key: cord-0686146-73a6t868 authors: Finke, Gunnar; Gee, Kira; Gxaba, Thandiwe; Sorgenfrei, Roman; Russo, Vladimir; Pinto, Duarte; Nsiangango, Silvi Edith; Sousa, Lia Neto; Braby, Rodney; Alves, Fátima Lopes; Heinrichs, Bernhard; Kreiner, Anja; Amunyela, Maria; Popose, Gcobani; Ramakulukusha, Moses; Naidoo, Ashley; Mausolf, Elisabeth; Nsingi, Kumbi Kilongo title: Marine Spatial Planning in the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem date: 2020-09-13 journal: Environmental development DOI: 10.1016/j.envdev.2020.100569 sha: 515cb61b714582061453065e47f20012fc9bfd13 doc_id: 686146 cord_uid: 73a6t868 The Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem (BCLME) in the south-east Atlantic covers the territorial waters and Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ's) of Angola and Namibia and partly of South Africa. Increasing demands, user-user and user-environment conflicts occur throughout the area. The three countries, which are parties to the Benguela Current Convention (BCC), have begun to implement Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) to support the sustainable development of the area and enhance ocean governance. This makes the region one of the first in a developing economies context and on the African continent to introduce MSP. The article (1) traces the origin of MSP in the region and describes the reasons for its development, (2) reviews the status of MSP processes to date at the regional and national level, and (3) reflects on the regional and individual country processes in terms of differences and similarities in approach and process governance, shared opportunities and difficulties. The study finds that MSP in the region is introduced because of both strong interests to use it as a means to help grow the blue/ocean economy and as a mechanism to further the implementation of the ecosystem approach. Similar steps have been taken so far and alike approaches to MSP exist across the three countries, with the BCC as regional convention facilitating knowledge sharing and assisting to improve cross-border coherence and consistency on MSP from the outset. Although challenges, such as limited finances and data gaps exist both at national and regional level, the MSP processes to-date have created an enabling environment to develop the first marine spatial plans in each country and to exchange knowledge and experiences within the region and with other regions. difficulties. The study finds that MSP in the region is introduced because of both strong interests to use it as a means to help grow the blue/ocean economy and as a mechanism to further the 43 implementation of the ecosystem approach. Similar steps have been taken so far and alike 44 approaches to MSP exist across the three countries, with the BCC as regional convention facilitating 45 knowledge sharing and assisting to improve cross-border coherence and consistency on MSP from 46 the outset. Although challenges, such as limited finances and data gaps exist both at national and regional level, the MSP processes to-date have created an enabling environment to develop the first Introduction 51 Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) has become one of the most widely endorsed approaches for 52 integrated management of coastal and marine environments 1 . It can be defined as "the governance 53 process of collaboratively assessing and managing the spatial and temporal distribution of human 54 activities to achieve economic, social and ecological objectives" 2 MSP first developed in the 1970s as a concept and has seen widespread application since the 2000s, 64 especially in high-income countries in Europe, North America and Australia 5 . Largely organised as a The cold Benguela Current influences the marine environment, which -together with the Humboldt, strong, wind-driven coastal upwelling system dominates the BCLME. The high primary production of 114 the ecosystem makes it a unique region in terms of biodiversity and biomass 11 . The three countries bordering the BCLME are part of the Southern African Development Community social inequalities are high in all three countries but highest in Angola, followed by Namibia and Whilst Namibia has a population of about 2.3 million inhabitants of which only approximately 123 200,000 live on the coast 13 , approximately 40% of the 58.8 million South African 14 4.5% to the Namibian GDP 17 and is the largest employer of all marine industries with approximately 149 15,000 direct jobs 18 . In South Africa, fisheries contributes roughly 9 billion Rand to the country's GDP, 150 which equates to roughly 0.1% of the GDP. Although this is relatively small in comparison to other 151 sectors, fisheries is however important for economic development in certain provinces such as the 152 Western Cape where it contributes more than 5% of the province's GDP 19 . Fishing occurs generally 153 throughout the territorial waters and EEZ with varying priority fishing areas for the respective sectors 154 (e.g. hake on the continental shelf in Namibia, the east coast of South Africa and the southern Protected Areas (MPAs) have fishing restrictions to safeguard the natural values for which they are proclaimed. therefore mainly occurs in the rare sheltered bays along the coast. Whilst the Angolan government is which aims at producing 200,000 fish larvae, 1 million molluscs larvae and 10 million crustacea larvae 165 annually 20 . In Namibia, mariculture production is estimated to have generated a market value of Maritime transport is a traditional human activity and critical for all three countries in terms of 173 accessing regional and international markets. For example, 58% of South Africa's GDP is based on 174 trade and 98% of South Africa's trade volume moves by ships 24 . While Namibia has only two 175 commercial sea ports (Lüderitz and Walvis Bay), Angola has four (Cabinda, Luanda, Lobito and marine uses to operate, e.g. by providing landing facilities, storage space or space for processing industries, and many, such as the port of Walvis Bay in Namibia, are expanding. Vessel movements to 180 and from the BCLME's major ports vary in their intensity and type. Angola's role as an oil producer, Complex between Namibia and South Africa. Taken together, the spatial extent of the EBSAs in the 231 BCLME is 287,000 km 2 , which equates to 19.3% of the marine area. Given the shared ecosystem, resources and closely intertwined economies, the three countries have 234 a long history of cooperation on the management of their LME 31 . In recognition of the unique 235 character of the BCLME, its socio-economic development potential, and given the user-environment 236 conflicts as well as rising claims by multiple activities on the same space, the three countries began to Other experts also participate in bringing together evidence-based knowledge to enable joint 247 learning and informed decision-making. Through its various bodies the BCC provides the legal and governance framework through which 249 transboundary management decisions for the BCLME can be arrived at. A governance structure at 250 senior and ministerial levels for decision-making is advised by the following permanent expert-led MSP has been included as a key means of improving ocean governance 33 12 . This is in line with African Union policy which also 268 put forward MSP as a process to help grow the blue economy at this time, most notably by giving 269 more certainty to developers and sectoral decision-makers 35 . In addition to this socio-economic 270 interest in MSP, however, the BCC countries also recognized the contribution marine planning can 271 make to implementing the ecosystem approach. In line with CBD targets, and following on from the 272 progress already made through a regional project 36 , the BCC countries aligned their respective MSP 273 processes with a systematic conservation planning process that focused on the countries' EBSAs. MSP is thus not only associated with national development, but also ecological objectives, as 288 Benguela Current LME: Status of MSP at the regional level The BCLME region has a relatively long history of multi-sector cooperation aimed at cross-sector 290 coordination both regionally and nationally 31 . The BCC is a flagship example of this approach at the The RWG setup and arrangement, so far, has been directed primarily towards supporting the 308 initiation of MSP at national levels by enabling the exchange of the growing experiences and 309 knowledge on MSP across the three countries. The idea of learning from and with each other at the 310 early stages of the national-level MSP processes has not only enabled intra-regional capacity 311 development but also contributed to similar approaches across the countries. The RWG has also 312 exchanged with other regional organizations and conventions on MSP to learn from the European One of the key outputs of the group to-date is a regional MSP strategy, which was adopted by the Linked to discussions on the possibility to create legally binding protocols under the convention, the 332 RWG is also debating options to transform the strategy into a protocol on MSP in the longer term. One of the current tasks of the RWG is to develop more specific ideas for cross-border marine plans 334 both in terms of guidelines and MSP implementation. Another RWG was created on EBSAs in 2016 to enable a regional systematic conservation planning 336 process. Similar in its setup to the MSP-RWG, the EBSA team aimed at updating the existing CBD- Through the zoning scheme, and in line with the strategic MSP goals, the BCC countries thus 401 prioritise -to varying degrees -the following human activities that are of national priority and 402 regional or global significance: • Biodiversity: protecting the high priority areas which possess key biodiversity features of national, regional and global significance, and managing human impacts on them, with a focus on the region's EBSAs. • Fisheries: ensuring continued access to fishing grounds, particularly areas of priority to the 407 sectors, and protecting key fisheries habitats from adverse effects by human uses, including 408 fishing activities. • Mariculture: securing the existing mariculture locations and identifying appropriate sites for 410 future mariculture development and use. • Geological resources: enabling exploration activities to establish reliable knowledge about 412 resource deposits, which may merit future exploitation, and securing key known deposits to 413 promote sustainable use of these resources. Operation Phakisa: Oceans Economy. Since then, each of the countries have followed -more or less 429 and based on international guidance -the same initial steps in the planning process. As a first step, each country developed a comprehensive baseline report outlining the current status 431 of the national marine area 13, 15, 44 . This was done by drawing together available data and identifying 432 important evidence gaps. Each process was led by the NWG and involved formal and informal single- Although MSP in the BCLME is driven by strong economic agendas, its potential to contribute to 479 critical conservation and social objectives is recognized throughout and has been key in initiating Another advantage for the BCC countries is that the integrated nature of MSP is not entirely new to 502 them. Existing capacities and experiences with ICZM, fisheries management and MPAs can be built 503 on as they concern similar practices of coordination and integration. The introduction of MSP at the current stages of marine development with relatively low (but 505 increasing) intensity of use is a strategic advantage for the BCC countries compared to other world 506 regions where MSP was only introduced when spatial congestion, competition and governance 507 problems were already occurring. MSP in the BCLME therefore has the potential to prevent 508 increasing and new user-user and user-environment conflicts in a pro-active manner from the outset. Whilst South Africa has already legislated MSP, the current lack of a legal base in Angola and Namibia Although most of these developments relied on external funding through the MARISMA project, the 518 countries have already made substantial in-kind contributions and have also allocated domestic 519 resources towards MSP with dedicated staff and extended competencies. Efforts at the level of the 520 BCC to create institutional and more statutory arrangements that can contribute towards supporting 521 MSP at national levels and across borders support the national financial and political MSP commitments and will help to build the foundations for establishing MSP as a standard operating 523 procedure in the BCLME region. The BCC countries and the BCLME as a whole are among the first African countries and among the first developing countries and LMEs worldwide to introduce MSP. This paper illustrates the national 527 and regional MSP processes that have been undertaken in this context to date. The BCLME case illustrates that the region has introduced MSP in response to increasing spatial 529 claims and multiplying uses in the BCLME. In part, this has been driven by national efforts towards 530 more coordinated and sustainable marine use in the three BCC countries. The overall objectives for 531 regional MSP are to strategically manage the use of the BCLME so that conflicts are pro-actively 532 avoided and a sustainable blue economy can grow in such a way that ecosystem services are 533 sustained and societies benefit from marine development in a fair and transparent manner. The 534 example furthermore indicates that MSP has the potential to enhance national and regional ocean 535 governance. Fostering ecosystem-based MSP in the context of strong economic growth agendas requires 537 balanced and integrated governance and technical planning structures and processes. The national 538 and regional approaches are designed to accommodate such an approach and have so far proven 539 useful. Weaknesses, such as long-term funding constraints, data gaps as well as lacking MSP 540 legislation and institutionalisation will need to be addressed by the decision-makers as MSP moves 541 forward nationally. 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Department for Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Engagement of stakeholders in the marine/maritime spatial planning process. Marine Policy Gunnar Finke: Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation, Writing -Original Draft, Writing -Review & Editing, Visualization, Supervision, Project Administration Kira Gee: Conceptualization, Writing -Review & Editing Thandiwe Gxaba: Investigation Roman Sorgenfrei: Investigation, Visualization Investigation Duarte Pinto: Investigation Silvi Edith Nsiangango: Investigation Lia Neto Sousa: Investigation Rodney Braby: Investigation Fatima Lopes Alves: Investigation Bernhard Heinrichs: Investigation Anja Kreiner: Investigation Maria Amunyela: Investigation Gcobani Popose: Investigation Moses Ramakulukusha: Investigation Ashley Naidoo: Investigation Elisabeth Mausolf: Investigation Kumbi Kilongo Nsingi: Investigation The authors would like to thank the MSP and EBSA NWG, Task Teamand RWG members as well as 548 associated government officials and stakeholders at national and regional levels for their work on 549 MSP and engagement in the processes. In addition, the authors would like to thank Linda Harris and J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f ☒ The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.☐The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests:J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f