An Overberg District case study

The impacts of global climate change are mostly felt in coastal areas – the dynamic zones where oceanic and terrestrial forces meet. The coastline of South Africa has witnessed a marked increase in the intensity and frequency of extreme storms in recent years, bringing issues such as coastal erosion and shoreline retreat into sharp focus.

Modern times have seen the rise of environmental risks with global consequence. One of these is climate change resulting from rapid alteration of the Earth’s atmosphere. Although there remains no doubt that the present climate change phenomenon is anthropogenic in origin, the world is struggling to come to grips with the required social, economic and personal response actions.

The impacts of rising sea levels and extreme events have potentially devastating implications for development and development planning and therefore coastal erosion, increased intensity and frequency of flooding and wind generated storm surges must be planned for as a matter of urgency.

A potential solution to these unpredictable events is the proactive determination and implementation of realistic development setback lines, whether the land affected is urban, rural or agricultural in nature. A development setback is a strip along the coastal zone where certain development activities are prohibited or significantly restricted. More and more frequently, such setbacks are used as a means to regulate and prevent insensitive, inappropriate and non-sustainable development in sensitive coastal environments; to ensure public safety and public interests, and to reduce the risks posed by climate change, or simply the dynamic coastal processes.

Project details
The National Environmental Management: Integrated Coastal Management Act (Act No. 24 of 2008, ICM Act) as well as the NEMA amended Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Regulations, which were promulgated on 18 June 2010, propose and make provision for the designation of setbacks. The Western Cape Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning (DEA&DP) appointed SSI Engineers & Environmental Consultants, in partnership with Andrew Mather and Cullinan and Associates, to develop coastal setback lines for the coastline of the Overberg District Municipality. The objective is to use detailed survey information and contributions from affected stakeholders to delineate setback lines for the coastline between Rooi-Els and Cape Infanta. Two draft setbacks, a coastal processes line and a limited development line, have been determined. The fine-scale demarcation of the lines was informed through an analysis of coastal zone processes such as wave actions, erosion or accretion trends, dune migration, and the location of existing developments.

The setback lines will be used in local level spatial and development planning, and potentially implemented both through means of permitting provisions provided for in the NEMA EIA Regulations and new coastal setback regulations and permits. In short the proposed new ICM Act Regulations aim to restrict or prevent development below the draft setback lines other than development that enhances the coastal environment, contributes to the fulfilment of a coastal management objective contained in an adopted Coastal management Programme, or meets an essential need and cannot occur elsewhere.

<_{> Stakeholder involvement
This project was initiated by the Western Cape DEA&DP, but is jointly steered by the Overberg District Municipality, the local municipalities of Overstrand, Cape Agulhas, and Swellendam, as well as CapeNature and SanParks.}

Due to the setback lines relying in part on specific local knowledge of coastal processes, changes and extreme weather events, stakeholder participation and contribution is critical to the accurate delineation of the setback lines. Consequently, directly affected land owners and interested parties are being contacted directly and offered insight into the demarcation process as well as the opportunity to participate in the final delineation of the setback lines. Open forums have been held to advise stakeholders or interested parties and representative groups, and notifications in this regard were placed in the local media and forwarded to those identified by the project team or who have indicated their interest in the project.

Public access to maps demarcating draft setback lines and the associated regulations was promoted through the use of different information sharing mediums – the distribution of information brochures, availability of printed map sets in local libraries and municipal offices, and the dissemination of electronic maps both as high quality GIS layers and more user-friendly Google Earth images.

A second round of consultation, this time with draft lines as well as draft regulations was held during the first week of June 2011. This consultation took the form of ‘roadshows’ where the draft lines were presented to members of the public and other affected stakeholders, who were then requested to provide comment on the lines and regulations based on local knowledge and experience. The draft setback lines have been met with some concern by many stakeholders, in particular those whose properties lie seaward of the proposed coastal setback. This has prompted lively debate and earnest engagement among stakeholders, contributing to a more robust process and ultimately more practical and implementable setback lines.

Although SSI’s brief for the project is mainly focused on the technical development of the setback lines, the company believes that it is also their responsibility to heed the concerns from very concerned I&APs, and provide the client with thoroughly considered recommendations on how the setback lines can, and should, be implemented. In particular, the company will advise the DEA&DP on how the lines will be best implemented in conjunction with the existing EIA regulations, local planning controls and provisions in the NEM: ICM Act for the implementation of coastal permits.

Ideally, the lines should result in a more focused and simplified regulatory system that strives for sustainability rather than absolute authoritative control, especially due to the impact that inappropriate implementation can have on the local tourism and land development sectors.