Draft regulations to declare network of marine protected areas

Minister of Environmental Affairs Edna Molewa has published draft notices and regulations in the Government Gazette to declare a network of 22 new proposed Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) as part of the Operation Phakisa Initiative. “The declaration of these new MPAs aims to create approximately 70‚000km2 of marine protected areas‚ bringing our ocean protection within the South African Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) to more than 5%‚” Molewa said on Tuesday.