KING CETSHWAYO DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK DRAFT BASELINE REPORT PUBLIC REVIEW VERSION Prepared for: King Cetshwayo District Municipality Prepared by: EOH Coastal & Environmental Services June 2018 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND TO THE KCDM EMF ................................................................. 7 1.1 Environmental Management Framework: Definition ...................................................................... 7 1.2 Legislative context for Environmental Management Frameworks .................................................. 8 1.3 Purpose of the KCDM EMF, Study Objectives and EMF applications .............................................. 8 1.4 Description of the need for the EMF ............................................................................................... 9 1.4.1 Development Pressures and Trends ............................................................................................. 9 1.5 Alignment with EMFs of surrounding District Municipalities and the uMhlathuze Local Municipality ................................................................................................................................................. 10 1.6 Approach to the KCDM EMF .......................................................................................................... 10 1.7 Assumptions and Limitations ......................................................................................................... 11 1.7.1 Assumptions ............................................................................................................................... 11 1.7.2 Limitations ................................................................................................................................. 11 2 LEGISLATION REVIEW ................................................................................................................... 13 2.1 Environmental Legal Framework ................................................................................................... 13 2.1.1 The Constitution (No. 108 of 1996) ............................................................................................ 13 2.1.2 National Environmental Management Act (No. 107 of 1998 as amended)(NEMA) .................. 13 2.1.3 National Environmental Management: Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations (2014, as amended) ........................................................................................................................................... 13 2.1.4 National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (No. 10 of 2004 as amended) (NEMBA) 13 2.1.5 National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act (No. 57 of 2003) (NEMPAA) ....... 13 2.1.6 National Environmental Management: Integrated Coastal Management Act (No. 24 of 2008) (ICMA) 14 2.1.7 National Coastal Management Programme (2015) (NCMP) ..................................................... 14 2.1.8 National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan – 2015 (NBSAP) ............................................... 14 2.1.9 National Water Act (No. 36 of 1998) ......................................................................................... 14 2.1.10 National Heritage Resources Act (No. 25 of 1999). ............................................................... 14 2.1.11 National Forests Act (No. 84 of 1998) ................................................................................... 15 2.1.12 Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (No. 28 of 2002) ................................. 15 2.1.13 National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act (No. 39 of 2004) ............................. 15 2.1.14 National Environmental Management: Waste Act (No. 59 of 2008, as amended)............... 15 2.1.15 Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act (No. 16 of 2013) ...................................... 16 2.1.16 Conservation of Agricultural Resources Act (No. 43 of 1983) ............................................... 16 3 GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE ........................................................................................................... 18 3.1 Environmental Authorities ............................................................................................................. 18 4 BASELINE ASSESSMENT: BIOPHYSICAL DESCRIPTION ..................................................................... 23 4.1 Physical characteristics .................................................................................................................. 23 4.1.1 Topography and slope ............................................................................................................... 23 4.2 Climate and climate change ........................................................................................................... 24 4.2.1 Climate of the KCDM .................................................................................................................. 24 4.2.2 Comment on climate change ..................................................................................................... 26 4.3 Geology .......................................................................................................................................... 27 4.4 Paleontogical sensitivity ................................................................................................................. 28 4.5 Soils of the KCDM ........................................................................................................................... 30 4.5.1 SOTER soil classification ............................................................................................................. 30 4.5.2 Soil quality .................................................................................................................................. 31 4.5.3 Key pressures and threats to soil quality ................................................................................... 31 4.6 Hydrology ....................................................................................................................................... 32 4.6.1 Rivers .......................................................................................................................................... 32 4.6.2 Wetlands .................................................................................................................................... 32 4.6.3 National Freshwater Ecosystem Priority Areas .......................................................................... 33 EOH Coastal & Environmental Services 1 Baseline Assessment 4.6.4 National Spatial Biodiversity Assessment .................................................................................. 34 4.6.5 Surface water reserve determinations and available surface water ......................................... 35 4.6.6 Key pressures/threats to rivers and wetlands ........................................................................... 36 4.7 Geohydrology ................................................................................................................................. 37 4.7.1 Northern Zululand Coastal Plain ................................................................................................ 37 4.7.2 Southern Lebombo Hydrogeological Region .............................................................................. 37 4.7.3 KwaZulu-Natal Coastal Foreland Region ................................................................................... 37 4.7.4 North-eastern Middleveld Hydrogeological Region................................................................... 38 4.7.5 Aquifer yield ............................................................................................................................... 38 4.7.6 Aquifer vulnerability................................................................................................................... 39 4.7.7 Groundwater quality .................................................................................................................. 40 4.7.8 Groundwater Abstraction Potential ........................................................................................... 40 4.7.9 Groundwater Reserve Determinations and Allocable Groundwater Quantity .......................... 42 4.7.10 Pressures and impacts on groundwater ................................................................................ 42 4.8 Coastline of the KCDM ................................................................................................................... 43 4.8.1 Biophysical description of coastline ........................................................................................... 43 4.8.2 Coastal land-use ......................................................................................................................... 44 4.8.3 Key pressures and threats .......................................................................................................... 44 KCDM coastline .................................................................................................................................................. 44 4.9 Estuaries of the KCDM ................................................................................................................... 46 4.9.1 Locality ....................................................................................................................................... 46 4.9.2 Estuarine