularly updated and amended as deemed necessary. Previous issues identified in the 2010 Low Level Operational Plan for SANParks consideration include: 1. This document covers the water area only. It is assumed that management of the various components of the catchment will be detailed in other Operational Plans. These should take note of the conservation and living resources goals contained in this plan; 2. The Carrying Capacities for the various zones have not been altered from the previous (1992) management plan – these would need to be verified by SANParks in a separate study; 1 National Environmental Management: Integrated Coastal Management Amendment Act (No. 36 of 2014) Knysna River Estuarine Management Plan iii 3. The tables in the document indicate the authorities responsible for the range of management actions (mandated) – it was suggested by SANParks that many of these actions would be undertaken by SANParks personnel. It is not clear therefore whether additional staff would be required – the number of staff, skill level and total cost have not been included in the tables, and will need to be added. Further, it is assumed that SANParks are best placed to indicate whether these actions are currently being undertaken by the mandated authority; 4. TPCs will need to be defined by Scientific Services, based on SANParks’ adaptive management approach; and 5. A generic list of long-term monitoring programmes has been provided – these need to be aligned with current and planned future programmes and research projects. Earlier editions of the Situation Assessment Report and EMP were drafted referring to the government departments in existence at the time. Where feasible, the necessary updates have been made or indicated otherwise. Knysna River Estuarine Management Plan iv EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The National Environmental Management: Integrated Coastal Management Act 24 of 2008 (ICM Act) outlines the National Estuarine Management Protocol (the Protocol) and associated Estuarine Management Plan (EMP) template, which is to be ultimately applied to all estuaries country wide. The Knysna River estuary, however, is part of the Knysna Protected Environment as per the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act 57 of 2003 (NEM:PAA). The Knysna Estuarine Management Plan, also termed the Knysna (Lower Level) Estuary Operational Plan, has been written in the NEM:PAA template in order to align with the Garden Route National Park (GRNP) Management Plan, as the Knysna River estuary has been incorporated into the GRNP. The plan therefore fulfils the requirements of both the ICM Act and the NEM:PAA. Management of the water body of the Knysna River estuary is aimed at achieving the objectives of Biodiversity Conservation and Resource Utilisation. This is achievable through various detailed Management Objectives designed to optimally utilize financial and human resources. These Management Objectives apply to the Spatial Zonation of the estuary and set measurable standards for the areas outlined in the zonation plan. These Management Objectives are achieved through the action plans presented in this document. Action plans are detailed for: • Conservation, aimed at protecting biodiversity within the Knysna River estuary by ensuring that the diversity, distribution and abundance of plant, bird, fish and benthic invertebrate communities is maintained or restored through ensuring ecosystem functioning. These objectives are defined in terms of a range of indicators that firstly reflect aspects of biodiversity itself, secondly are aimed at controlling human activities that may impact on habitats and living resources and thirdly deal with enforcement issues. • Exploitation of Living Resources, targeted at enforcing a sanctuary area which is designed to protect a variety of habitats and species, SANParks enforcement of NEM:PAA regulations to protect habitat or resources within designated conservation zones, existing legislation detailed in the Marine Living Resources Act (MLRA), regulating the activities associated with competition angling. • Links with terrestrial issues influencing the Knysna River estuary water area – all activities in the catchment of the Knysna River and Estuary have the potential to negatively affect the Conservation and Living Resources Management Objectives set for the estuary. It is thus essential that collaborative and inclusive governance direct the decision making processes for all Operational Plans affecting the river and estuary catchment. Monitoring plans, split into baseline and long-term monitoring, are detailed, as is the evaluation of the results. Research objectives and areas of focus are highlighted. Knysna River Estuarine Management Plan v TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 PURPOSE AND CONTEXT 1 1.2 SUMMARY OF LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR EMPS 3 1.3 MANDATE AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE RMA 4 2 CONSERVATION GOVERNANCE 5 3 SUMMARY OF SITUATION ASSESSMENT 6 4 VISION & OBJECTIVES 11 4.1 VISION 11 4.1 KEY MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVES 13 5 SPATIAL ZONATION 13 5.1 GEOGRAPHICAL BOUNDARIES 13 5.2 SANCTUARY & CONSERVATION ZONES 16 5.2.1 Conservation Zones 16 5.2.2 Sanctuary Zone 18 5.2.3 Important bio-physical features and recreational activities 19 5.2.4 Rehabilitation zones 24 5.2.5 Land-use, planning provisions and infrastructure 25 5.3 MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVES 26 5.3.1 Conservation 26 5.3.2 Exploitation of Living Resources 29 5.3.3 Water quality and quantity 30 5.3.4 Land use and infrastructure planning 32 5.3.5 Institutional and management structures 32 5.3.6 Education and awareness 32 5.3.7 Non-consumptive use of sustainable livelihoods 33 6 MANAGEMENT ACTION PLANS 33 6.1 CONSERVATION 35 6.2 EXPLOITATION OF LIVING RESOURCES 43 6.3 WATER QUALITY AND QUANTITY 46 6.4 LAND USE AND INFRASTRUCTURE PLANNING 47 6.5 INSTITUTIONAL AND MANAGEMENT STRUCTURES 47 6.6 EDUCATION AND AWARENESS 47 6.7 SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS 48 7 IMPLEMENTATION 49 7.1 KEY ROLE PLAYERS 49 7.1.1 Responsible Management Authority 49 7.1.2 Government Departments and Organs of State 50 7.1.3 Knysna Estuary Advisory Forum (Knysna Estuary Management Forum) 51 7.2 REVIEW AND EVALUATION 52 8 MONITORING & RESEARCH 53 8.1 RESOURCE MONITORING 53 8.1.1 Baseline Programmes 53 8.1.2 Long-term Monitoring 53 Knysna River Estuarine Management Plan vi 8.1.3 Ecological Specifications 54 8.2 RESEARCH 55 9 RECOMMENDATIONS 56 10 REFERENCES 57 APPENDIX 1: RECOMMENDED RESOURCE MONITORING PROGRAMMES 59 APPENDIX 2: ECOLOGICAL SPECIFICATIONS 68 TABLE OF FIGURES Figure 1: Location and geographical boundaries of the Knysna River estuary including the 5m topographical contour 2 Figure 2: Key Management Objectives for the Knysna River EMP 13 Figure 3: Map of the Knysna River estuary