SECURING OCEAN BIODIVERSITY IN SOUTH AFRICA

The report identifies potential marine OECM mechanisms in South Africa, such as permanent fisheries exclusion zones and military zones, which could add 1.27% to the mainland exclusive economic zone's conservation coverage. It outlines a six-workstream roadmap for legal, social, financial, and procedural implementation, while specifically exploring the potential for novel small-scale fishing zones to balance biodiversity conservation with community livelihoods.

• South Africa currently protects 5.4% of its mainland exclusive economic zone (EEZ) through marine protected areas (MPAs) and aims to increase this to 20% by 2030, with OECMs intended to contribute approximately 5% of that expansion.
• The potential OECM sites analyzed show significant biodiversity value, with 66.94% of the collective area consisting of critical biodiversity areas (CBAs) and ecological support areas (ESAs).
• Small-scale fishing zones are identified as a promising but currently non-existent OECM mechanism; 100% of surveyed small-scale fishers expressed a desire for such zones to be assessed for OECM recognition if established.
• The basic cost to identify, assess, and report on the 27 potential OECM sites is estimated between R503,562 and R1,883,654, with individual site costs ranging from R18,000 to R72,000.
• Community trust funds are highlighted as the most promising sustainable finance instrument for community-based OECMs to provide stable funding for management, restoration, and capacity building.
• The report proposes a national roadmap consisting of six workstreams: Legal, Social, Financial, Procedural, Site-Level Recognition, and Further Evaluation.

APA

Kowalski, P., & Smith, C. (2025). SECURING OCEAN BIODIVERSITY IN SOUTH AFRICA. WWF South Africa. https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/marine-oecm-report_jun25.pdf

Chicago

Kowalski, Peter, and Craig Smith. SECURING OCEAN BIODIVERSITY IN SOUTH AFRICA. WWF South Africa, 2025. https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/marine-oecm-report_jun25.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Kowalski |first1=Peter |last2=Smith |first2=Craig |title=SECURING OCEAN BIODIVERSITY IN SOUTH AFRICA |publisher=WWF South Africa |date=2025 |url=https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/marine-oecm-report_jun25.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{kowalski2025securing, author = {Kowalski, Peter and Smith, Craig}, title = {{SECURING OCEAN BIODIVERSITY IN SOUTH AFRICA}}, institution = {WWF South Africa}, year = {2025}, url = {https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/marine-oecm-report_jun25.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }