Coast under great pressure from development - report
We are "paving" our shores and nearly 20 percent of the coastline is under some form of development, a report has revealed.
The development, within 100m of the shoreline, means that natural buffers against storms and rising seas have been paved over in some areas, putting people and property at risk, particularly as the effects of changing climate intensify.
The report, "Life: The State of South Africa's Biodiversity 2012", pulls together years of scientific data to give a snapshot of the state of the country's natural world, or biodiversity, on which all life and the economy depend.
The purpose of the report, released by Environment Minister Edna Molewa this week, is to guide policymakers and managers.
Our coastline accounts for nearly 4 percent of GDP from fishing, tourism and harbours. The coast and marine ecosystem is under severe pressure from overfishing, poaching, and bad fishing practices - such as trawling the seabed, which the report says is "as damaging and irreversible as ploughing up grasslands".
Other pressures on the coastal areas are mining offshore for heavy metals, diamonds, phosphates, oil and gas, dune mining for heavy metals, shipping, oil pollution, and extracting too much water from rivers, which harms estuaries.
At a glance, the report reveals that:
This is where water demand is greatest and where most of the natural water catchment has been lost.
The report says crucial interventions to stop the degradation include action to stem the loss and throwing the protected areas net wider.
Cape Times
Posted at 08:05AM May 24, 2013 by Editor in Cities and Towns |