Advancing estuarine management through LEG instruments in law: the case of Knysna Municipality

Abstract

The Knysna Estuary is ranked highest in South Africa in terms of its conservational importance. In general, estuaries have been identified as the most threatened and least protected ecosystems in South Africa. The Knysna Estuary has been experiencing negative impacts from anthropogenic activities. While it is under the management of South African National Parks (SANParks), the current management strategy does not account for any external influences as these are typically outside the managing authority's control. Efforts at the local government level have the potential to contribute to the protection of the Knysna Estuary. South African municipalities have a constitutional and statutory duty to protect the environment. This duty is entrenched in local government framework law, and most importantly in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, which states that one of the objects of local government is to promote a safe and healthy environment. South Africa's national environmental law framework further requires municipalities to develop and adopt several instruments aimed at achieving so-called Local Environmental Governance (LEG) objectives. LEG refers to the environmentally relevant outputs and processes conducted at the strategic, tactical, and operational levels in municipalities, thus integrating environmental matters with local processes, plans, and policies. LEG instruments, such as the Integrated Development Plan, for example, are expected to help realise environmental objectives. Against this backdrop, this study aims to determine to what extent the Knysna Municipality's LEG instruments as provided in law are, or could be, utilised to advance the co-management of the Knysna Estuary.