SEA AND COAST PROGRAMME II
INTRODUCTION
The Sea and the Coast Programme, partnered by the South African Network for Coastal and Oceanic Research (SANCOR), Foundation for Research Development (FRD, now the National Research Foundation-NRF) and the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEA&T), has been recognized as highly successful in a critical independent review (SANCOR Occasional Report No. 6). In particular it has contributed greatly both scientifically and in developing new capacity in marine and coastal science. This programme will finish at the end of 2000. Institutions in South Africa involved in marine and coastal research can build on this success by initiating a new programme that broadens the scope of the previous programme while retaining those elements that have been successful and are still needed. The new programme will take into account updated national needs and objectives and the independent critique provided of the previous programme.
Why study the sea, the coast and estuaries?
Marine, estuarine and coastal resources of South Africa represent an enormous national asset for growth and development. Conservative estimates place a direct value of R45 billion and indirect value of R134 billion on coastal goods and services within a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of approximately R600 billion. Tens of thousands of South Africans are employed in marine and coastal sectors while millions could and should benefit from the leisure and spiritual attributes generated by our seas. For the country and its people to benefit from these resources require both wise development and a good understanding of the resources and the underlying dynamic processes involved.
The Vision for this proposed programme is therefore to:
Provide information, advice and training in support of optimal and sustainable
use and development of our sea, coasts and estuaries.
Past programmes and structures
The principle of multi-institutional, multi-disciplinary approaches to marine science, engineering and technology (MSET) in South Africa dates back several decades. SANCOR, representing the broader MSET community (including DEA&T and NRF representation), was transformed in 1994 into a countrywide network through which all interested MSET participants could make a contribution to the understanding and wise development of South Africa’s marine and coastal resources.
Currently, more than 50 organizations, representing some 400 individuals in academia, public service, parastatals, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the private sector, make up SANCOR. There are two major stakeholders (DEA&T and the NRF) who contribute to overall research policy and direction and also provide the bulk of the funding. SANCOR has a dedicated secretariat, a widely distributed regular newsletter, and a variety of coordinating and working groups that address specific issues of concern. Examples of the latter include linefish, mariculture, marine and coastal education and policy evaluation.
During 1993, SANCOR embarked on the development of a new programme aimed at fulfilling the country’s needs in terms of what was ultimately embodied in the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP). The Sea and the Coast (S&C) Programme was fully endorsed and funded by the two major stakeholders (FRD and DEA&T) and enthusiastically supported by all the members of SANCOR. It comprised four main thrusts and two associated thrusts (*) from elsewhere in the FRD programmes:
· Coastal Communities and Living Marine Resources
· The Coast as a Resource
· Offshore Living Resources and Society
· Mariculture
· Marine Biodiversity and Conservation*
· Ocean Dynamics and Coastal Geomorphology*
The S&C Programme was to run for five years and, at the beginning of 1999, SANCOR initiated peer evaluation of the overall programme. This review highlighted a number of positive achievements. Corrective action, in the context of student training, was seen to have been enhanced. Significant advances were also made in expanding links beyond industrial fisheries matters to a wider fisher community, including the subsistence fishery sector. While this provided globally encouraging endorsement, it also identified a number of key needs or poorly met objectives. These shortcomings, for instance the integration of natural and social science and economics, have now been considered in the development of the future programme proposals. (Supporting documents on the S&C review, thrust outputs and other SANCOR activities are available from the SANCOR secretariat.)
Meeting new challenges
Recognising the changing needs of the nation and considering the experiences of the successful S&C Programme, the DEA&T, the NRF and the MSET community, initiated early in 1999 the development of proposals to underpin a potential new five year national programme.
This proactive process commenced with regional fora being tasked to identify regional and national needs and also to generate innovative suggestions towards developing new scientific activities or ensuring the continuation of currently successful initiatives. This was followed by the articulation of stakeholder needs through interpretation of the 1998 NRF Act and the DEA&T key focus areas and associated objectives (as outlined in the department’s February 2000 business plan). These stakeholders were represented throughout the process at both regional and national levels.
Effectively this ensured that the needs for marine and coastal resource development were expressed from the “bottom-up” (regions) and the “top-down” (from stakeholders). A workshop was held (end March 2000) to review the regional inputs, evaluate the needs and to develop potential solutions that could be addressed in specific research thrusts.
The proposed programme encompasses applied and fundamental research and can be characterized by a problem-solving approach. Hence it is inherently multi-disciplinary in nature, promoting partnerships between marine and coastal researchers, economists and social scientists. It is acknowledged that, while individual thrusts may not address all needs simultaneously, the combination of the proposed thrusts ensures a cohesive approach and also a good balance between the goals of promoting resource development and human advancement. The latter will specifically focus on corrective action. Furthermore, it was seen that research would not only support opportunities for development but would also be able to help identify the constraints. The programme could also assist in redistributing scientific endeavour to the regions of South Africa which historically and traditionally have not received adequate coverage. It seeks to encourage the submission of projects that will either make conceptual and analytical advances at a high level or contribute to the management of local resources.
The programme also offers opportunities to retain and to forge new international links and hence to ensure that internationally recognized standards and perspectives are maintained and obligations honoured. This would enhance our leadership role in an African context, and specifically through our SADC responsibilities and contacts.
National needs
DEVELOPMENT
Foremost was the recognition of the need to develop the country’s resources, which were identified as both human and natural resources.
The development of human skills would include such issues as:
· Skills development and capacity (training and education)
· Protection of community rights
· Equitable development
· Job creation
· Poverty alleviation
· Economic growth
The scope for conventional use and development of natural living resources was recognized to be limited. However, opportunities to develop them in more innovative ways have been explored and seen to include non-consumptive use, mariculture, tourism and value-added technology.
CARING
Caring for the natural resources and their environment was also identified as a logical prerequisite for ensuring sustainability of development. Included would be:
· Conserving biodiversity
· Protecting the environment in order to improve quality of life
USING AND MANAGING
Wise resource use and management would include such key issues as:
· Decision support and associated tools
· Enhancing food production
· Reversing overexploitation
· Research into policy and its implementation
· Provision of good information
UNDERSTANDING
Fundamental to development, care and use is sound understanding in terms of natural science, the social issues and economics. The foci of this understanding include:
· Processes that influence the abundance and health of resources
· Biological, physical and chemical parameters that drive these processes
· Social needs and expectations
· The economics of use
· Indigenous knowledge
Some solutions
In response to the needs outlined above, a suite of potential scientific and technological areas of activity is proposed.
In terms of Human Development:
· Education, training and skills development
· Co-management
· The principle of “best practice”
· Innovative technology
· Understanding sustainability
· Supporting tourism development
In terms of Caring:
· Promoting national awareness and the ethic of voluntary compliance
· Developing environmental and water quality indices
· Establishing transparent decision support systems
· Understanding and alleviating the effects of pollution
· Realising the benefits of protecting valuable areas and other conservation measures
In terms of Using and Managing:
· Implementing the concept of sustainability
· Improving monitoring and data management
· Reporting on the state of the environment
· Refining management systems
· Developing simple, but effective, models and management procedures
· Understanding and improving compliance
In terms of Understanding:
· Investigating driving forces and factors behind production
· Understanding biological constraints
· Carrying out basic research in biological, social and economic disciplines
These potential areas of endeavour are amalgamated into seven potential thrusts (Fig. 1.) that are expanded in the following pages. In drafting this programme it was recognized that it is important to provide support for developing specialized skills and to provide for needs that are generic in nature-
· Statistical and numerate skills
· Communication and awareness
· Education
· Assessment and development of policy
· Student integration
· Scientific and management liaison
A separate document (Essential Elements to Enhance SANCOR's Sea and Coast II) has been submitted to the NRF seeking their guidance on how best to accomplish this.
THRUSTS
COASTAL PROCESSES
UNDERSTANDING THE COAST
Introduction and Motivation
The focus of this thrust is to understand the coast and nearshore environments to allow for their sustainable use. Maintaining the diversity, health and productivity of our coast is central to realising the economic and social benefits thereof.
South Africa has unique oceanographic conditions. Nowhere else in the world are there such contrasts in currents and physical conditions. This leads to an extraordinary biological diversity and puts South Africa in a position to make an outstanding contribution to understanding how physical conditions influence the coast and its biological productivity and diversity.
One third of our population lives on and uses the coast. Uses include the harvesting of organisms such as mussels (in subsistence fisheries), rock lobsters (in recreational, subsistence and commercial fisheries) and corals (the heart of the tourist diving industry).
We need to understand the physical, chemical and biological processes that influence the structure and functioning of ecosystems in order to manage the coast and its resources wisely.
Scope
· Inshore oceanography & hydrology, including upwelling, circulation patterns, waves and nearshore hydrodynamics
· Recruitment
· Productivity
· Geology, including geological rock type, coastal geomorphology and sediment dynamics
· Biological interactions
· Estuarine research, including the effects of freshwater inputs and their consequences for estuaries
The thrust will cover estuaries, rocky shores, sandy beaches, and inshore reefs. It will concentrate on what happens nearshore, but can extend offshore and inland to cover processes which influence the coast.
The emphasis will be on how these processes and their interactions influence the utilization and management of the coast and its resources. This thrust offers a wide range of opportunities for collaborative and multi-disciplinary research and will benefit from regional comparisons.
Expected Outcomes
· Understanding of coastwide sediment budgets and their effects on nearshore ecosystems
· Knowledge of how biotic and abiotic factors (including large and small scale oceanographic processes) affect the recruitment, productivity, survival of and interactions between organisms
· Improved understanding and management of estuaries
· Capacity building and training students
This knowledge will underpin the management of the coast and utilization of resources demanded by the White Paper for Sustainable Coastal Development in South Africa and the Marine Living Resources Act.
Links
Strong linkages between this thrust and all the other thrusts are expected since this thrust deals with fundamental knowledge underpinning management. Linkages are also expected to develop with terrestrial research programmes that impact on the coast.
BIODIVERSITY
RICHNESS OF LIFE
Introduction and Motivation
South Africa is located in a unique position globally, being influenced by waters of the Indian, Atlantic and Southern Oceans. The sheer range of physico-chemical conditions, the habitat diversity and the range of exposure along our coastline create a richness in marine biodiversity unequalled elsewhere in the world. This rich biodiversity is of enormous economic importance, not only for direct harvesting of resources but also for its tourism potential (e.g. whale watching, seabird viewing, diving, fishing) and for the extraction of chemical products and the use of medicinal products by indigenous coastal people. This unique heritage is under threat by a wide range of activities, including the introduction of alien species, pollution, over-harvesting, coastal development, fishing and mining activities.
Under the Convention on Biological Diversity, South Africa is obliged to provide adequate protection for its flora and fauna. To do this, we need to understand the factors that influence biodiversity and ecosystem functioning and to develop ways of minimizing adverse human impacts. The emphasis will be on studies that will increase the understanding or underpin the management of ecosystems.
Scope
· Identifying the factors that affect biodiversity and ecosystem
· Identifying developmental and research opportunities presented by biodiversity
· Minimising deleterious effects of human activities e.g. alien introduction, mining, pollution and fishing
· Developing indices of ecosystem health
· Ensuring the development of an adequate network of marine protected areas (MPAs)
· Assessing the function and effectiveness of MPAs
· Providing the taxonomic, systematic and evolutionary studies necessary to document our fauna and flora and their phylogenetic relationships
· Developing skills and providing training to generate the expertise necessary to manage our biodiversity
Outcomes
· An inventory of those groups of South Africa’s marine flora and fauna necessary for the understanding and management of marine ecosystems