2. THE STUDY AREA: PROTEA BANKS
2.5. Legislation applicable for Protea Banks
Polici es are often a reflecti on of a nation's overa ll values and prioriti es. Howe ver , policies are also affec ted by individua ls with special interest abo ut certain issues gettin g invo lved in policy making (Ha ll & Jenkins, 1995 ). Their invol vem ent can be through politi c al parti es, but also through lobb ying and non- governmental organiza tions . Touri sm poli cy mak ingis ofte n based oncompro mises bet ween economyandtheenvi ronme ntand often conside red a tool for increasing income and employme nt, whileoverlooking social and environme nta l aspects and problems of the place and situation. The last decade' s trend s of decentralization with pow er from centra l to local govern ment also includ e an inclination of collabo ra tion bet ween author ities and private companies. Tourism is strong ly driven by its econo mica l success as a business. Addition all y, the touri sm business is increasin gly decl aring that self-reg ulation conce rning environ mental impact s is desir ed as oppose d to govern ment regul ati on . Public parti cip ation is regarded as essentia l in tourism policy mak ing and in theo ryall interested and affected parties sho uld be able to parti cip ate in the preparation of politi cal decision makin g (Ha ll & Jenkin s, 1995).Policiesneed not only to be plann ed , produce dand imple ment ed ,but conti nuous ly monitored andevaluated inorde r to see ifthey actua lly reach thei r goals(Ha ll& Jenkins,
1995 ).
There is some curre nt legislati on whic h app lies both ind irec tly and directly to Protea Bank s. Firstly, the Sea Shore Act of 1935 .The Act states that the waters from the hizh
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water mark and 12 nauti cal mi les out from sho re are owned by the state for the use and ben efit of the public. From 1995 the key administrat ive pro visions of the Act were
assigned to the coastal provinces (KwaZulu-Natal for Protea Banks) (DEAT, 1998). A KwaZulu-Nataldraft regionalcoastal policy based on theWhite Paper on Coastal Policy (2000) has been created by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Agricultural and Environmental Affairs.The principles of thedraft policy are based on integrated coastal management, as underscored in the White Paper on Coastal Policy. The draft policy recognizesProtea Banks (together with AliwalShoal) as oneof the top 25coastalassets of the province. The draft policy has a people-centered and integrated approach to management, and it underlines the valueof the coastand the importance forsustainable development ofcoastal resources (Tourism KwaZulu-Natal, 2005b).
The National Environmental Management Bill of 1998 (NEMA) also affects marine management.Some of the main principles are sustainable development, minimisation of environmental degradation and equitable right of public access. Other important issues are integration and collaboration between governmental institutions. NEMA emphasizes the importance of stakeholder involvement and public participation in management and decision making (DEAT, 1998).
The Green Paper on Coastal Policy (DEAT, 1998) lists several important aspects of integrated and holistic coastal management. The coastal areas have social values (recreational,spiritual,social meeting place),economicvalues(existing businesses based on coastal resources, potential for future development), and biophysical values (valueof ecosystems).A rangeof different usersdirectly affecteachotherand might havedifferent interests. For example, there are at least 100 000 scuba divers using the various South African dive sites. This activity is worth over R36 million per year. There are an estimated 600 000 recreational fishers in addition to 131 000 employed fishermen, generating R1.3 billion annually (especially in KwaZulu-Natal). The Green Paper identifies the fact that the current coastal legislation is very fragmented and needs coordinationand integration (DEAT, 1998).
The coast isdefin ed as(DEAT, 2000,par t 3. 1.):
~ coasta lwaters, whichextend from the low water mark into the sea, up to thepoint where these waters are no lon ger influen ced by land and land- associ ated activities .
~ the coastline or sea shore, which is the area between the low and high water marks.
~ coastlands, which are inland areas above the high water mark that influence or are influen ced in some way bytheir proxim ity to coasta lwaters (these areas may stre tch man ykilom eter sinland).
2.5./. Public participation in decision making and coastal management
The White Paper for Sustain able Coastal De velo pment in Sou th Africa (DEAT, 2000) is based on the Coastal Policy Green Paper (1998) and the gener al sustainability approac h to a sustai na ble and an integrated coasta l man agem ent approac h for South Africa. The White Paper recogni zesthe need for spec ific man agem ent approaches in associationwith coasta l areas and their unique attributes and values . South African coastal resour ces account for over 35% ofthetot alGOP,underlini ng the coastseconomic valueand further potenti al for the country. The White Paper outlines a peopl e-centered approac h (as oppose d to a pre viou sly resource -ce ntered approach), with emphases on sustainab le, coordinatedand integrated coastal development with share d respon sibil ity among various stakeho lde rs.Som e ofthe main(sustainability)prin c iples are:
./ The coast as a nation al value with bene fit andaccess for all;
./ Optimizin g the coast's econo mic value throu gh development towards coastal communities and socialwellbe ing;
./ Soci al equity, fairn ess and intergen er ation al susta inability;
./ Ecologica l integri ty (sustainability) with mainten ance of biod iversity and reh abilitati on ofecosystemsorspec ies whe re needed ;
./ Risk aversi on and applying the precauti onary principle In situations of uncert ain ty;
./ Shared respon sibility of coas ta l resources and all actions In association with these;
./ Duty ofcare throu gh acting tow ard sminimizingnegati ve env ironmenta l impacts;
./ Integrated coastal managem ent including an inclusive and participator ydeci sion- making and managing proc esswith fulltransparency; and
./ Co-operati ve coastal man agement throu gh partn er ships and collabo ra tions between the public and privatesector and civiIsocie ty,empowe ring stakeholde rs andenabling all to participate (DEAT , 2000).
The issue of public participation is very stro ng in the White Paper, and seeks to invol ve all stake ho lde rs in coa stal man ag ement, and to try to heal some of the damage from the pre viou sly segrega ting and unfair apartheid syste m.
Touri sm is con sid ered an imperative issue with de velopment potential for the South African coast. Goal CI of the White Paper states (DEAT, 2000): "To prom ote the diver sity , vitality and long-term viability of coastal eco no mies and activities, giving preferenc e to those that are distinctly coa stal or dep endent on a coastal location ". Prom otion of touri sm ,leisure and recre ation is listed as an imper ati ve objective under this goal. Touri sm is also listed under priority issues that emerged during the poli cy de velopment proc essin addition tobeing present asasector to be prom oted under several othe r parts oftheWhite Pap er.
Theme D in the White Paper's list of important issues is natural resource managem ent.
The goals concern biodi versity conse rva tion need s(maintaining the diver sity, health , and producti vity of coastal processes and ecosyste ms) and the need for the rehabilitation of degraded ecosyste ms. Anoth er goal within this theme is the need for esta blishing, extending and properl y man agin g a syste m of marin e protected areas. Other issues include the importance of identifying con ser vati on and othe r need s conce rn ing natural resources, spec ies and ecosys te ms.
Objective A3.7. states: "Conflict shall be resolved wherever possible in acollaborative, problem-solving, consensus-building manner".The focus is tobe proactive,not reactive in conflict resolution. Institutional arrangements (as stated in NEMA) need to be developed to resolve conflicts concerning coastal issues and resources. A third party might be needed to reach consensus, and if this fails a negotiation process must be faciIi tated.