First Regional Workshop

In July 1998 the First Regional BCLME Workshop was held in Cape Town, which was followed by a formal meeting of key stakeholders. The Workshop, which was attended by approximately 100 regional and international experts and stakeholders and moderated by an independent international facilitator, generated a wealth of information and ideas relevant to the development of a viable BCLME Programme. The objectives of the Workshop were to identify issues and problems/constraints in the Benguela, to attempt to prioritise these and propose possible solutions, to forge consensus among the various stakeholders and role-players, to develop an implementable work plan and a mechanism for consultation and cooperation.

At the Workshop keynote addresses were delivered on other LMEs (Yellow Sea, Baltic, Bay of Bengal, Gulf of Guinea), the LME concept, International Waters and the GEF and on various aspects of the Benguela per se viz the environment, fisheries, oil and gas industries, mining, coastal zone management and pollution. These overviews provided useful inputs for the subsequent group discussions from which the consensus on problems and priorities emerged.

The Stakeholders Meeting held after conclusion of the Workshop addressed issues such as communication, the budget, donor involvement, studies/consultancies, project coordination and the workplan.

Synthesis and Assessment of Information on the BCLME

Subsequent to the First Regional Workshop, consultants were appointed to prepare comprehensive syntheses and assessments of information on the BCLME. This resulted in the production of six Thematic Reports ("Integrated Overviews") on:

• Fisheries

• Oceanography and Environmental Variability

• Diamond Mining

• Coastal Environments

• Off-shore Oil and Gas Exploration/Production

• Socio-economics of Some Key Maritime Industries

 Second Regional Workshop

A Second Regional BCLME Workshop was held near Windhoek, Namibia, during April 1999. At this Workshop the thematic reports were briefly reviewed. These syntheses, together with the output from the First Workshop, served as a basis for the development of a draft Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA). The approximately 40 participants, all of whom were either regional experts on the Benguela or international LME experts, divided into three groups to address the three major issues in the BCLME, viz (1) utilization of resources, (2) environmental variability and (3) ecosystem health and pollution. Excellent progress was made at the Workshop thanks to quality of the leadership provided by the facilitator, the guidance by the international representatives of UNDP-GEF and the LME concept of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the spirit of cooperation and goodwill of the participants. The essential elements for the TDA were formulated (and prioritised) as per the path: issues> problems> causes> impact> uncertainties> socio-economic consequences> transboundary consequences> activities/solutions> priority> outputs> costs. This consensus Workshop product forms the basis for the present TDA. Prior to the conclusion of the Workshop, the framework for the Strategic Action Plan was defined and a Work Plan to finalise the BCLME project development phase was formulated.