The quality of bioregional plans in South Africa

Abstract

South Africa is considered one of the most biologically diverse countries in the world, and as a signatory to the Convention for Biological Diversity, has committed to meeting the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. Meeting these targets requires the development and implementation of various tools aimed at managing and protecting South Africa's biodiversity. One such tool is the bioregional plan, mandated through the National Environmental Biodiversity Act (Act 10 of 2004). South Africa's first bioregional plan was gazetted in 2015 and was developed for the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality. Since then, six more municipalities have followed suit, bringing the total number of gazetted bioregional plans to seven. Research in related fields has highlighted the relationship between the quality of policy intervention tools and their effectiveness. It is, therefore, necessary to explore the quality of bioregional plans in South Africa, especially as it is still a relatively new tool. This study evaluated the quality of bioregional plans in South Africa. The extent and status of bioregional planning in South Africa were first established after which a sample of plans was selected for quality evaluation. Extent and status were determined through a literature review and interviews with key stakeholders. To evaluate the quality of plans, a systematic review protocol was developed informed by both the official guidelines for the drafting of bioregional plans and best practice principles contained in the literature. Three bioregional plans, representative of different provinces and developed by different consultants, were selected for review. Bioregional plans generally performed well in terms of overall quality, although some aspects such as stakeholder engagement, monitoring and evaluation, and justification for targets were not always clearly dealt with.