Waves of change: Coastal and fisheries co-management in southern Africa

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The oceans that meet along the southern African coast contain a diversity of ecosystems ranging from tropical coral reefs to cool-water kelp forests. Many of the coastal and marine species living in these waters are resources that are harvested by coastal communities to provide important sources of nutrition, income and livelihood. However, ongoing over-exploitation of fisheries resources, the degradation of coastal areas and conflicts among coastal resource users, call for urgent intervention. Co-management is being explored as a possible strategy to address these problems. This approach reflects a worldwide trend to involve local user groups and communities in the management of coastal and fisheries resources. This book provides an overview and analysis of nine coastal and fisheries co-management case studies in South Africa. It outlines the concepts and theoretical underpinnings of co-management and examines the policy and legal framework governing coastal and fisheries resource management in South Africa. Waves of change provides policy makers, resource managers, researchers, learners and environmentalists with a comprehensive understanding of co-management in South Africa. Case studies examine co-management in action, highlighting the conditions conducive to success, as well as the positive outcomes and principal challenges of this approach. The viability of implementing coastal and fisheries co-management in the South African context is explored and comparisons are made with international experience.