African Wildlife & Environment Issue 74

CONSERVATION

iSimangaliso Coelacanth (Credit: Peter Timm)

process with declaration notices and detailed regulations being developed for each protected area. Each MPA is unique and this meant that the boundaries, zonation and permitted activities in them needed to be carefully compiled for the Gazette and, at the same time, all the contrasting public comments needed to be taken into balanced consideration. Most countries declare one protected area at a time – in South Africa we did 20 all at once! The mammoth task of compiling these regulations fell to a small team of marine scientists and lawyers, who spent hundreds of hours reviewing the comments from the public participation process, to ensure that the regulations are as equitable as possible, while still achieving the ultimate goals of ocean protection and sustainable use. The 20 areas include 17 new MPAs and expansions of the existing Aliwal Shoal MPA, Bird Island (into Addo) and the St Lucia and Maputaland MPAs into a much larger iSimangaliso Wetland Park MPA. This brings the total number of MPAs around South Africa to 41 with an additional large MPA in our Prince Edward Islands territory.

MPAs, were delighted with the declaration. “This is an important step forward for the conservation of our linefish species” said Dr Bruce Mann, whose research in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park has contributed to the improved zonation of the area, while Fiona Mackay, Senior Scientist at ORI said ‘“The uThukela Banks MPA will protect unique coastal-linked marine ecosystems in a critically important part of the South African continental shelf.” Dr Kerry Sink, Principal Scientist at the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), who has dedicated many years of her life towards this achievement said, “This is a giant leap for healthy oceans. And healthy oceans ultimately contribute to healthy people and economies”. Dr Sink started her career in marine science at ORI, making this great achievement an especially memorable one for SAAMBR. This declaration in the Government Gazette follows over ten years of hard work by a team of dedicated marine scientists from a wide range of institutes. In 2016, the proposed network of MPAs was gazetted for public comment as part of an inclusive public participation process. In October 2018, the cabinet approved a revised network ofMPAs that was adjusted to address stakeholder concerns. While many people thought that this was final step, in fact, the cabinet permission was the just the start of the proclamation

9 | African Wildlife & Environment | Issue 74 (2019)