Establishing a basis for recognising marine ‘other effective area-based conservation measures’ (OECMs) in South Africa

Abstract

The concept of ‘other effective area-based conservation measures’ (OECMs) and its technical guidance provide opportunities for recognising a broader range of area-based management measures that contribute to biodiversity conservation outside of protected areas. However, progress towards the recognition of OECMs for the marine environment is less advanced than for terrestrial processes. In response, South Africa developed a systematic approach to establish coherence on the OECM concept in the marine, coastal and estuarine context through rapid trial assessments of 14 management measures against six simplified OECM criteria. The objectives included identifying measures with the greatest potential as OECMs, identifying information gaps and highlighting issues that are unique to the marine context, framed within the OECM definition and assessment criteria. Among the assessed measures, only two (both restricted areas for fishing) were considered unsuitable overall owing to being short-term measures, and in one case because of its single-species focus and weak contribution to broader biodiversity outcomes. Other measures varied in their suitability, with ‘biosphere reserve marine buffer zone’ and ‘closed fishing areas adjacent to African penguin colonies’ being among the existing measures that show the most potential, aligning with five and four of the six simplified criteria for OECMs, respectively. There is substantial work needed to advance marine OECMs in South Africa and to negotiate complexities brought about by the overlapping nature of jurisdictions, management measures, rights and stakeholder interests in the marine realm, and the need for equitable and effective marine governance and management. The approach and recommendations from this exercise may be useful to other countries undertaking similar efforts.