Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem Strategic Environmental Assessment Scoping Report Date: December 2012 CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ....................................................................................................................... 3 Introduction to SEA and Scoping ..................................................................................................... 3 Vision for the BCLME ............................................................................................................................ 3 Development scenarios relevant to the BCLME ........................................................................ 3 Key environmental threats to the BCLME ................................................................................... 4 From Scoping to SEA ............................................................................................................................. 5 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .............................................................................................................................. 5 ACRONYMS ..................................................................................................................................................... 6 GLOSSARY OF TERMS ................................................................................................................................ 8 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................ 12 1.1. The need for the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem SEA .................... 12 1.2. What is SEA and Scoping? .................................................................................................... 15 1.4. Assumptions and limitations ............................................................................................. 16 1.5. SEA implementation context .............................................................................................. 17 2. SCOPING METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................... 17 2.5. Stakeholder opinions ............................................................................................................. 19 2.6. Data availability and gaps .................................................................................................... 23 3. BCLME biophysical overview ................................................................................................... 27 4. BCLME policies, laws and institutions overview ............................................................ 32 Fisheries and aquaculture management ................................................................................... 32 Environmental Assessment ............................................................................................................ 33 5. Drivers and impacts ...................................................................................................................... 38 5.1. Seabed and Coastal Mining and Dredging .................................................................... 38 5.1.1 Current extent ................................................................................................................... 38 5.1.2 Future scenarios .............................................................................................................. 47 5.1.3 Environmental Impacts ................................................................................................. 48 5.2. Oil and gas exploration and production ........................................................................ 58 5.2.1. Current extent .................................................................................................................. 58 5.2.2. Future scenarios ............................................................................................................. 62 5.2.3. Environmental Impacts ................................................................................................ 62 5.3. Coastal urbanisation, recreation and tourism ............................................................ 65 5.3.1. Current extent .................................................................................................................. 65 5.3.2. Future scenarios ............................................................................................................. 67 1 5.3.3. Environmental Impacts ................................................................................................ 68 5.4. Ports, transport and industrialisation ............................................................................ 70 5.4.1. Current extent - ports ................................................................................................... 70 5.4.4 Future scenarios .............................................................................................................. 79 5.4.2. Environmental Impacts ................................................................................................ 81 5.5. Extraction of living marine resources ............................................................................ 86 5.5.1. Current extent .................................................................................................................. 86 5.5.2. Future scenarios ............................................................................................................. 89 5.5.3. Environmental Impacts ................................................................................................ 91 5.6. Mariculture ................................................................................................................................ 92 5.6.1. Current extent .................................................................................................................. 92 5.6.2. Future scenarios ............................................................................................................. 94 5.6.3. Environmental Impacts ................................................................................................ 95 5.7. Catchment and estuaries management ......................................................................... 96 5.7.1. Current extent .................................................................................................................. 96 5.7.2. Future scenarios and expected impacts ............................................................... 98 5.8. Climate change ......................................................................................................................... 99 6. SEA Terms of Reference ............................................................................................................. 104 6.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 104 6.2. SEA and Scope of Work ...................................................................................................... 105 6.3 Team composition and key tasks ................................................................................... 120 6.4 Time frame .............................................................................................................................. 122 6.5 Budget ........................................................................................................................................ 122 Appendices ............................................................................................................................................... 123 A. Bibliography ....................................................................................................................................... 123 B. Meeting attendance ......................................................................................................................... 144 C. Additional Climate Change information ................................................................................. 147 D. List of Cities, Towns and Villages .............................................................................................. 148 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Introduction to SEA and Scoping The key mechanism for providing objective information to decision makers about the environmental consequences of developments is to undertake an Environmental Assessment (EA) of some kind. EAs are most commonly undertaken for single projects (when they are usually termed Environmental Impact Assessments - EIAs), but in this case there are and will be many projects within the BCLME as well as informal activities that are more difficult to quantify but have impacts upon society and the environment. It has become the norm in most jurisdictions that governments are committed to applying EAs to all levels of development planning. To date, many project level EIAs have been conducted for large and small projects in all the BCLME countries. With some exceptions, these were done in isolation of each other. Consequently, the cumulative impacts of many developments being implemented at the same time or in sequence, are not known. Whilst the impacts of one project might be relatively small and contained, the cumulative impacts might be substantial and significant in the long term. A known way to assess past, present and future cumulative impacts is to conduct a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), which