Adaptation Strategies for the City of Cape Town: Finding the Balance Within Social-Ecological Complexity

Abstract

This paper describes the coastal adaptation strategies being undertaken by the City of Cape Town. The purpose of this paper is to critically examine how the city applies natural science findings within the context of influential socio-economic complexities, pressures and imperatives. These challenges are discussed as well as the methodology employed by the city to align prescriptions based on scientific investigation with the governance of one of South Africa’s largest coastal cities.This paper describes the challenges that the city’s management has faced in developing a practical and workable solution; i.e., one that achieves a balance between socio-economic needs whilst promoting an ecosystems based management approach. Key to this discussion is spatial planning and the concept of space. This paper touches on this concept by highlighting the challenges of applying absolute boundaries (as a representation of absolute space) to demarcate static zones within the context of complex and dynamic social-ecological systems. This process is examined through the City of Cape Town’s proposed Coastal Protection Zone.