The environmental ask for EBSA inclusion into the upcoming Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) process is given as a proposed EBSA zoning with management recommendations per zone. Note that the current process (through the MARISMA Project) is aimed at developing a coherent and evidence-based recommendation, and does not - in itself - make any ocean-zoning decisions. The actual decisions are part of the upcoming MSP process. Although the details of the MSP process have not yet been decided, it is mandated to include robust stakeholder engagement and negotiations among sectors. It is likely that the final negotiated Marine Spatial Plan will include significant compromises among sectors. The MARISMA Project is undertaking preliminary assessments to provide a coherent recommendation from the biodiversity sector that addresses as many initial concerns from other sectors as possible to streamline the negotiations during the MSP process. Again, the recommendations are not the final ocean-zoning decisions, but rather form the biodiversity sector’s input into the multi-sector process that will be negotiated during MSP.
View the proposed EBSA Zones on the interactive map below. You can click on each one to read a summary of the EBSA's features in a side panel that will appear, and click on the images at the top of the panel to see the activity compatibility with the management objective for that zone. The compatibility of each activity in the EBSA zones is recommended to inform the management decisions in the MSP process, subject to negotiations. (For more details, see: https://cmr.mandela.ac.za/EBSA-Portal/South-Africa/SA-EBSA-Status-Assessment-Management).