An Analysis of ‘Operation Phakisa’ to Unlock the Potential of Ocean Resources in South Africa

Abstract

South Africa is endowed with vast ocean resources and wealth which have the potential to provide enormous socio-economic goods and services to the people and create massive economic growth and wealth if vigorously explored and tapped. This assertion is made against the backdrop of the recent government strategical initiative, under the auspices of ‘Operation Phakisa’, to unlock and explore the full potential of the ocean’s wealth to drive economic growth, create jobs and alleviate poverty. This paper seeks to accentuate that the Operation Phakisa initiative has the potential to strategically unlock underexplored ocean resources for purposes of creating sustainable economic growth, development, and alleviation of hunger and poverty. It concludes that effective and sustainable use of the ocean’s wealth depends on good, efficient governance policies, practices and management. Methodically, a qualitative non-empirical research approach was adopted and utilized in this study by sourcing, drawing upon and using information and insights from contemporary literature to address identified problems.

Keywords

Ocean economy poverty alleviation jobs economic growth pollution control sustainability

Introduction

South Africa is endowed with vast natural resources; one of these is the ocean resources that have a tremendous impact on the country’s economy because they have the potential to contribute significantly to economic growth, job opportunities and poverty alleviation. This is stated against the backdrop that

it is no secret that South Africa faces a sizeable budget deficit, chronic unemployment, and inequality which remain a defining challenge of the country’s current socio-economic milieu. New and innovative ideas are needed to revive the economy, grow it into new avenues, and create meaningful opportunities for employment. (Otto, 2018)

In August 2013, former President Jacob Zuma undertook a state visit to Malaysia where he was introduced to the Big Fast Results Methodology which was used by the Malaysian government to achieve a considerable and significant economic transformation within a short time and space. The approach was used to address Malaysian national key priority areas such as poverty, crime and unemployment. Zuma was attracted to the Big Fast Results Methodology, knowing full well that South Africa is facing similar problems, and so he sought to replicate this approach in South Africa. With the support of the Malaysian government, the Big Fast Results approach was adapted to the South African context, but was renamed Operation Phakisa. In South Africa, Phakisa is a Sesotho word which means ‘hurry up’. To hurry up entails that Operation Phakisa represents a new spirit of moving faster and is also a results-driven approach which involves setting clear plans and targets, ongoing monitoring of progress and ensuring that the results are made available to the public (Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) 2015). Therefore, as part of the new innovative interventions to revive the economy – in particular, the ocean economy – the Operation Phakisa initiative was fully embraced by the government to play a major role in South Africa’s structural transformation, and to drive sustainable economic progress, and social development.

South Africa has, over the past years, concentrated and relied on its fossil mineral resources to grow and develop its economy while the ocean resources have been either neglected or underexplored despite their potentiality to produce and provide socio-economic goods and services that have the potential to boost the country’s growth in sustainable ways (Manikarachchim, 2014). At present, there is a clarion call by the international community to divest from fossil carbon resources that are contributing to global carbon emissions, causing bizarre weather events and climate change (Siperstein, 2016). It is against this background that the ocean resources in and outside the ocean environment and economy are considered as viable and sustainable alternatives to the fossil carbon economy (Boudreau, 2017). In their work, Park and Kildow (2014: 167–178) provided insights on why the focus should be shifted to the ocean economy. They broadly asserted that

today, an increasingly global society seeks unilateral economic development and environmental protection. A paradigm shift from an unsustainable carbon economy to a sustainable replishable ocean economy and wealth is considered imperative to combat the global crises that threaten human civilization. Global crises can be divided into three overall categories. The first is climate change, which causes rises in seawater temperature, sea-level rise, ocean acidification and more. The second is resources depletion, which results in an insufficient supply of the food, energy and water essential to a healthy ecosystem. The third is economic decline, as the world economy has fallen into a recession after the 1998 global financial crisis from which it has not yet recovered. These crises present global, national and regional challenges to all society. Ocean and coastal ecosystems provide human beings with considerable economic and ecological services.

If fully exploited and well managed, South Africa’s ocean economy can constitute a major source of wealth and catapult the country’s fortunes (United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), 2016). It has been projected that unlocking the economic potential of South Africa’s oceans can contribute up to R177b to GDP by 2033, compared to R54b which was realized in 2010 (Zuma, 2014).

Recognizing the huge potential of the ocean resources, it is not surprising that the then president of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, launched Operation Phakisa in 2014 with the aim of accelerating the execution of the National Development Plan 2030 to achieve high-level objectives, namely, to reduce the number of people who live in households with a monthly income below R419 per person (in 2009 prices) from 39% to 0% and reduce inequality, as measured by the Gini coefficient, from 0.69 to 0.6. More importantly, the overall aim of Operation Phakisa was to tap into other sustainable alternative resources, one of which is the ocean economy, to grow the economy, create job opportunities and alleviate poverty without emitting harmful substances to the atmosphere and the environment.

The 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (i.e. Rio+20) provided much-needed clarity on how the ocean can be used for sustainable economic growth and development, which was articulated in four competing discourses regarding human–ocean relations: (a) oceans as natural capital; (b) oceans as good business; (c) oceans as integral to Pacific Small Island Developing States; and (d) oceans as small-scale fisheries livelihoods. These are embedded in the Operation Phakisa initiative (Silver et al., 2015). The roles of society, science and government in the Operation Phakisa ocean governance is very important (Findlay, 2017). In order to demonstrate that the government is keen and eager to unlock the potential of the ocean resources, the government opened the Oceans Economy Lab, under the auspices of the Department of Environmental Affairs, which began on 8 July 2014 in Durban and was concluded on 15 August 2014. The Oceans Economy Lab was attended by over 180 delegates from national and provincial government departments, the private sector, civil society, labour and academia who all convened for the purposes of forging a way forward on how to unlock and utilize the ocean resources for economic emancipation and growth in South Africa. As a matter of fact, the main focus of the Oceans Economy Lab was on unlocking the economic potential of South Africa’s oceans to grow the economy and derive maximum value for the country. This will foster inclusive economic growth which would contribute to the gross domestic product (GDP), create jobs, tackle and reduce unemployment and poverty, and provide food for the people.

During the course of participation and deliberation at the Oceans Economy Lab meeting, the participants idicated that in order to unlock the ocean’s economical potentials, there were four major areas that needed immediate attention: ‘marine transport and manufacturing activities, such as coastal shipping, trans-shipment, boat building, repair and refurbishment; offshore oil and gas exploration; aquaculture and marine protection services and ocean governance’ (DPME, 2015). The participants noted that in 2010, the ocean resources contributed approximately R54b to South Africa’s GDP and accounted for approximately 316,000 jobs. This was achieved before Operation Phakisa was introduced. Hence, with the introduction of Operation Phakisa, it was estimated that the ocean has the potential to contribute up to R177b to GDP and provide between 800,000 and 1 million direct jobs annually. With effective implementation, it is expected that these estimates will produce a stunning result of at least 4% annual growth in both GDP contribution and job creation.

The Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs also held a colloquium on growing the South African ocean economy and deliberated extensively on the current status, constraints and opportunities of the ocean economy. Presenting the progress made so far to the committee, the Department of Environmental Affairs submitted that since the ocean economy commenced, through Operation Phakisa in 2014 to date, ‘government has unlocked investments amounting to R73, 323 billion in the oceans economy. Over 6 952 jobs have been created in various sectors. Major investments were made in port infrastructure development and marine manufacturing, particularly in boatbuilding’ (Mapulane, 2017).

At present, president Cyril Ramaphosa is prioritizing the ocean economy as a catalyst for addressing the triple threats of unemployment, poverty and inequality facing South Africa. As such, he intends to use the ocean economy to leverage aggressive economic growth, create jobs and alleviate poverty.

Nowadays, the oceans are seen as development spaces, and South Africa has therefore recognized that the oceans are critical, and would therefore make a significant contribution to the sustainable economic development of the country (Colgan, 2004). Generally speaking, another striking feature is the significant role of the ocean in the management and sustainable development of minerals and energy resources from the ocean (Colgan, 2004).

It is pertinent to point out that before the introduction of Operation Phakisa, South Africa had invested very little towards a better understanding of the ocean resources and economy and the value of its resources (Van Wyk, 2015). Hence, Operation Phakisa is lauded as a robust and sound initiative by the South African government for the renewed effort in shifting the paradigm towards an improved understanding of socio-economic factors and benefits of the ocean resources and the economy (Colgan, 2004). This feat requires the collaboration of the government and the private sector to forge a very strong partnership to make the operation work effectively and efficiently in order to deliver the desired outcomes and results which could foster the aggressive tackling and massive reduction of the triple socio-economic threats confronting South Africa, namely, unemployment, poverty and inequality.

Methodology

In this work, the researcher adopted a qualitative research approach by sourcing and utilizing contemporary literature relevant to the issues surrounding the ocean resources and economy, their benefits and impediments as they relate to South Africa. Data was collected from numerous secondary bases, predominantly from reports by government and the parliament of South Africa, journal articles, books and other relevant sources. Insights from contemporary literature and initiative interventions such as Operation Phakisa were relied on and utilized to do a robust analysis. The work relied on secondary resources that are already available for purposes of gaining insights, reviewing and applying the contents for the purposes of presenting the ocean economy and resources as viable, formidable and sustainable, which, if fully explored and tapped, would drive economic growth, contribute greatly to the GDP and produce far-reaching job opportunities. To this end, the researcher utilized content analysis in order to derive relevant aspects from the relevant materials and documents and used them to address the problem identified. Pollution was identified as the major impediment to the ocean economy. In order to address this, preventive mechanisms and principles on the prohibition and prevention of pollution were utilized to address the problem, and sustainable solutions were proferred.

Defining the ocean economy and terminology

Several scholars and academics have defined the ocean economy based on what they have perceived comprehensive enough to be the definition of the ocean economy. Park et al., (2014) define the ocean economy “as the economic activities that directly or indirectly take place in the ocean and use outputs from the ocean, while incorporating goods and services into the ocean’s economic activities.” Whereas, Zhao et al., (2014) define ocean economy as “marine fishery such as mariculture, marine fishing, marine fishery service industry and marine aquatic processing.” The common denominator is that the ocean economics provide human beings with enormous useful resources and services. Other countries have also attempted to define ocean economy largely from the perspectives of the size of their oceans and the level of industrial activities in and around their ocean industry and environment (Kildow and McIlgorm, 2010: 367–374). Hence, it is sometimes very difficult to compare the ocean economy among countries because the definition, classification standard, and scope vary from one country to another. In addition, there are several terminologies that are prevalent, such as the ocean industry, the marine economy, the marine industry, the marine activity, the maritime sector and the blue economy, that are used interchangeably depending on the country (Smith-Godfrey, 2016: 58–64). This paper mainly uses the term ‘ocean economy’ because it is strategically mentioned in the Operation Phakisa initiative in considering what the initiative seeks to achieve. The ocean economy can be defined as ‘the economic activities that directly or indirectly take place in the ocean and use outputs from the ocean, while incorporating goods and services into the ocean’s economic activities’ (Park and Kildow, 2014: 35–46).

The Operation Phakisa initiative is championed by the Department of Environmental Affairs, which seeks to ensure that the ocean economy is used to drive economy growth and development. Hence, South Africa looks at the ocean economy from four priority sectors which mainly speak to the issues of the economic activities around the ocean environment: marine transport and manufacturing, offshore oil and gas exploitation, aquaculture, and marine protection services and governance.

Colgan (2004) described the ocean economy as

that portion of the economy which relies on the ocean as an input to the production process or which, by virtue of geographic location, takes place on or under the ocean. The ocean provides a variety of products and services such as food recreation and transportation. The ocean economy – the econoactivity directly associated with using ocean resources.

Over and above that, ocean economy is a concept that ‘simultaneously encourage social inclusion, environmental sustainability, strengthening of maritime ecosystems, transparent governance as well as economic growth and development’ (Spamer, 2015). This study deemed the above definition as appropriate to the context of the study.

Literature review

South Africa has a vast ocean which is mostly either underexploited or unexploited in terms of resources (Parker et al., 2013). Globally, the ocean economy has been identified as the broad space of opportunities for sustainable growth, employment and poverty alleviation (Le Blanc, 2015). South Africa’s ocean economy consists of fisheries, aquaculture, tourism, transport, ports, coastal mining, and energy.

The oceans offer enormous economic opportunities and, as such, should be embraced for the purposes of exploring their potential for economic growth and development (Murray et al., 2017: 369–380). Operation Phakisa’s initiative for the planning and implementation of various marine related projects has, as one of its components, ocean governance, which if effectively implemented would make South Africa set sail for economic growth and prosperity by tapping into the ocean economy (Spamer, 2015).

The ocean economy through Operation Phakisa ‘Phakisa is a results-driven approach to foster e socio-economic growth and development and achieve economic transformation within very short time. A focus on the ocean economy with sustainable green growth offers unique opportunities for South Africa to continue to play a leadership role in this sector, especially considering the vast mass of oceans with which the country is endowed. Government and the private sector should therefore work together for purposes of promoting the ocean and the coastal economic development and growth through the inclusive participation of several key industries and small and medium entreneurships to pave ways for small enterprises to participate and thrive (Spamer, 2015).

Interestingly, South Africa’s aquatic and ocean spaces have increasingly become common topics of political discourse because the ocean’s natural resources have remained largely underexploited but are now being recognized for their potential contribution to inclusive and sustainable development (UNECA, 2016). The ocean contains immense values which are beneficial to human beings (Douvere, 2008). In South Africa, the ocean economy seeks to play a major role in the structural transformation, sustainable economic progress, and social development.

South Africa’s ocean economy consists of fisheries, aquaculture, tourism, transport, ports, coastal mining, and energy. This is the reason why the government had, through Operation Phakisa, created the necessary enabling environment by mainstreaming the ocean economy into national development plans, strategies and policies. Over and above the initiative, the ocean economy is premised on the sustainable use, management and conservation of aquatic and marine ecosystems and associated resources.

Generally speaking, while the ocean is considered as an economic space, it is also part of South Africa’s rich geographical, social and cultural canvas. A well-protected, fully exploited and well-managed ocean economy is considered a major source of wealth and socio-economic development for South Africa. The ocean economy is holistic and interconnected with other sectors as it supports important social considerations such as gender mainstreaming, food and water security, poverty alleviation, wealth retention and jobs creation (Allison, 2011).

The ocean economy also plays a major role in South Africa’s structural transformation where it is used to create jobs and alleviate poverty. But it is important to point out that there should be sustainable use, management and conservation of the aquatic and the ocean ecosystems and associated resources by embracing the principles of equity, low carbon footprint, resource efficiency, social inclusion and broad-based development, with the jobs agenda at the centre of it all. To this end, the ocean economy is considered ‘as part of integrated ecosystem services based on the harvesting of living and non-living resources, benefitting both coastal island states and landlocked countries’ (United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, 2016).

However, despite its remarkable potential, the intended success of the ocean economy can be hampered. Coastal and coastal environment degradation are most often caused by the dumping of all sorts of pollutants into the oceans, either deliberately or inadvertently (Sharma and Chatterjee, 2017). It is worrying that human populations are using the oceans as their household dustbins, where they dump hazardous materials and substances. These pollutants and contaminants are prevalent within the ocean environments in South Africa. Through indiscriminate dumping and disposal, these hazardous pollutants enter the ocean environments, causing irreparable damage to the ocean inhabitants both living and non-living. To address this problem, there is a need to recycle these pollutants in whatever form or shape before they find their way into the oceans. This may be the best option. To achieve this objective, programmes to raise awareness of recycling, disseminated through different social and information media, are imperative for a clean ocean environment (Sharma and Chatterjee, 2017). Similarly, the improper use of natural resources and short-term economic objectives instead of sustainable long-term economic objectives have resulted in severe environmental degradation which may reach a level where the health and well-being of the coastal population are threatened (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA), 2005). In order to achieve the objective of a sustainable ocean economy, there is a need to integrate socio-economic and environmental decision-making with full public support for the protection of the coastal environment (Cicin-Sain and Belfiore, 2005). It is pertinent to point out that the ocean environment needs to be managed holistically. This point is made against the background that the ocean environment is vulnerable to various natural resource developments and exploitation occurring outside and within the ocean environment such as overfishing, alteration and destruction of habitats, and water pollution.

The ocean’s usefulness is immense and it should be protected from illegal harvesting, degradation and depletion and at the same time protected from harmful pollutants. Protecting the ocean and its species, habitats, landscapes and seascapes should be paramount and should be done in such a way that there are integrated spatial development strategies for larger areas, under the umbrella of integrated coastal and ocean management. Therefore, holistically, ocean protection entails the bringing together of the diverse communities involved in the ocean’s protected areas, the coast, ocean management and watershed management to collaborate in national-level ocean and coastal planning, including the designation of networks of marine protected areas (MEA, 2005).

There is a need, therefore, to to ensure that the conditions of the ocean environments are kept clean and devoid of harmful substances that will ravage ocean resources. All the interventions that have been introduced to mitigate environmental stresses from anthropogenic activities in the coastal areas have to be constantly implemented and enforced for maximum protection against pollutants.

Developmental planning and management around the ocean environment should take environmental consideration into account in order to combat any degradation (Ehler and Douvere, 2009). This should include and cover all aspects of coastal and ocean activities and should also encompass land-use practices, the establishment of protected ocean areas, plans for sewage treatment facilities, management plans for waste disposal sites, and outdated industrial facilities. To this end, an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) should be a mandatory prerequisite for decisions regarding any project that may impact on environmental or human health (Glasson and Therivel, 2013).

The reduction or outright prohibition of dumping of pollutants into the ocean will prevent ocean environment degradation (Xanthos and Walker, 2017: 17–26). More importantly, in order to continue to maintain the protection and preservation of the ocean environment, strong political and administrative resolve to implement and enforce environmental laws, particularly those that seek to protect and conserve the ocean’s wealth and environment, are imperative for the purposes of a sustainable viable economy (Toropova et al., 2010). It is therefore important that compliance with national legislation prohibiting pollution should be improved and strengthened in order to prevent degradation. Similarly, best environmental practices and the best available technologies should be promoted and used in the ocean environment.

It is also imperative that precautionary principles should be adopted whenever there is reason to believe that an activity might harm the living resources and ecosystems in the ocean environment (Curtin and Prellezo, 2010: 821–830). In the same vein, the principle of ‘the polluter pays’, which compels polluters to be held responsible and pay for the pollution caused, should serve as the economic sanction for the control of environmentally harmful activities while also emphasizing the importance of responsibility by forcing polluters to pay for the costs of their activities (O’Riordan, 2013).

Benefits of the ocean economy and its resources

The value and benefits of the ocean are numerous. They promote tourism, food and nutrition security; they also aid in the protection of the coast, livelihoods, culture and recreation and the ocean (Steinberg, 2001). All these are duly enshrined in the Operation Phakisa initiative. According to Duncan (2016), South Africa’s ocean resources are valued at about US$24t or more, and with the introduction of Operation Phakisa this worth should be explored and utilized to accelerate growth and development. Therefore, Operation Phakisa is considered to be a progressive economic and development instrument, hence the need to intensively articulate and utilize its imperatives and at the same time point out its challenges.

A notable benefit of the ocean is that it harbours different types of fisheries. Undoubtedly, fisheries are a source of protein for human consumption, and credence was given to this at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSDD) in Johannesburg in 2002 where the importance of fisheries as a source of protein for human consumption was highlighted, and it is in that context that the importance of healthy marine ecosystems for sustainable development was also underscored (Daoji and Daler, 2004: 107–113).

The ocean is beneficial in numerous ways and humans derive various benefits from the oceans through active participation in the ocean economics which involve the ecosystem and environmental services (Barbier et al., 2011). Recent years have seen a renewed effort in countries utilizing their ocean economies to foster economic growth, create employment, and tap the food and energy resources in the oceans for human needs. Similarly, as an innovation, the ocean space will enable sustainable entrepreneurial activities and the use of ocean resources for sustainable economic development and growth (Kim and Mauborgne, 2014).

There is a need to acknowledge the tremendous opportunities and benefits of the ocean economy, which covers the areas of sustainable use of the ocean where it is used reasonably and sustainably without overexploiting the ocean resources. Various scientific research studies being conducted on the oceans also give credence to the benefits of the oceans, because through these research activities scientists are able to discover other uses of the oceans for purposes of addressing socio-economic challenges in South Africa and ensuring that the ocean environment is managed properly by protecting the ocean from pollution. To this end, Findlay (2017) commented on the Marine Spatial Planning Bill presented to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs-MSP Bill: ‘ecological governance is a process of informed decision-making that enables trade-offs between competing resource users so as to balance environmental protection with beneficial use in such a way as to mitigate conflict, enhance equity, ensure sustainability and allow accountability’. Undoubtedly, the ocean economy provides unique opportunities to build the capacity of the participants as this fosters social inclusion where the previously denied and neglected black South Africans now have ample opportunities to participate.

Over and above this, Sakhuja (2015: 37–40) elaborates on the extent, benefits and usefulness of the ocean and its environment by asserting that

the oceans cover nearly 70 per cent of earth surface and possess enormous potential to support human activity. Nearly 90 per cent of trade by volume, and 70 per cent by value is transported over the seas. The oceans are rich in living and non-living resources: about 30 per cent of the supply of hydrocarbons sourced from the oceans and seas can generate wind, wave, tidal, thermal and biomass energy. Also, oceans are a major supply of food and an avenue of livelihood such that a number of industries such as fishery, tourism, ports, shipping, and ship building are dependent on the ocean and its resources it. At another level, nearly 60 per cent of the global population lives within 100 kilometres of the coast, and oceans contribute through resources and augment the services sector. These indicators are good examples of the economic value of the seas whose potential has, in recent times, come to be labelled as the ocean.

Ocean tourism is one of the major contributors to socio-economic growth and development. Duncan (2016) asserts that

coastal tourism contributes R26bn to the GDP while eco-tourism, which is also known as a sustainable tourism. It seeks to make the tourist understand the plight of the people in the local destination area and show how the tourists can help to improve the quality of life of the people in the coastal areas. It contributes R2bn.

Direct coastal resources of all types contribute 35% of the annual GDP in South Africa (Duncan, 2016). This is extensive and generates data which needs to be improved and strengthened for the purpose of continuously addressing the triple burden of unemployment, poverty and inequality in South Africa. Similarly, tourism around the ocean environment is a major business, generating entrepreneurial activity which contributes to the social and socio-economic upliftment and well-being of the people who live around the coastal areas (Soomere and Quak, 2013).

Impediments to the ocean economy and environment

Pollution, through the dumping of various harmful substances into the ocean and the ocean environments, is a major impediment to the ocean economy, considering the fact that the ocean is a habitat for different marine and ocean animals which are useful resources, and therefore the ocean needs to be kept clean at all times for the inhabitants to live and thrive (Daoji and Daler, 2004: 107–113).

According to Newman (2017), ‘about 80–100% of pollution in coastal and marine environment is from land-based sources’. Similarly, anti-fouling coatings and anti-fouling chemicals such as copper and Irgarol are usually dumped into coastal waters, due largely to large number of vessels that use South Africa’s ports or pass through South African waters on a daily basis (Newman, 2017). According to Daoji and Daler (2004: 107–113), ‘pollutants constitute a threat to coastal and marine ecosystems as well as to the health of coastal inhabitants by limiting phytoplankton fishery yields, and nonreversible changes in ecosystem health’. Typical examples of these are ‘disturbances and removal of benthic organisms, damage to spawning areas for fish, alteration of the seabed, destabilisation of shallow banks and increased erosion’ (Eagleton et al., 2011).

Undoubtedly, aquaculture vocations and activities require and rely on clean water to thrive and produce good crops and food (Silver et al., 2015). However, it has been reported that aquaculture facilities which involve the farming of aquatic organisms, fishing, molluscs, crustaceans and aquatic plants are sources of pollutants themselves and, as such, they are a serious impediment to the ocean economy if they are located within the coastal environment (Lusher et al., 2017).

Similarly, some improper uses of natural resources and short-term economic objectives have resulted in severe environmental degradation where the health and well-being of coastal populations are threatened, and they are also impacting directly on the state of the marine environment (Daoji and Daler, 2004). Obviously, these are ‘threats to the environment and natural resources, coupled with poor management and as such, have serious implications for both poverty reduction and sustainable economic development’ (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 2009).

Moreover, the advent and development of agriculture and industry have enabled the spread of pollutants to the ocean, even down to the bottom sediments in its deepest chasms (Daoji and Daler, 2004). According to a Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO, 2019) report, ‘agriculture, which accounts for 70 percent of water withdrawals worldwide, plays a major role in water pollution. Farms discharge large quantities of agrochemicals, organic matter, drug residues, sediments and saline drainage into water bodies.’ Similarly, ‘in most high-income countries and many emerging economies, agricultural pollution has overtaken contamination from settlements and industries as the main factor in the degradation of inland and coastal waters’ (FAO, 2019). The FAO (2019) report also revealed that

nitrate from agriculture is now the most common chemical contaminant in the world’s groundwater aquifers. Aquatic ecosystems are affected by agricultural pollution; for example, eutrophication caused by the accumulation of nutrients in lakes and coastal waters impacts on biodiversity and fisheries.

This dangerous pollution poses serious risks to ‘aquatic ecosystems, human health and productive activities. For example, high levels of nitrates in water can cause “blue baby syndrome,” a potentially fatal illness in infants’ (FAO, 2019).

The sea’s surface is important to the marine and the coastal environment as it offers routes for ship transportation; the concern is that this mode of transportation poses danger to the marine environment and ecosystems as there are many pollutants from ships which are making the sea vulnerable (Ng and Song, 2010: 301–311 ). Therefore, there is a need to continue to improve on various interventions that seek to protect and strengthen the ocean resources and its environment in order to continue to sustain the ocean economy (Katsanevakis and Stelzenmuller, 2011: 807–820).

Achieving sustainable ocean protection is imperative because of the enormous benefits that are derived from the ocean (Paixão, and Marlow, 2002). This is supported by international intervention efforts such as the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development which was held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, and Agenda 21 where the importance of the role and status of coastal resources and the ecosystems, and the need to improve their protection and to develop more sustainable methods of using the ocean resources were discussed.

Synthesis

Operation Phakisa is a replica of the Big Fast Results Methodology that was first designed and successfully applied by the Malaysian government in the delivery of its economic transformation programme and, as such, was fully embraced and adopted by South Africa. The operation mainly focuses on unlocking the economic potential of South Africa’s oceans, considering that for there to be a world-wide long-term development, this can no longer be based on land resources only; and any developmental programme must also include the coast and the ocean resources. It is pertinent to point out that South Africa is well endowed and uniquely bordered by oceans on three sides, namely in the east, south and west. In addition, there are also the Prince Edward and Marion Islands in the Southern Ocean, and the coastline is approximately 3924 km long. However, these vast ocean spaces are relatively unexplored in terms of their economic potential, resources and wealth. The priority sectors identified by the government are essentially strategic, to drive the ocean economy, which would foster entrepreneurships, job creation, reduced unemployment and poverty alleviation. In order to address impediments to the operation, ocean protection services coupled with strong ocean governance would ensure that stakeholders put in place an incremental and integrated approach to planning, monitoring and execution of ocean governance and enforcement in order to keep the ocean and the ocean environment clean and sustainable. This is important in order to continuously balance the economic opportunities which the ocean space affords, while at the same time maintaining its environmental integrity. Ensuring a sustainable ocean economy entails protection, preservation and conservation of the ocean space so as to protect endangered ecosystems and species; and so it is critically important to ensure that adequately skilled and competent people are allowed to champion all the key priority sectors.

Conclusion

With a strong political will that would enable the full implementation of the Operation Phakisa initiative, South Africa is set to become a leading hub of ocean economic activity. The government announcement in October 2014 that it would be implementing the unlocking of the ocean economy by using Operation Phakisa, which is expected to contribute immensely to the country’s GDP, is good news for all. This is especially so, considering the current precarious economic crisis and the level of high unemployment in South Africa. Operation Phakisa seeks to unlock the ocean economy with the aim of fast-tracking transformation in identified priority areas, namely marine transport and manufacturing, offshore oil and gas exploration, and aquaculture, as well as marine protection services and ocean governance. The overall focus of Operation Phakisa is to promote economic growth and job creation. The coastal environment and ports have always been at the forefront of the ocean economic activities and are catalysts for economic growth through the trade of manufactured goods, commodities and raw materials. Foods sourced from the ocean are a source of protein, and many individuals rely on them on a daily basis. But for these ocean food sources to thrive, environmental sustainability is required, which means that the ocean has to be protected from pollutants and other hazardous substances. Therefore, it is imperative to intensify the development of the South African ocean economy by implementing Operation Phakisa.

Footnotes

Declaration of conflicting interests

The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author received no financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iD

Kola Sola Odeku

Author biography

Kola Sola Odeku holds the degrees of Doctor of Laws (LLD) from University of Fort Hare, South Africa; Master of Laws (LLM) from University of Lagos, Nigeria; Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from Lagos State University, Nigeria and Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from University of Lagos. Odeku, a fervent believer in the educational transformation agenda of the South African Government is preoccupied with capacity building by providing ample teaching to law students and also supervision for the M’s and D’s students and candidates respectively. Research focus areas are development law, socio-legal studies and human rights. Odeku, is crossing and going beyond boundaries of intellectualisms and scholarships by engaging in cross-cutting and trans-disciplinary research activities which are producing insightful new-knowledge. Against the backdrop of this positive feat, numerous peer-reviewed scholarly articles have been successfully published in national and international journals.

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