whitepapercoastalmanagement-westerncape（25页）.docVIP

 “Africa’s long and beautiful coasts and the abundance of marine resources can contribute to providing economic, food and environmental security for the continent. These coastal and marine resources, like the rest of Africa’s environmental resources, cannot continue to be exploited in a manner that does not benefit Africa and her people. This is a paradox of a people dying from hunger, starvation and poverty when they are potentially so rich and well endowed.” - Former President Mandela, Excerpt from a message to an international conference on “Co-operation for the development and protection of the coastal and marine environment in Sub-Saharan Africa”, Cape Town, December 1998. This White Paper sets out a Policy that aims to achieve sustainable coastal development in South Africa through integrated coastal management. Sustainable coastal development can be defined as enhancing the capacity of current and future generations to realise their human potential, within the context of maintaining diverse, healthy and productive coastal ecosystems. This document is the product of an extensive process of public participation and specialist study carried out since May 1997 through the Coastal Management Policy Programme (see Appendix 1). In particular, the White Paper incorporates feedback received from a broad range of stakeholders on A Coastal Policy Green Paper : Towards Sustainable Coastal Development in South Africa, published in September 1998 and the Draft White Paper for Sustainable Coastal Development in South Africa published in March 1999. While the Green Paper contained background information on the coast and coastal management, the White Paper is intended to be a more streamlined document focused on setting out the Policy – including vision, principles, goals and objectives – and a Plan of Action for its implementation. This Policy takes as its starting point the issues raised by coastal stakeholders. It sets out broa