Some great news has just come through regarding the formation of new marine protected areas in South Africa. Whilst this is great news for the protection of Aliwal Shoal, I have to say I remain reserved about the implications this is likely to bring in the form of regulation and quota systems.
Protecting Aliwal is great in that it will serve to protect from illegal commercial pirate fishing and will regulate and hopefully preserve the tremendous resource we currently enjoy with the sharks that congregate along our coastline. What does worry me though is the intention to regulate and restrict access to these environments. The local dive operations were not consulted about the new regulations, neither were local dive shops, dive instructors, tour operators, fishermen, etc...
Although it is all well and good to have such a large percentage of the KwaZulu Natal coastline protected as it currently now is, I believe it is far too extreme to have such vast areas zoned with restricted access as is currently the case all the way up along the north coast. Further I have to question the authorities ability to actually police these restrictions with the limited Parks Board personnel they already suffer with, and question whether this is just another form of bureaucracy and money making on the face of environmental opportunism.
What price will dive operators be faced with in launching into these areas, what will their commercial permits cost (which themselves are restricted in number), who decides who gets the permits, and what price does the common public pay for enjoying these areas if we are at all going to be allowed freedom of access? What of our current freedom to dive with the ragged tooth and the tiger sharks? And what impact does this have on international tourism to the area?
I do not believe that the best way to cover an authorities inability to manage their marine resources from environmental pressures (due to the likes of pollution and controversial fishing activities) is to restrict access to all. We only have to think back to the rapid and thoughtless integration of the beach driving ban to realise that although conceptually our environmental concerns have tremendous value, the integration frequently lacks much forethought. Perhaps the Parks Board should consider opening up areas of the current north coast restricted marine zones, an action which would serve to provide a source of income to a strained authority, and also remove some of the enormous pressure currently inflicted on Aliwal Shoal and Sodwana Bay.
I further question whether making Aliwal a marine protected zone means that SAPPI will have to answer for the vast amount of waste effluent they currently dump in this area. Somehow I doubt it, as I suspect commercialism is more powerful than environmentalism in this case.
I am dismayed reading my latest edition of the 'Getaway Magazine' (February 2004) to read the editors comments about the controversial new N2 Wild Coast road that the same Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism has given the rubber stamp to. This is despite it slicing through the Mkabathi area of the Wild Coast, an area blueprinted for a national park. This is even after the soon-to-retire minister Valli Moosa had indicated that his own department was against the new road development, and the fact that the Wildlife and Environmental Society had pointed out that the environmental impact assessment for the road was heavily flawed and possibly unlawful. The belief is that its real purpose is to serve a controversial strip mine. The road development has also received objections from the likes of Durban Metro, Sappi, and Saaicor, and the local Pondo people were never consulted about the road development. Once again ugly questions are being asked about money changing hands under the table between the various parties involved in the decision making process.
As the new South Africa celebrates her 10th birthday, I have to question whether after a full decade we've all really learned anything much at all about the integration of policies that merely appease an international audience superficially, whilst in truth the local people on the ground continue to suffer and be the unfortunate benefactors of a bureaucratic, greedy, and short-sighted system of policy making. When will we grow up and learn?
Draft regulations for the MPAs have been published in the Government Gazette and the public are invited to comment within 90 days. You can also have look at the regulations on www.environment.gov.za
Regards
Dennis
Protecting Aliwal is great in that it will serve to protect from illegal commercial pirate fishing and will regulate and hopefully preserve the tremendous resource we currently enjoy with the sharks that congregate along our coastline. What does worry me though is the intention to regulate and restrict access to these environments. The local dive operations were not consulted about the new regulations, neither were local dive shops, dive instructors, tour operators, fishermen, etc...
Although it is all well and good to have such a large percentage of the KwaZulu Natal coastline protected as it currently now is, I believe it is far too extreme to have such vast areas zoned with restricted access as is currently the case all the way up along the north coast. Further I have to question the authorities ability to actually police these restrictions with the limited Parks Board personnel they already suffer with, and question whether this is just another form of bureaucracy and money making on the face of environmental opportunism.
What price will dive operators be faced with in launching into these areas, what will their commercial permits cost (which themselves are restricted in number), who decides who gets the permits, and what price does the common public pay for enjoying these areas if we are at all going to be allowed freedom of access? What of our current freedom to dive with the ragged tooth and the tiger sharks? And what impact does this have on international tourism to the area?
I do not believe that the best way to cover an authorities inability to manage their marine resources from environmental pressures (due to the likes of pollution and controversial fishing activities) is to restrict access to all. We only have to think back to the rapid and thoughtless integration of the beach driving ban to realise that although conceptually our environmental concerns have tremendous value, the integration frequently lacks much forethought. Perhaps the Parks Board should consider opening up areas of the current north coast restricted marine zones, an action which would serve to provide a source of income to a strained authority, and also remove some of the enormous pressure currently inflicted on Aliwal Shoal and Sodwana Bay.
I further question whether making Aliwal a marine protected zone means that SAPPI will have to answer for the vast amount of waste effluent they currently dump in this area. Somehow I doubt it, as I suspect commercialism is more powerful than environmentalism in this case.
I am dismayed reading my latest edition of the 'Getaway Magazine' (February 2004) to read the editors comments about the controversial new N2 Wild Coast road that the same Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism has given the rubber stamp to. This is despite it slicing through the Mkabathi area of the Wild Coast, an area blueprinted for a national park. This is even after the soon-to-retire minister Valli Moosa had indicated that his own department was against the new road development, and the fact that the Wildlife and Environmental Society had pointed out that the environmental impact assessment for the road was heavily flawed and possibly unlawful. The belief is that its real purpose is to serve a controversial strip mine. The road development has also received objections from the likes of Durban Metro, Sappi, and Saaicor, and the local Pondo people were never consulted about the road development. Once again ugly questions are being asked about money changing hands under the table between the various parties involved in the decision making process.
As the new South Africa celebrates her 10th birthday, I have to question whether after a full decade we've all really learned anything much at all about the integration of policies that merely appease an international audience superficially, whilst in truth the local people on the ground continue to suffer and be the unfortunate benefactors of a bureaucratic, greedy, and short-sighted system of policy making. When will we grow up and learn?
Draft regulations for the MPAs have been published in the Government Gazette and the public are invited to comment within 90 days. You can also have look at the regulations on www.environment.gov.za
Regards
Dennis
