Transcript An Examination of the Adequacy of South African Protected Areas

An Examination of the Adequacy of
South African Protected Areas
Legislation in the Face of Climate
Change
Presented to the 8th Colloquium of the
IUCN Environmental Law Academy
Ghent University
16 September 2010
Sakhile Koketso, MPhil University of Cape Town and Heinrich Boell
Foundation
1
Preliminary Remarks
→ Sincere thanks to IUCN Academy of
Environmental Law for selecting me to present my
paper at this colloquium
→ Sincere thanks also to UNEP for providing me
with funding to attend the colloquium
2
3
South Africa’s biodiversity and protected areas
→ SA is one of the world’s top 5 mega-diverse
countries – high levels of endemism
→ It occupies only 2% of world surface but contains
10% of global plant and 7% of global animal species;
large variety of ecosystems and habitats
→ SA has long history of conservation; one of the
most important tools is protected areas (PAs)
→ ‘SA has vast, sophisticated and diverse PA system’
→ Although extensive, it was developed on ad-hoc
basis with no thought to representativeness
4
Predicted impacts of CC on protected areas
→ biodiversity is under threat from various factors
and CC is an added stressor
→ CC will have a negative impact on plant diversity
particularly in the Cape Floral Kingdom
→ Biomes are predicted to shrink by 38 – 55%
→ Animal species – extinctions + range shifts
→ Impacts on PAs range from catastrophic long
term changes, to dramatic changes to habitats and
ecosystems, and individual changes to species and
communities
5
SA Protected Area Legislation
→ several
s 2: Objectives
pieces of–legislation
e.g. provide
pertinent
for declaration
to PAs but
only
3 most
important discussed
of PAs,
representative
network here
of PAs
→
s 10: Definitions
– e.g.
Nature
reserves,
→ NEMPAA
(57 of 2003)
and
NEMPAA
Amendment
national
parks,
environments
(31 of 2004)
are protected
the principal
PA legislation
→ s 17: Purposes for which PA may be declared
→ NEMBA
legislation
Provides(10
forofa2004)
suite isofprimary
planning
tools – for
e.g. protect ecologically viable + representative
biodiversity
is also
relevant for
PA
national BDconservation
framework, and
NSBA,
bioregional
plans
areas
since
etc their primary purpose is protection of
→
Important flaw of NEMPAA – failure to
biodiversity
→ provides for the listing of ecosystems which
prescribe national planning framework
areNEMA
considered
threatened
and
in need
of
→
(107 of
1998)
issoframework
environmental
framework
env.
Act
s
2
applies
to
NEMPAA
→ s 6: must be read, interpreted and applied in
legislation
and
provides
overallecosystems,
guidance
on
norms,
protection
e.g.
endangered
→
provides
for
geographical
areas
with
special
conjunction with NEMBA
standards
principles + protected ecosystems
vulnerable
ecosystems
attributesand
6
Challenges to SA Protected Area Legislation
→ PA legislation is designed to preserve biodiversity
→ Planning frameworks:
no common approach to planning (NEMBA)
 climate change not evident in most
planning instruments e.g. NSBA
 setting priority areas for conservation:
what constitutes representativeness?
→ Conservation objectives – protection of particular
features, species or environmental goods and
services, etc; cannot be the only purposes
→ New alien and invasive species
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How PA Legislation can be strengthened
→ In order to allow ecosystems and species to adapt to
CC, PA legislation should not focus only on maintaining
status quo – it should recognise that biodiversity
evolves and that CC will become a key driver in this
process
→ Need for a paradigm shift towards the protection of
whole ecosystems and landscapes. Landscape
conservation:
Works on a large scale (more than 1 ecosystem)
 Integrates relationships btwn different components of the
environment (forests, wetlands, rivers, agriculture, urban
areas etc)
Core areas plus surrounding areas for sustainable use
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A. Planning frameworks
B. Conservation objectives
PA planning framework should
be mandatory and should
recognise CC as a threat
NEMPAA should clearly
recognise that CC is a challenge
to conservation + PAs
Act must require that planning
framework stipulates measures
that ensure:
One of the stated purposes of
the Act should be to mitigate
and adapt to climate change
Resilience
Coherence
Connectivity
Act should stipulate that
conservation objectives of PAs
should be reviewed continually
and updated
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