LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR MARINE ECOSYSTEMS: SHOWCASING ANGOLA, NAMIBIA,
SOUTH AFRICA
Erle Frayne D. Argonza
A milestone framework for
marine ecosystems was recently agreed upon by Angola,
Namibia, and South Africa.
The area covered is the world’s largest in terms of concurring framework
agreement, which makes it truly laudable.
The framework covers the
Benguela Current, a portion of ocean that runs from South
Africa down south through Angola up north. Conservation and
sustainable use of the zone’s resources were the core content of the framework
agreement.
The framework is expected
to enable joint uses or resource utilizations where possible. Instead of the
three countries competing via resort to wars and conflicts to establish
foothold in the area, the same countries concurred amicable usage, with
sustainability as core value to observe.
Economic activities in the
Benguela Current alone generate around $54 Billions worth of revenues per
annum. If the countries resort to tribalist or ethnicist bullying and warfare
to establish control of the current, the full potentialities of the $54 Billion
revenues will never be achieved. Which makes consensus and legal ways as the
best option to follow, the options of civility.
Below is a reportage of
the milestone framework.
[Manila, 28 May 2013]
Angola, Namibia and South Africa sign world’s first large marine ecosystem legal framework
30 April
2013
Benguela, Angola — With the signing of the Benguela Current
Convention, Angola, Namibia and South Africa will work together on
the long-term conservation and sustainable use of the Benguela Current Large
Marine Ecosystem, one of the richest ecosystems on earth.
Stretching from Port Elizabeth in South Africa to the province of Cabinda in northern Angola, the Benguela Current is an area of ocean that produces goods and services estimated to be worth at least US $54.3 billion per year. Offshore oil and gas production, marine diamond mining, coastal tourism and commercial fishing and shipping are some of the most important industrial activities that take place in the region.
At the heart of the Benguela Current Convention is cross-national agreement to use the ecologically- and economically-rich ecosystem in a way that carefully balances its long-term preservation and the needs of the people whose livelihoods depend on its use.
“It is the ideal and most effective way to achieve the sustainable management of the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem and ensure the sustainable future of the people who rely on it,” said Maria do Valle Ribeiro, who heads the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Angola.
UNDP and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) have been providing funding and technical support for regional cooperation around protecting the Benguela Current since the 1990s. Their backing was key to the successful establishment of the Commission in 2007.
“The historic signing of the Benguela Current Convention represents the culmination of many years of research, consultation and negotiation, all of which have been carried out in a spirit of trust and cooperation,” said Hashali Hamukuaya, Executive Secretary of the Benguela Current Commission.
The signing ceremony took place at the seat of the Government of the Province of Benguela and was attended by the Angolan ministers of Fisheries, Science and Technology, Agriculture, Transport and Mines & Energy; the Namibian ministers of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Mines & Energy and Transport; and the South African Minister of Environmental Affairs and Water.
A holistic form of ecosystem management is essential to address increasing threats to complex coastal and marine environments, said Deputy CEO of the GEF André Laperriere.
“Sustainable management is not possible without a legal framework such as the one jointly put in place today by the Governments of Angola, Namibia and South Africa,” he said. “The leaders of these countries have clearly shown that it is possible and desirable to see political solutions based on scientific knowledge in order to reverse marine degradation and resource depletion.”
Stretching from Port Elizabeth in South Africa to the province of Cabinda in northern Angola, the Benguela Current is an area of ocean that produces goods and services estimated to be worth at least US $54.3 billion per year. Offshore oil and gas production, marine diamond mining, coastal tourism and commercial fishing and shipping are some of the most important industrial activities that take place in the region.
At the heart of the Benguela Current Convention is cross-national agreement to use the ecologically- and economically-rich ecosystem in a way that carefully balances its long-term preservation and the needs of the people whose livelihoods depend on its use.
“It is the ideal and most effective way to achieve the sustainable management of the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem and ensure the sustainable future of the people who rely on it,” said Maria do Valle Ribeiro, who heads the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Angola.
UNDP and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) have been providing funding and technical support for regional cooperation around protecting the Benguela Current since the 1990s. Their backing was key to the successful establishment of the Commission in 2007.
“The historic signing of the Benguela Current Convention represents the culmination of many years of research, consultation and negotiation, all of which have been carried out in a spirit of trust and cooperation,” said Hashali Hamukuaya, Executive Secretary of the Benguela Current Commission.
The signing ceremony took place at the seat of the Government of the Province of Benguela and was attended by the Angolan ministers of Fisheries, Science and Technology, Agriculture, Transport and Mines & Energy; the Namibian ministers of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Mines & Energy and Transport; and the South African Minister of Environmental Affairs and Water.
A holistic form of ecosystem management is essential to address increasing threats to complex coastal and marine environments, said Deputy CEO of the GEF André Laperriere.
“Sustainable management is not possible without a legal framework such as the one jointly put in place today by the Governments of Angola, Namibia and South Africa,” he said. “The leaders of these countries have clearly shown that it is possible and desirable to see political solutions based on scientific knowledge in order to reverse marine degradation and resource depletion.”
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