Lessons: South Africa’s seas can aid its development if a sustainable, inclusive approach that considers people and the environment is taken, rather than the extractive route. Photos: Brenton Geach/Getty Images
The oceans are a crucial buffer against climate change. They absorb roughly a third of human-emitted carbon emissions and 90% of the excess heat. But climate change combined with overexploitation of their ecosystems threatens their functioning.
These issues were again a critical part of climate discussions at COP28. South Africa’s blue economy holds developmental potential but, almost a decade after the launch of its plan, there remain a host of problems to its implementation.
The concept of a blue economy is generally defined as a sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods and jobs while preserving the health of the ocean. Africa, with its 38 coastal states, embraced the concept at the 2019 African Union Level in Agenda 2063 and the 2050 Integrated Maritime Strategy Task Force in 2013.
In 2018, the Sustainable Blue Economy Conference in Nairobi under the theme “Developing a sustainable blue economy; increasing momentum for Africa’s blue growth”, facilitated the development of the Africa Blue Economy Strategy which serves as a blueprint for African countries in developing their blue economy strategies.
The potential of harnessing the oceans’ resources is particularly relevant to South Africa’s development trajectory, given the country’s geographic position, rich marine resources, extensive coastline of 3 500km (the largest in sub-Saharan Africa) and Exclusive Economic Zone (under national jurisdiction) of 1.5 million square kilometres.
South Africa’s efforts in advancing the blue economy have been articulated in the National Development Plan and through former president Jacob Zuma’s Operation Phakisa Oceans Economy Initiative launched in 2014 to increase employment opportunities, promote social equity and alleviate poverty.
Phakisa was meant to deliver “big results fast”. In 2010, it contributed about R54 billion to the country’s GDP and provided 316 000 jobs. Phakisa envisioned that the ocean economy had the potential to contribute R177 billion to the GDP and provide one million jobs by 2033.
Almost a decade later, such predictions seem far too optimistic and Operation Phakisa Ocean projects have been increasingly criticised and challenged by local communities, academics and various NGOs. This stems from competing and conflicting interests, claims, and values of stakeholders from different sectors in the blue economy. Additionally, power imbalances among various actors have contributed to tensions during the design and implementation phases of the projects.
Maritime and logistics megaprojects overseen by state-owned Transnet have turned into unproductive investments plagued by corporate corruption and inefficiencies. In 2012, the overall port expenses exceeded global averages by 360%, and although there has been a significant reduction in costs, by 2018, they remained relatively high at about 166% of the global average.
The Durban port refurbishment initiative, with an estimated cost of R100 billion, exemplifies the clash between political, economic and ecological interests, and was marred in 2017 by revelations of extensive corruption involving Transnet, Chinese suppliers and the infamous Gupta brothers.
In a recent dispute, approval was granted for French company TotalEnergies to conduct offshore oil and gas exploration along the West Coast and the Garden Route, despite appeals from various environmental groups to the minister of forestry, fisheries and the environment. The approved exploration surveys not only carry the risk of negatively affecting marine life and ecosystems but also jeopardise small-scale fishers and local tourism activities that rely on healthy marine environments.
Lessons: South Africa’s seas can aid its development if a sustainable, inclusive approach that considers people and the environment is taken, rather than the extractive route. Photos: Brenton Geach/Getty Images
This has been previously evidenced in research on Shell’s exploration activities off the Wild Coast, which were halted by the high court because of such shortcomings. Furthermore, the expansion of fossil fuels contradicts South Africa’s global commitments in the Paris Agreement to reduce carbon emissions.
In the light of COP28 in Dubai, where the just energy transition has been located at the forefront of climate negotiations and the oceans have been given an integral part in climate change mitigation discourse, South Africa’s blue economy strategy needs to be revisited.
Natural capital accounting, factoring in both gains from fossil fuels and environmental costs, would compel policymakers to demand a significant reduction in non-renewable resource extraction. Indeed, the mounting evidence shows that Operation Phakisa fails to account for the environmental and social impacts of its projects.
Combined with a growing public resistance against the extractivist, top-down processes that underlie Phakisa projects, it reflects the need for current strategy to be replaced with the principles of a just transition. This will require a shift towards a socially inclusive, low-emission blue growth that accounts for the ocean’s value as natural capital and prioritises its conservation critical for a climate-resilient economy.
Lessons could also be learnt from other resource-wealthy African countries, where fossil fuel extraction did not bring promised socio-economic prosperity as a result of intense corruption and weak governance. In the absence of strong governance institutions, resource wealth tends to produce a development “curse” instead of as a catalyst for sustainable growth.
Studies by Meridian Economics and the International Institute for Sustainable Development showed that because of decreases in the cost of renewable energy such solar and wind-power technologies, they present a more effective pathway towards ensuring energy security in South Africa.
The International Energy Agency has estimated that, in Africa, the potential of ocean-based renewable energy provision can be up to 400% of current global energy demand. Although still in early development stages, decentralised, small-scale tidal and salt gradient energy could significantly help to overcome power deficits, particularly in rural areas that don’t have reliable electricity sources.
As suggested by the African Union, the blue economy can serve, in many ways, as the engine of Africa’s structural transformation. South Africa’s focus on the blue economy should divert from the traditional extractive route of development that has been associated with capital accumulation, privatisation and deepening societal inequalities, towards a more sustainable and inclusive approach that prioritises conservation of valuable natural capital, people’s involvement in decision-making and implementation processes, and equitable distribution of benefits.
Through investments in innovation and emerging industries in the blue economy, such ocean-based renewable energy technologies, aquaculture and pharmaceutical and agrichemical bioproducts can not only diversify South Africa’s economy but also enhance its energy security — both essential components for development of the country.
Additionally, focusing efforts on conservation and restoration of marine ecosystems through Marine Protected Areas and blue carbon initiatives (protecting ecosystems that store large amounts of carbon dioxide) can pave the way for South Africa’s resilient and environmentally conscious future.
Redirecting the blue economy trajectory will foster climate-positive national development and contribute to global efforts in mitigating climate change.
Anna Katreňáková is a research associate at Good Governance Africa and holds an MSc in sustainable development from the University of Exeter and a BSc in marine biology and coastal ecology from Plymouth University.