SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL RESILIENCE IN SOUTH AFRICA’S BLUE ECONOMY: THE ROLE OF MARINE PROTECTED AREAS

This policy briefing argues for the expansion and improved management of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in South Africa to enhance socio-ecological resilience. It highlights the gap between South Africa's current MPA coverage and global conservation targets, while discussing the benefits of MPAs for fisheries, climate adaptation, and biodiversity, alongside the challenges of sectoral conflict and customary rights.

• South Africa's current MPA network is significantly below global targets, covering only 0.4% of its mainland exclusive economic zone (EEZ) across 23 MPAs, plus one sub-Antarctic MPA at the Prince Edward Islands.
• To build resilience, the document recommends that South Africa secure at least 10% of its continental EEZ within proclaimed MPAs by 2020 and support a '30% by 2030' target at the UN COP15 in 2020.
• MPAs provide critical ecological and economic benefits, including the 'spillover effect' which improves fish yields—as seen in the Goukamma MPA—and acting as 'insurance' policies against scientific errors in sustainable fishing levels.
• MPAs serve as low-tech climate adaptation strategies by sequestering carbon through habitats like seagrasses and buffering coasts from extreme storms via mangroves and coral reefs.
• Expansion of MPAs in South Africa faces conflict with the extractive sector, as over 90% of the continental EEZ is currently leased for oil and gas exploration.
• There is a critical need to resolve customary rights and restitution claims for communities displaced from or living alongside MPAs, noting that marine claims have been handled on an ad hoc basis compared to formal processes for terrestrial protected areas.
• The effectiveness of MPA management in South Africa is hindered by the separation of fisheries management from MPA regulation, as well as a lack of inclusive objective identification and resources for enforcement.

APA

Harris, J., & Lombard, A. (2018). SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL RESILIENCE IN SOUTH AFRICA’S BLUE ECONOMY: THE ROLE OF MARINE PROTECTED AREAS. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Policy-Briefing-176.pdf

Chicago

Harris, Jean, and Amanda Lombard. SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL RESILIENCE IN SOUTH AFRICA’S BLUE ECONOMY: THE ROLE OF MARINE PROTECTED AREAS. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2018. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Policy-Briefing-176.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Harris |first1=Jean |last2=Lombard |first2=Amanda |title=SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL RESILIENCE IN SOUTH AFRICA’S BLUE ECONOMY: THE ROLE OF MARINE PROTECTED AREAS |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=July 2018 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Policy-Briefing-176.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{harris2018socioecological, author = {Harris, Jean and Lombard, Amanda}, title = {{SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL RESILIENCE IN SOUTH AFRICA’S BLUE ECONOMY: THE ROLE OF MARINE PROTECTED AREAS}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2018}, month = jul, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Policy-Briefing-176.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }