South Africa ratified the Nairobi Convention on 16 May 2003.
Unless stated otherwise, the data quoted in this page are cited from publications by Nairobi Convention Secretariat and UNDP (see bottom of page for list).
Republic of South Africa
Introduction
South Africa straddles three oceans: the Atlantic, the Indian and the Southern. Its coastline stretches from its border with Namibia in the west to where it meets Mozambique in the east.
The coastline’s total length is 3,900 km, including the sub-Antarctic islands, and has an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of 1.5 million square km.
South Africa has two main ocean currents: the Agulhas and the Benguela currents.
The United Nations’[1] estimate in 2019 of the South Africa’s population was 58,558,270.
Coastal and marine resources are governed through the Department of Environmental Affairs, Forestry and Fisheries: https://www.daff.gov.za/. South Africa has appointed a Focal Point to the Nairobi Convention to help coordinate efforts to protect, manage, and use the Western Indian Ocean at the national level.
Publications
- United Nations Environment Programme – Nairobi Convention 2015. Status of Birds in the Marine and Coastal Environment of the Nairobi Convention Area: Regional Synthesis Report
- United Nations Environment Programme – Nairobi Convention 2016. Climate Strategy for the Nairobi Convention
- ASCLME 2012. South Africa National Level Policy and Governance Assessment for Marine and Coastal Resources. Contribution to the Agulhas and Somali Current Large Marine Ecosystems Project (supported by UNDP with GEF grant financing)
- ASCLME 2012. National Marine Ecosystem Diagnostic Analysis. South Africa. Contribution to the Agulhas and Somali Current Large Marine Ecosystems Project (supported by UNDP with GEF grant financing)
- United Nations Environment Programme and Secretariat of Nairobi Convention (2009). The Strategic Action Programme (SAP) for the Protection of the Western Indian Ocean from Land-based Sources and Activities. Nairobi, Kenya, 140 pp.