Ambitious government plans to grow the oceans economy are threatened by prospecting licences for phosphate strip mining in the marine economic zone, reports Mark Olalde Whale watching near Hermanus in the Western Cape. Offshore mining will have an impact on boat-based whale watching, which accounts for R37-million of the GDP annually. Photo: Mark Olalde The South African government has identified the marine economy as a much-needed growth area in a stagnant economy, but ambitious development plans are being undermined by proposed seabed strip mining off the western and southern shores. Operation Phakisa, a government-sponsored economic stimulus plan, includes a marine development phase called the Oceans Economy Lab. According to the plan, the blue economic zone has the potential to create one million jobs and increase the GDP by R177-billion by 2033. At a National Council of Provinces question and answer session on October 25, President Jacob Zuma said Operation Phakisa – a seSotho word meaning “hurry up” – had already garnered R17-billion of investments in the marine economy. However, three phosphate prospecting rights that have been granted will open up about 150,000 square kilometres, equating to 10% of the marine economic zone, for exploration. Although the recipients of two of the prospecting rights recently said they had given up on exploration for now due to low commodity prices, groups opposed to the offshore mining are calling for a government-imposed moratorium, citing food security, environmental degradation and the stifling of economic development plans. In a controversial decision in September, Namibia’s environmental ministry ended its marine mining moratorium and granted clearance for phosphate mining off its coast, prompting discussion about whether South Africa would follow suit. Several fishing associations filed an urgent application in the Windhoek High Court against the environmental clearance and submitted an appeal against phosphate mining to the environment ministry. Minister of Environment and Tourism Pohamba Shifeta made a U-turn in early November and withdrew the environmental clearance certificate issued to Namibian Phosphate Mining. Less than 0.5% of the marine economic zone is currently protected. The 22 new marine protected areas proposed under Operation Phakisa would create another roughly 70,000 square kilometres of protected ocean Offshore phosphate mining is a new extraction strategy that has not been attempted anywhere in the world, so it is unclear if the industry would produce jobs. According to the environmental impact assessment reports of Namibian Phosphate Mining, phosphate mining would create 176 new, full-time jobs. The company acknowledged that not all those jobs would go to locals, and most of the jobs would come from a processing plant, something not in the South African plan. Said Johann Augustyn, secretary of the South African Deep-Sea Trawling Industry Association: “We don’t think phosphate mining is going to create nearly as many jobs over a long period of time as our industry, which is essentially sustainable forever if you look after it properly.” The fishing industry accounts for 27,000 direct and 81,000 indirect jobs. Coastal tourism could also suffer if biodiversity is impacted by offshore mining, and it accounts for R13.5-billion annually, according to the Department of Environmental Affairs. The amount of space required for offshore mining to be economically viable is infringing on other sectors as well. Almost the entire exclusive economic zone is divided into blocks identified for oil exploration. Environment Minister Edna Molewa submitted proposals for 22 new marine protected areas in February. With less than 0.5% of the marine economic zone currently protected, these areas would create another roughly 70,000 square kilometres of protected ocean. To help negotiate conflicting uses, the environment department submitted a draft Marine Spatial Planning Bill in March and a draft Marine Spatial Planning Framework in August. These pieces of legislation are intended to provide a method for determining the best human uses of the oceans, but impacted parties already say the plan is inadequate due to minimal stakeholder engagement. “It’s going to be the first in Africa where we attempt this type of legislation,” said Jeremy Marillier, executive director of the fishing industry group Fish SA. “The legislation that has come out is very poorly drafted.” According to UNESCO, 44 countries will have some level of marine spatial planning initiated by the end of this year. Namibia and Seychelles are the only other countries in Africa to do so, and those programmes are in their infancies, meaning the South African legislation could be precedent setting.