The Socio-Economics of the West, Central and Southern African Coastal Communities

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. 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 The BCLME Ecosystem Services

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

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