AUTHOR=Lombard Amanda T. , Dorrington Rosemary A. , Reed Jodie Romay , Ortega-Cisneros Kelly , Penry Gwenith Susan , Pichegru Lorien , Smit Kaylee Pam , Vermeulen Estee Ann , Witteveen Minke , Sink Kerry J. , McInnes Alistair M. , Ginsburg Tayla 

TITLE=Key Challenges in Advancing an Ecosystem-Based Approach to Marine Spatial Planning Under Economic Growth Imperatives

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Marine Science

VOLUME=Volume 6 - 2019

YEAR=2019

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2019.00146

DOI=10.3389/fmars.2019.00146

ISSN=2296-7745

ABSTRACT=In 2016, South Africa became the first African country to draft Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) legislation. The underlying legal framework supports the achievement of ecological, social and economic objectives, but a national policy to grow the oceans economy provides a challenge for ecosystem-based approaches to MSP. During the 2018 International Marine Conservation Congress in Borneo, we convened a special session to discuss particular challenges that will likely apply to any developing country seeking to increase profits from existing, or proposed, marine activities. Here we present six inter-disciplinary research projects that support ecosystem-based approaches to MSP in South Africa, by addressing the following key challenges: (1) measuring ecosystem condition; (2) modelling impacts of climate change on food webs and fisheries; (3) managing fisheries with an ecosystem approach; (4) using dynamic ocean management to resolve conflicts between fisheries and threatened species; (5) managing conflicting objectives in a growing marine tourism industry; and (6) developing scenarios for alternative management strategies in complex marine social-ecological systems.