Question NW1568 to the Minister of Environmental Affairs

Reply:

(a)

Launch site licencing, monitoring and compliance

The Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) had on 27 June 2014 promulgated regulations under section 83 of the National environmental Management: Integrated Coastal Management Act, 2008
(Act No. 24 of 2008) for the management of the Public Launch Sites (PLS) in the Coastal Zone. These regulations empower the Members of the Executive Committees (MECs) to list public launch sites where a vessel may be launched and identify management bodies to manage such public launch sites.

(b)

Encroachments into the Admiralty Reserves

The Department of Public Works is responsible for the management of leases for any infrastructure or development within admiralty reserves. Any structure or infrastructure built within or encroaching onto the admiralty reserve without a lease or approval by the Department of Public Works is deemed illegal and therefore the necessary compliance and enforcement mechanism will come into effect. The Department of Environmental Affairs and the Department of Public Works have, through bilateral engagements and cooperative governance, established channels of communication whereby the Department of Public Works keeps the Department of Environmental Affairs informed of emerging issues relating to encroachment, through its representatives at Working Group 8 and the Geospatial Planning Sub-Committee.

(c)

Beach driving

The regulations on Control of Use of Vehicles in the coastal area list officials that are authorised to enforce these regulations as: all Environmental Management Inspectors, Fishery Control Officers, South African Police Services Officers and any official appointed/designated as a Peace Officer. This therefore allows all officials from municipalities, provinces and national departments based on their appointment status to enforce Off-Road Vehicle (ORV) regulations. Whilst this department issues permits for driving in coastal areas to those who qualify as per regulation 3 (permissible use), signboards prohibiting illegal beach driving were procured and distributed to all four coastal provinces for erection. To ensure compliance to these regulations and permit conditions as per issued permits, joint compliance and enforcement operations under Operation Phakisa focussing on illegal beach driving are planned and executed.

(d)

International Coastal Clean-up

The Integrated Coastal Management Act (ICMA), 2008 (Act No. 24 of 2008) does not require monitoring and enforcement of the international coastal clean-up. This is a voluntary event celebrated annually throughout the world in September. South Africa (government, private businesses, civil society and the non-governmental organisations celebrate this day by engaging in raising awareness of our coastal environment and embarking on clean-up operations. The Department of Environmental Affairs has been celebrating this event for 15 years and has, most recently, hosted and participated in several successful clean-up events that involved school learners and communities in Knysna, Port Elizabeth, Saldanha Bay, East London, Durban and Port St Johns.

(e)

Coastal resource monitoring

Through Operation Phakisa, the Department of Environmental Affairs is currently addressing the challenge of unknown water quality due to different analytical methods employed by the establishment of a National Water Quality Lab in the Eastern Cape, which will act as a reference lab to produce reliable data and information. Mobile laboratories are also to be established as these are important for remote areas as microbial samples require very short time-frames for analysis. This also provides opportunities for coastal municipalities and other government departments to send samples for analysis.

Furthermore, the department is also in the process of developing the National State of the Coast report and is currently in discussion with coastal provinces for the development of provincial and national indicators that will contribute to the national report.

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