16 / 60
16
1.4
Selection of Ecosystem Services for Review
Stakeholders and decision makers choose to review and value
certain ecosystem services in order to manage and/or reverse
the deterioration of ecosystem functions that supply critical
ecosystem goods and services to populations and national
economies.
52
The desired ecosystem service valuations,
however, are often limited due to a lack of available data or
the cost and time involved in data collection. The ecosystem
services reviewed in the west, central and southern
African LME studies were selected for their socioeconomic
importance, the critical state of the relevant ecosystems,
and the availability of the corresponding data.
The BCLME Ecosystem Services
A large portion of the three BCLME countries’ populations,
totalling approximately 81 million in 2014,
53
live in urban
areas, many of which are located along the coast. LMEs
contribute to a significant proportion of gross domestic
product (GDP) in these countries: for example, in Angola,
the fisheries sector is second to oil and gas production that
comprises 90 per cent of GDP. Meanwhile, in Namibia, fishing-
sector revenue accounts for 9 per cent of GDP.
54
Although
adding only 1 per cent to South Africa’s economy, fisheries
have regional significance to the Western Cape, which is
an industrial fishing centre. Therefore, in all three BCLME
countries, fisheries have greatly impacted the livelihoods of
coastal communities.
55
Almost the entire BCLME coastline
is exposed to open ocean, and four estuaries and five
coastal lagoons are considered to be of transboundary
significance. A decline or change in fish stocks and pollution
from agricultural, industry, mining, coastal development,
inadequate waste management and storm run-off pose the
greatest threats to the BCLME.
56
Based on the socioeconomic importance of fisheries and
the suspected sharing of stock due to fish populations that
migrate across the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of the
three adjacent countries,
57
Sumaila (2015) evaluates the
values of the BCLME ocean ecosystem services, specifically
fisheries, mariculture and marine recreational fisheries
(Figure 4).
58
The purpose of the BCLME review is to “build
further political will to undertake threat abatement activities
while leveraging finances proportionate to management
and governance needs.”
59