The draught Biodiversity Management Plan (BMP) for the African Penguin has been made available for public comment by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment.
The draught bill suggests a single regulatory framework for procurement that would apply to the federal, state, local, and state-owned sectors of government.
The draught review of the African Penguin BMP for the continuation of modified and existing activities as well as consideration of new actions that aim to address growing concerns was made public by Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment Minister, Barbara Creecy, on Friday, July 22, 2022.
A review of the implementation and monitoring of predation management, at-sea threats, human-induced stresses, and the mitigation intervention on management processes implemented for ship-to-ship bunkering are among the actions and threats, according to the department. Population models are also used to assess multiple threats to African penguins.
Due to the species’ dramatic decrease in the 20th century, the African Penguin Biodiversity Management Plan was initially published in 2013.
The African penguin, which is native to both Namibia and South Africa, is the only extant penguin in Africa. From over one million pairs in the 1920s to just over 10 400 pairs in 2021, this once-abundant South African seabird saw a drastic decline.
According to the Threatened or Protected Marine Species Regulations (TOPMS) promulgated under the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, it is currently listed as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) (NEM:BA).
The 2013 African Penguin BMP’s main objective was to stop the population decrease of African penguins in South Africa within two years of its implementation and thereafter to achieve population growth, which would lead to the species’ status on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species being downlisted.
According to the department, “the implementation of the African Penguin BMP actions was a cooperative effort with management authorities that manage African penguin breeding colonies, the fisheries sector, the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), as well as various NGO’s, academic institutions, and research facilities.”
The agency stated that this was not achieved and that African penguin populations have continued to fall, “albeit at a slower rate,” despite the effectiveness of many of the activities outlined in the plan.
The public is asked to provide written comments or suggestions to the address below within 30 days of July 22, 2022:
by mail to: Oceans and Coasts’ Deputy Director-General
Forestry, Fisheries, and Environment Department.