National Action Plan for South Africa

Geographic focus

1. Greater St. Lucia Wetlands Complex, which includes:
• Kosi-Maputaland system (Kosi / Sibaya Lakes and Marine areas extending south to Cape Vidal)
• St. Lucia system ( St. Lucia Lake / Umfolozi and Marine areas extending south to Cape St. Lucia).

Kosi-Maputaland and St Lucia systems

Actions:

1. Finalise and implement new zonation plan, providing for representative protection of biodiversity, while providing for a spectrum of tourism and resource use activities;
2. Assess conservation status of key biodiversity targets and identify gaps in protection and sensitive / vulnerable sites;
3. Implement strategies to conserve endemic and endangered species;
4. Develop a resource use policy, and management plans for each fishery and resource harvesting activity;
5. Promote co-management of natural resource use and encourage incorporation of indigenous knowledge for management;
6. Promote alternative and supplementary income opportunities for natural resource users, to reduce reliance on consumptive use;
7. Prevent / phase out all commercial consumptive resource use;
8. Prevent resource use practices that harm habitats/non-target spp.;
9. Promote sustainable land use by neighbouring communities, to prevent habitat destruction, and contribute to improving socio-economic conditions in neighbouring areas;
10. Develop Management Plans for non-consumptive tourism activities;
11. Prevent illegal and unplanned settlement and tourism developments;
12. Promote community-authority partnerships for tourism developments;
13. Develop and implement strategies to address catchment degradation; and
14. Remove alien plants and rehabilitate cleared areas.

Actions specific for Kosi-Maputaland

1. Develop joint management and strategies for protection of endangered species (turtles) with Mozambique and other WIO countries;
2. Develop joint management of shared fishery stocks (fisheries) with Mozambique and other WIO countries; and
3. Develop joint management to formalise and consolidate traditional trap and spear fisheries and blend traditional and modern management.

Action specific to St Lucia

1. Incorporation of the marine component into the St Lucia Marine Protected Area (achieve MPA status for the southern portion)

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Enabling Environment Objectives for South Africa

Action at local level will be supported by:

1. Implementation of policy, legislative and management planning frameworks;
2. Strengthening environmental aspects of national poverty alleviation strategy; and
3. Exchange approaches for capacity-building and knowledge-sharing, international transboundary management and institutional collaboration.

Poverty alleviation:

There are significant opportunities to link the national poverty alleviation programme with conservation efforts, especially with regard to subsistence resource use and local community involvement in tourism developments

1. Develop policy inputs to the national Poverty alleviation programme;
2. Initiate pilot projects to demonstrate sustainable livelihood projects linked to conservation; and
3. Advocate focusing of poverty alleviation activities in priority areas to reduce threats to biodiversity.

Exchange for capacity building and knowledge-sharing:

1. Communication links between research institutions;
2. Country collaboration with respect to shared stocks and priority species; and
3. Manager exchange programmes for training and experience-sharing.

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