Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) Governance and its Implementation in South Africa

Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) Act 2010 is a South African government strategy to curb the degradation of coastal environments and associated resources. This paper explores the extent to which ICM has been implemented in the coastal areas of South Africa. It further discusses the challenges in implementing this policy, assesses the role of public private partnerships (PPPs) and the effectiveness of intergovernmental relations (IGR) structures in the implementation of this policy. It also explores policy awareness among various stakeholders. Lastly, it highlights gaps in the existing policy and makes recommendations on how marine governance implementation can be enhanced. This paper is anchored on the Common Property Resources Theory, which proposes that the marine environment is perceived as a place for all. This study was conducted using in-depth interviews to collect primary data from key informants and focus group discussions to compare the level of understanding of marine governance amongst the coastal communities. The findings show that the understanding of marine governance differs between black and white communities. This paper also revealed that there is a lack of active PPPs and IGR structures are not effective in marine governance. South Africa in its 27 years of democracy has formulated excellent policies aimed at protecting its coastal resources, but their implementation is questionable which hinders the protection and responsible usage of coastal resources to achieve sustainable development. This paper recommends the strengthening of IGR structures, enhancing PPPs, and creating awareness of these policies amongst all local coastal communities.