Checking the pulse of the Benguela

A WORKSHOP on how to check the health of the Benguela Current ecosystem will be held between South Africa, Namibia and Angola today and tomorrow.

The Benguela Current ecosystem is the lifeblood of the “ocean economy” on South Africa’s West Coast – supporting fisheries, tourism and recreation, and thousands of jobs.

Like any living system, it needs regular health check-ups, and the best way to do this will be examined in the workshop. Scientists, government officials, business and civil society representatives will consider linkages between the diverse “ecosystem services” provided by the ocean and coastal environment, and how best to measure and monitor both their economic value and environmental health.

The workshop forms part of a project by the Benguela Current Convention to strengthen the ability of member states to monitor the health of the Benguela Current ecosystem in their own countries, as well as implementing an integrated approach to sustainable ecosystem management across national boundaries. The workshop will also aim to identify gaps in current monitoring activities and data, capacity and resource needs, and how to resolve potential conflicting uses in future.

Together with the output of this week’s meeting, feedback from workshops in Namibia and Angola will contribute to integrated monitoring of the Benguela ecosystem’s health and the convention’s planning for future collaborative projects and support to member states.

The Benguela Current sweeps up the South African West coast, along the entire Namibian coastline and into Angola. This creates a large marine ecosystem, with productive resources shared by the three countries to the value of about $269 billion annually. – Staff reporter