Benguela Current Commission Experience by Hashali Hamukuaya Executive

Benguela Current Commission Experience by Hashali Hamukuaya Executive Secretary The 3 rd African Regional Targeted Workshop for GEF IW Projects Grahamstown, South Africa Rhodes University 7 - 9 May 2014

The Benguela Region Before 1994 • Legacy of colonial past; apartheid South Africa; liberation struggles; civil war in Angola; • Overexploitation of fish stocks (foreign vessels); • No regional cooperation among the countries and within marine sectors; • Lack of transparency and/or stakeholder consultations within marine sectors.

New Era: South-South Cooperation • With the support of UNDP, the three countries prepared a PIF for integrated management of the BCLME • TDA and SAP: 1997 -2000 • BCLME Programme: 2002 -2008 • UNDP – Implementing Agency • GEF: US$ 15, 000. 00 • In-kind: US$ 18, 000. 00 • GOAL: Integrated management, sustainable use and protection of the BCLME

Regional development challenges and major environmental problems 1. Decline in BCLME commercial fish stocks and over harvesting of living resources; 2. Highly variable marine environment and uncertainty regarding ecosystem status; 3. Deterioration in water quality; 4. Habitat destruction and alteration; 5. Loss of biotic integrity and threat to biodiversity; and 6. Inadequate capacity (human resources, knowledge and skills, financial, technological).

From Sectorial Approach to Multi-sectorial Ecosystem-based Management: A Paradigm Shift • • Fisheries Environment Petroleum Transport • Fisheries and Marine Resources • Environment and Tourism • Mines and Energy • Works and Transport • Water and Environmental Affairs • Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries • Minerals • Transport

Agreed Governance Principles • Sustainable development • Anticipatory action • Transparency and public participation • Partnerships and co-financing with industry and donors

Fish Resources and Fisheries Sustainable management and use of LMRs • • • Annual swept-area surveys of shared fish stocks State-of-art stock assessments Stock assessment working groups Assessments of climate variability on the resources Provision of best available scientific advice

Pollution & Ecosy Health • • • Maintenance of ecosystem health and protection of • • biodiversity • Accession to the Abidjan Conv under consideration In collaboration with IMO, oil spills contingency plans; OSRA and sensitivity mapping in place / undertaken Spatial biodiversity assessment (e. g below) HABs monitoring programmes Marine spatial planning & EBSA (Germany: 2014 -2020)

Productivity • Productivity • Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) Programme • Real-time environ monitoring stations

Socio-economics • Socio-economics • Socio-economic surveys and review of institutional arrangements • Enhance climate change resilience in the BC fisheries (FAO/GEF: 2015 -2020)

Governance Instruments: SAP (2000) Interim Agreement (2007) BCC Convention signed (2013) HR, Finance, Procurement, Data and Information, TCB SAP (2015 -2019) Ministerial Conferece Mianagement Board / Commission Secretariat EAC Convention development process: • Strong political will; Ownership • Spirit of cooperation; Flexibility in negotiation • Catalytic support from GEF and other development partners • Drawing from best practices and modern instruments • Available competence from all countries drove the process

Key challenges • Competition for domestic resources (e. g. HIV, floods, droughts); • Highly dynamic marine environment compounded with climate variability; • Conflicts among sectors (e. g. tuna vs oil; fish vs mining) • Growing demands for food security and jobs creation; and • Adequate resources to sustain the south-south cooperation.

• Opportunities: -- Sustained trust among the Member States; -- Strong political will and leadership for south collaboration; -- Strong support from development partners (led by the UNDP/GEF, Norway); -- Available domestic resources to support multisectoral ocean governance and sustainable development (e. g Members support Secretariat operations and Personnel) -- Realizing the inclusive and sustainable development in the BCLME region through the BCC Convention Implementation (UNDP/GEF: 20162020) -- Willingness by private sector to be involved (BCC Business Leardership Forum)

In closing: • The success in institutional, legal and policy reforms made possible by catalytic support from GEF and other partners • A foundation for science to governance in place • However, a framework for sustainability beyond GEF’s intervention remains a challenge. Suggestions would be appreciated in this regards.