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A bill to protect SA's coastline has been introduced in National Assembly
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May 08, 2008, 16:30
The National Assembly has passed legislation that will prevent private developments too close to the sea. It also allows for ordinary people to get access to private beaches.
The Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, says the Integrated Coastal Management Bill will ensure all the mechanisms are in place to secure access to South Africa's beaches.
He said the bill declares the seashore, coastal waters (including estuaries) and the country's territorial seas, to be coastal properties. The State would act as the trustees of the property.
"Economic and social opportunities for wealth creation and equity are being missed while coastal ecosystems are being systematically degraded. This bill sets out to correct this," he said, adding that it had been approved by the Tourism Portfolio Committee for tabling in Parliament. “It should therefore be enacted speedily to safeguard both people and property, while at the same time promoting access to the coast and facilitating integrated development."
The purpose of the bill would be to provide a legal and administrative framework that would promote cooperation, coordination and integrated coastal development; preserve and protect the environment; ensure coastal resources were managed and there was equitable access to the coastline's opportunities and benefits.
It also proposes to give effect to the country's international legal obligations. "This not only takes into account the needs of previously disadvantaged individuals but will also ensure that people across all income groups are able to own property along the coast in the future," said van Schalkwyk.
Dumping permit
The bill would make provision for coastal water discharge and dumping permits and stipulates all existing effluent discharges -- into the sea and estuaries -- be critically reviewed.
He said in all four of the coastal provinces, government was involved in drawn out legal action against people who erected illegal structures, and this bill would provide government better control over the structures, which included houses, jetties and retaining walls.
"We are now on an accelerated path to decisive action that will provide clear parameters for the planning of coastal developments and create economic and recreational opportunities by increasing access to our coastal property," van Schalkwyk said.
The bill would replace the existing 1935 Seashore Act and the 1980 Control of Dumping at Sea Act. - Additional reporting by Sapa
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