1. MARINE BIODIVERSITY EVIDENCE – A DEA RESEARCH PRIORITY
MPA FORUM - 25 OCTOBER 2016
ALAN BOYD – DEA BRANCH OCEANS AND COASTS
Oceans and Coasts

2. Introduction and presentation outline
DEA is implementing a programme that stresses the importance of an evidence-based approach to policy development and management.
Oceans and Coasts have the responsibilities for implementing different aspects of NEMA: the coastal specific ICM Act, plus marine and coastal aspects of the Protected Areas and Biodiversity Act, as well as our own new policy, the Oceans Bill which is now the Marine Spatial Planning Bill.
As a branch, we both collect and collate evidence, to meet the obligations of overall environmental monitoring and management, plus the more specific examples of MPAs, Protected Species and Ecotourism, and evidence relevant to the marine components of EIAs.
The use of evidence can be from generic-international perspective, or may need to be country- situation- specific, but often it is a combination.
Sometimes the evidence for what needs to be done is good, but evidence regarding “side effects” is not.

3. Main research areas of O&C Research, are not only biodiversity related
Oceans Research
Operational Oceanography – measurements & models
Ecosystem Functioning – including plankton and ocean chemistry
Biodiversity Research
Marine biodiversity, including species, EBSAs and MPAs
Marine top predators, ecosystem health, marine ecotourism
Cross cutting
Coastal Research, including water quality, coastal vulnerability assessment, estuaries
Antarctic Research

4. Marine Protected Areas, EBSAs and MSP
Have to show need for protection, and that the proposals for expansion are evidence based.
Need: In comparison to 8% terrestrial protection, and noting the urgent need for increased freshwater catchment protection, only 0,5 percent of our EEZ under protection. This is insufficient to maintain sustainable benefits from our marine ecosystems.

5. Objectives of the Phakisa Proposed MPA Representative Network  which comprises 22 MPA proposals
Include all habitat types
Protect last remnants of threatened ecosystems in good ecological condition
Protect sensitive ecosystems
Protect key ecological areas: aggregation, nursery, spawning & feeding areas
Support fisheries management
Spatially efficient with consideration of socio-economic data
How the work came together, setup to do, briefly showcase the network. As X said the network was designed to be achieving many things in a small area, we aimed to use a systematic planning approach-least and most benefit for stakeholders and economic dev in SA. We needed to take care of threatened and sensitive ecosystems. We also aimed to protect breeding and feeding and other areas important in the life history of marine species. We designed the network to support the fisheries man-to reduce bycatch and support recovery of resources such as linefish, abalone and rocklobster.

6. Data layers used for MPAs…..
Good bits map
Sensitive areas maps
Threat status map
Pressure mapping cumulative map
27 pressures
Focus areas for offshore protection

7. Namaqua fossil forest Namaqua Coast Orange Shelf Edge
Each MPA is individually motivated using best evidence available
Orange Shelf Edge
1 960 km2
un-trawled sandy shelf edge
Namaqua fossil forest
430 km2
Unique fossilised
yellowwood forest
Cold water corals
Namaqua Coast
Approx km2
First MPA in the ecoregion - habitats in good condition.
OSE-namibian border- important for blue sharks
NFF-

8. Cape Canyon Robben Island Agulhas Mud 660 km2 West coast canyon
Lower socio-economic cost
Robben Island
620 km2
Island ecosystem
Endangered seabirds
Agulhas Mud
207 km2
Good condition mud habitat
CC- lower-socio-economic impact-whale feeding
RI- seabird protection and lower socio-economic for island ecosystem

9. Addo Elephant Port Elizabeth Corals 1 164 km2
African penguin, linefish & abalone
Port Elizabeth Corals
500 km2
Cold water coral reef
Kingklip spawning
Addo- Recovery for resources eg. kabeljou

10. 22 new MPAs were formally proposed in February 2016
16 EBSAs developed at regional workshops organised by the CBD secretariat – “International benchmarking”
At 14 sites EBSAs overlap with proposed MPAs

11. - MSP provides means of securing EBSAs (e.g. MPAs or other measures)
- EBSAs provide evidence for need of protection or risk averse management
- MSP provides means of securing EBSAs (e.g. MPAs or other measures)
EBSA Identification
(technical scientific exercise) using SCP as a tool
Marine spatial planning process (political and stakeholder process)
Informs
Vulnerability assessment of EBSAs using SCP approaches
Secures
Marine planning regulations and plan implementation
Management needs and options of EBSAs (national, transnational)

12. Marine Protected Species: Key ecotourism research considerations
Areas and species suitable for ecotourism
Animal behaviour protective measures, permit conditions
Monitoring of current activities
Research into new activities
Noting that:
MPAs are often suitable for ecotourism
Some activities can occur nationally (BBWW)
Others have specific focus areas (sharks, turtles, seabirds)

14. Specific considerations: Ecotourism and marine research
Whales
1. Protecting calving areas to allow nursing.
2. As whales move back to feeding grounds in the southern seas, do not exhaust animals by increasing their avoidance behaviour
3. Refugees created as not all whales reacted positively to tourism
4. Areas restricted to safe launch sites and relative high abundance.
5. Approaches carefully controlled to reduce impact.
White sharks
1. Restricted to seal islands which are already attracting sharks
2. Chumming and baiting limited and controlled to prevent habituation
3. Shark attack risks taken into account.
4. Ecosystem changes taken into account.

15. Some tourist info for WSCD

16. Estimated number of persons employed Number of tourists
Ecotourism sector
Number of permits
Estimated number of persons employed
Number of tourists
Estimated average price per person (ZAR)
Estimated direct value of sector (million ZAR)
Estimated overall value to economy (million ZAR)
Land-based whale watching 80
400
Boat-based whale watching
23 (16 active)
184
42,812
500 21
105
Seals – viewing and diving
2 main sites 30 5 25
White shark cage diving
12 (active)
120
61,404
1,500 92
460
Tiger sharks at Aliwal Shoal 13 39
946–1,198
1,651
1–2
11–14
Other shark diving 18 90
20,000
400–1,200 20
100
Seabird watching
3 main sites
750,000 55
125
Turtle viewing
1 main site 12 3 15
SCUBA diving
540 60
300
Eco Filming
40 (in 2011)
600
Total
428
2,130

17. Important but not presented here
Evidence needed for rezonation of MPAs (biodiversity, species research, likely impacts of exploitation)
Information on vulnerability of species (eg for CITES)
Alien invasive species – information occurrence and introduction vectors

18. Summary of evidence needs – Oceans and Coastal Environment
MPA habitat information and MPA effectiveness analysis
Impacts of activities on habitats and species (damage or disturbance) eg. mining, trawling, aquaculture, pelagic fishing, seismic surveys, other underwater noise
Protected species information /Conservation status/information for CITES inputs/positions, invasive species, bio-prospecting
Marine ecotourism opportunities and constraints, socio-economics
Water quality information (local and global) eg. estuarine health, urban pollution; plastics; low oxygen, ocean acidification
Spatial information for MSP
Time-series information for state of environment reporting
Emerging technologies, viability, benefits and constraints
To achieve this evidence, DEA partners with other Departments (eg DST), DEA Institutions (eg SANBI, SANParks), Provinces, Academia