Prince Edward Island Management Plan version 0.2

Abstract

The management plan has had a long history with the final version being dated 2010, but only being officially approved and made publicly available this month (click here). It replaces an earlier management plan for the island group, adopted in 1996. The new plan has been produced under section 39(2) of South Africa’s National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act of 2003 and covers biodiversity and historical conservation issues as well as biosecurity and waste management.

The Prince Edward Islands (PEIs) have the highest level of protection afforded to any natural area under South African law. The islands were declared a Special Nature Reserve in 1995, to protect the islands’ ecosystems because of their ‘highly sensitive, outstanding’ nature (National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act (NEMPAA), 2003, Section 18 (2)(a)). In terms of NEMPAA, the PEIs are reserved primarily for scientific research and environmental monitoring (Section 18 (2)(b)). The boundary and status of the nature reserve cannot be altered except by a resolution of the National Assembly (Section 19). NEMPAA provides for the protection and conservation of ecologically viable areas that are representative of South Africa’s biological diversity and its natural landscapes and seascapes. The general purpose of a Special Nature Reserve is to protect highly sensitive, outstanding ecosystems, species, geological or physical features in the area, and to make the area primarily available for scientific research or environmental monitoring (Section 18). NEMPAA seeks to promote sustainable utilisation of protected areas for the benefit of people, in a manner that will preserve the ecological character of such areas and, where appropriate, promote participation by local communities (Section 2). The specific objectives of the Prince Edward Islands Special Nature Reserve are to:  Ensure the protection, survival and biological diversity of the islands’ indigenous plant and animal species;  Maintain the integrity and healthy functioning of the total ecosystem;  Maintain diversity at every level, including the islands’ biological, species and genetic diversity as well as the ecological processes;  Protect geological and geomorphologic features, natural landscapes and wilderness attributes. The South African National Antarctic Programme (SANAP) is managed jointly under the auspices of the Department of Environmental Affairs, Directorate: Southern Oceans and Antarctic Support and the Department of Science and Technology and National Research Foundation, the latter being responsible for science strategy, funding and implementation. The mission of SANAP is to increase understanding of the natural environment and life in the Antarctic and Southern Ocean through appropriate science and technology. The strategic vision of SANAP, as it applies to the PEIs, is to support national sovereignty at the PEIs and to co-ordinate research activities, optimise and produce credible quality science and technology nationally and internationally, the utilization and conservation of natural resources and to further international relations in logistic, scientific and environmental issues pertaining to the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic regions.