The environmental variability, which characterizes this upwelling region, has a great influence on exploitation of both renewable and non-renewable resources. The Benguela system is a narrow, ribbon-like system with open ocean boundaries and is highly unusual in that it is bounded to the north and south by warm waters of tropical origin, with the tropical Atlantic waters of the Gulf of Guinea to the north and the Agulhas Current to the south. The Congo River (after the Amazon), discharges the second highest volume of fresh water into the oceans, and periodic warming of the eastern central Atlantic, akin to the Pacific El Nino phenomenon, drives warm fresh water southwards through Angolan coastal waters and across the Angola/Benguela Front into Namibian waters. At the opposite end of the Benguela, warm water of Agulhas Current origin from the SW Indian Ocean intrudes into the Benguela system, dramatically influencing the oceanography and productivity. The Benguela system is highly productive, particularly in terms of potential primary productivity. It contains the most powerful upwelling center in the world at Luderitz, where persistent southerly winds drive cold nutrient-rich waters to the surface so strongly that it creates a barrier between the northern and southern stocks of pelagic fish and some planktonic communities, creating two different subsystems. Occasionally this barrier breaks down and some pelagic fish from the south may advect into Namibian waters. Adult stages of important resources such as hake, tuna, seals and snoek may cross this coolwater barrier and joint management of these transboundary stocks is required. The bottom sediments on the relatively wide shelf are rich in organic carbon, nitrate and phosphorus, which are currently being considered for extraction as fertilizer as land-based sources decline. The waters close to the bottom are often deficient in oxygen, which results both from localized decay of sedimented material and from southward advection from a large pool of oxygen-deficient water underlying the Angola Dome.

It is not only the renewable resources of the Benguela, which attract attention. Oil, gas and mineral deposits, particularly diamonds, are abundant within the sediments underlying the Benguela and advanced underwater technology has been developed to extract this mineral wealth. Many valuable deposits lie close to the international boundaries and rough seas and variable currents are important for the dispersion and final destination of the sediment plumes and other effluents, which arise from extractive operations. Harmonisation of management policies are needed to ensure that pollution from one country does not lead to detrimental effects in the coastal waters of a neighbouring state. Precise boundary locations also become important if valuable deposits are discovered close to the borders and there is already a dispute between South Africa and Namibia over the national border at the northern edge of the mouth of the Orange River.

Coastal developments along the largely desolate coast are currently restricted to the few sheltered areas where harbours and cities have been established. Although remote from each other, common approaches to mitigate pollution from industrial and sewage effluents, litter and shipping related activities, such as ballast water discharge, need to be implemented throughout the region. The coastline is largely desert, with a shortage of fresh water, so coastal developments for tourism and mariculture carry their own suite of environmental problems which have to be addressed in a uniform way along the whole coastline. The introduction of alien species through ballast water or for mariculture purposes, add to the threats of Harmful Algal Blooms (HABS), which are already a problem in all three countries. Shared expertise and monitoring programs need to be established to deal with these issues.

The GEF Council approved the project document and the relevant Ministers signed the document in March 2002. This freed up the funding for the BCLME. Dr. Michael O’Toole, who was the coordinator of the PDF-B grant to set up the BCLME during 1997-2000, was appointed as the Chief Technical Adviser in January 2002 and took up his appointment in May 2002, based at the Project Coordination Unit in Windhoek, Namibia. Currently the posts of Activity Centre Directors and secretarial assistants are being advertised and accommodation organized in the three countries. MCM in Cape Town will be the location of the Activity Center for Environmental Variability. This center will also coordinate all BCLME activities for South Africa. The Activity Center for Living Marine Resources will be in Swakopmund, Namibia, while the center for Ecosystem Health, Biodiversity and Pollution will be in Luanda. A Project Steering Committee, consisting of three members from each country plus UNDP representatives, will guide the program at a technical level. The South African representatives on this committee are Horst Kleinschmidt, and Larry Hutchings from DEAT and Vivienne Mabille from the Department of Mineral and Energy Affairs, with alternates Johann Augustyn and Lynn Jackson.

Once this infrastructure is in place, advisory groups will be formed, with representatives from the three countries, to address the main problems, issues and root causes outlined in the project document and the transboundary diagnostic analysis (TDA). This will entail a review of current research, monitoring and management efforts being made by each country, by the government, private and academic institutions and NGO’s, projects under bi-national programs and regional programs such as BENEFIT. The gaps and weaknesses identified in the thematic reports and the TDA will be identified and the task then is to develop proposals within the budget guidelines to address the problems, together with indicators of progress. This should hopefully be completed by the end of 2002 so activities can begin early in 2003. It has already been decided that BENEFIT will act as a lead agency in fields where it is competent, i.e. fishery resources and environmental variability and the Steering Committee of BENEFIT has already expanded its area of interest and mandate to cater for BCLME requirements. However in the new fields of biodiversity, pollution, coastal development and offshore mining, new initiatives need to be established. In order that information derived from the sampling and monitoring programs will flow to management and decision-making bodies, an Interim Benguela Current Commission needs to be established to deal with the political aspects and a legal advisory group will be established to propose changes to existing protocols and agreements. The BCLME, like the BENEFIT program, blends ideally into the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) initiative, and it should be able to capitalize on the political momentum, which has been generated. Both BENEFIT and BCLME are supported by and registered with the South African Development Community (SADC).

The incremental funding of some $15 million from the GEF/World Bank should provide an enormous boost to the current efforts to understand, monitor and manage the complex Benguela Upwelling System. Acceptance of these funds carries with it the responsibility of ensuring the activities are well thought out, productive and pragmatic and above all address the critical cross-boundary issues identified in the preparatory documents. There are already moves afoot to initiate a Western Indian Ocean LME program, so the entire western and eastern coastlines of southern Africa will receive the attention they deserve.

Larry Hutchings

National Coordinator for South Africa

lhutchin@mcm.wcape.gov.za