SA Government to Restrict Coastal Development

Coastal Development to be Restricted

According to Reuters News, the South African government has made a move to curb the development of coastal property in a bid to protect the vast stretches of coastline from environmental damage.

The property boom experienced in South Africa in previous years resulted in the development of multi-million rand apartment blocks, mansions, golf and equestrian estates in coastal areas, primarily aimed at the foreign tourist market.

Parliament has introduced a new bill detailing a comprehensive national system for the planning and managing of the country’s extensive coastal areas. According to the Minister of Environmental Affairs, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, “Our coastline is currently not being managed and developed in a way that optimizes its resources and opportunities”.

The Minister adds that, “Economic and social opportunities for wealth creation and equity are being missed while coastal ecosystems are being systematically degraded (and) this bill sets out to correct this”.

The proposal aims to declare seashore, coastal waters, including estuaries, as well as the country’s territorial seas as “coastal public property”. This will give government the power to prevent the development of property too close to the sea and various coastal “protection zones” will be declared, within which certain activities will be prohibited.

“These measures are important not only to preserve the beauty of coastal landscapes but also to respond to threats posed by, for example, rising sea-levels associated with climate change or dynamic coastal processes,” said Van Schalkwyk.

The information in this article is courtesy of Reuters Africa (“S.Africa moves to restrict coastal development”, 8 May 2008).

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