The West Coast District Municipality is getting to grips with the management of the coastal zone in a sustainable and integrated way.

To assist with the task, the West Coast District Municipality (WCDM) has appointed leading consulting engineers and scientists, SRK Consulting, to assess the current situation and propose a strategy going forward, in keeping with the National Environmental Management Integrated Coastal Management Act 24 of 2008.

The work, which focuses on preparing and adopting a municipal coastal management programme, will involve the local municipalities of Bergrivier, Cederberg, Matzikama, Saldanha Bay and Swartland.

According to Scott Masson, environmental consultant for SRK in the Cape Town office, the status quo assessment is the first phase of the project and will investigate aspects such as coastallivelihoods, the management of marine living resources, sustainable and unsustainable coastal development, sources of pollution and waste management, and access to the coast.

“This will include looking at aspects of coastal management programmes within and outside South Africa and practices and procedures at municipal and provincial level,” says Masson. “We will also be evaluating the capacity of the five local municipalities and the district municipality to address the requirements of the Act.”

Input from the private sector, parastatals and civil society has already been gleaned through a series of stakeholder workshops, to identify key areas of concern and start building a common vision to manage the coastal zone.

In the second phase of the project, a strategy will be developed to address the priority issues, clarify the roles and responsibilities of various relevant state agencies, and consider the costs and benefits of priority options. It will also lead to the establishment of a Municipal Coastal Committee to help implement the strategy.

“In the third and final stage of the work, the current by-laws governing the management of the coast will be evaluated and a new Coastal Management By-Law drafted to address priority issues,” explains Masson.