South Africa Ocean Accounts

Download the Ocean Account Report

Download the Ocean Account Roadmap

Date

2021 - 2024

Pilot study area

Table Bay, South Africa

Objectives

The GOAP Africa Community of Practice (ACoP) coordinates the development of ocean accounts pilot studies across Africa. ACoP’s objectives for all its pilots are to:

• Help build awareness of the importance and effectiveness of ocean accounting.
• Promote national capacity development, including facilitating training workshops, coordinating bursaries and establishing contracts with local institutions and personnel.
• Facilitate long-term implementation, expansion, and maintenance of initiated and existing ocean accounts.

Types of accounts

• Marine ecosystem accounts
• Natural capital accounts (including ecosystem service and abiotic service accounts)
• Ocean economy satellite accounts
• Novel social, risk and governance accounts
• Marine protected area thematic accounts

Methods

• Define and identify the focus, scope, and relevant accounting systems (from the Ocean Accounts Framework)
• Data collection and compilation
• Spatial resolution and scales

Challenges and lessons learned

• Challenge: A lack of awareness of ocean accounting: it is an entirely new concept for many. Solution: Engagement, targeted communication and knowledge sharing.
• Challenge: Stakeholder engagement. Solution: Start engagement and communication with a smaller network.
• Challenge: A lack of local expertise and limited capacity to develop and implement accounts. Solution: Approach international partnerships such as GOAP and arrange capacity building events and intensive consultation with external experts.
• Challenge: Misalignment on the understanding of technical concepts and misuse of methodology. Solution: Invest in targeted capacity building activities.

Key stakeholders

Partners

• Centre for Sustainable Oceans, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, South Africa
• GOAP Global Community of Practice

Contacts

• Prof. Ken Findlay, Program Lead, GOAP Africa CoP & Research Chair: Oceans Economies, Centre for Sustainable Oceans, CPUT, South Africa
• Dr. Tai Loureiro, Research Associate and Program Coordinator, GOAP Africa CoP & Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for Sustainable Oceans, CPUT, South Africa