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An integrated approach to estuarine management will lead to better coordination of policy-making and management across sectors and geographically. Photo courtesy of Roxanne Klein
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As part of a Water Research Commission project on cooperative governance, the CSIR, with contributions from various lead authorities, initiated the development of a national estuarine management protocol (NEMP) – a flexible, but legally defensible, protocol providing guidance to estuarine managers at all levels.
South Africa's estuaries have a diversity of management requirements, often unique to individual systems, and are governed by a variety of authorities, from national to local level.
In addition, estuaries constitute one of the most utilised and productive zones on our planet. Estuarine management is a complex task, for it deals with the use and care of the interface between the land, rivers and the sea.
The NEMP framework follows an adaptive management approach, which requires the setting of a vision and resource objectives, the development of strategies, implementation, monitoring and an assessment of the results. The integrated approach will lead to better coordination of policy-making and management across sectors and geographically, facilitating a more rational use of resources and more effective environmental protection.
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