1.0

The layer was prepared as part of the spatial assessment of the threat status and protection levels of South African marine and coastal ecosystems for the 2011 National Biodiversity Assessment. Prepared by Stephen Holness, Trevor Wolf, Kerry Sink, Linda Harris and Mandy Lombard with inputs from Ben Halpern and Hedley Grantham.

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Data on Marine Protected Areas (including their Take or No-Take status) was obtained from the Offshore Marine Protected Area project (Sink et al. 2010), while data on terrestrial protected areas which have a coastal element was obtained from the National Protected Areas Expansion Strategy dataset (DEAT SANBI, 2009) . Terrestrial protected areas were assigned to the "Take" category unless their entire

coastline was a "No-take" MPA. The Biodiversity Target of 20% was used in the evaluation, as is the standard practice for all NBA 2010 assessments. In addition a supplementary "No-take" target was derived from the marine offshore protected area targets contained in the National Protected Areas Expansion Strategy (DEAT SANBI, 2009), which includes targets for marine protection at 20% (i.e. the same as the biodiversity target) , and a "No-take" target of 15% of the habitat. The level of protection of each ecosystem was evaluated against the 20% biodiversity target, and then "No-take" areas were evaluated against the 15% target. The protection levels were defined according to the following categories. Ecosystems were classified as "Not protected" if there was no formal protection; as "Hardly protected" if under 5% of target was met in protected areas; as "Poorly protected" if from 5% to just under 50% of biodiversity target is met in protected areas; as "Moderately protected" if from 50% to just under 100% of the Biodiversity target is met in protected areas; and as "Well protected" if the biodiversity targets are fully met and the No-take target is met. Ecosystems where the biodiversity targets are fully met but where there is insufficient Notake area, were down-graded to a "Moderately protected" classification.

Input data:

NBA_benthic_and_coastal_habitat_map_wgs84.shp

Formal_Protected_Areas_and_Informal_Conservation_Area_System.shp (from BGIS)

Marine_protected_areas.shp (from Sink et al. 2010)

Available documentation and references:

DEAT, SANBI. 2009. National Protected Area Expansion Strategy for South Africa: Priorities for Expanding the Protected Area Network for Ecological Sustainability and Climate Change Resilience. Government Gazette, South Africa.

Holness, S., Sink, K., Harris, L., Wolf, T. and Lombard, M.. 2011. Spatial assessment of the threat status and protection levels of South African marine and coastal ecosystems for the 2011 National Biodiversity Assessment: Methods and Outputs, SANBI unpublished report.

Sink K, Lombard M, Grantham H, Attwood C, Leslie R, Samaai T, Kerwath S, Fairweather T, van der Lingen C, Atkinson A, Wolf T & Majiedt P. 2010. Systematic Biodiversity Planning to identify a potential offshore Marine Protected Area network for South Africa, SANBI, 34.

SANS 1878

FGDC-STD-001-1998