1. Benguela Current Commission Experience by Hashali Hamukuaya Executive Secretary The 3 rd African Regional Targeted Workshop for GEF IW Projects Grahamstown, South Africa Rhodes University 7- 9 May 2014

2. The Benguela Region Before 1994 Legacy of colonial past; apartheid South Africa; liberation struggles; civil war in Angola; Overexploitation of fish stocks (foreign vessels); No regional cooperation among the countries and within marine sectors; Lack of transparency and/or stakeholder consultations within marine sectors.

3. New Era: South-South Cooperation With the support of UNDP, the three countries prepared a PIF for integrated management of the BCLME TDA and SAP: 1997-2000 BCLME Programme: 2002-2008 UNDP – Implementing Agency GEF: US$ 15,000,000.00 In-kind: US$ 18,000,000.00 GOAL: Integrated management, sustainable use and protection of the BCLME

4. 1.Decline in BCLME commercial fish stocks and over harvesting of living resources; 2.Highly variable marine environment and uncertainty regarding ecosystem status; 3.Deterioration in water quality; 4.Habitat destruction and alteration; 5.Loss of biotic integrity and threat to biodiversity; and 6.Inadequate capacity (human resources, knowledge and skills, financial, technological). Regional development challenges and major environmental problems

5. From Sectorial Approach to Multi-sectorial Ecosystem-based Management: A Paradigm Shift Fisheries Environment Petroleum Transport Fisheries and Marine Resources Environment and Tourism Mines and Energy Works and Transport Water and Environmental Affairs Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minerals Transport

6. Agreed Governance Principles Sustainable development Anticipatory action Transparency and public participation Partnerships and co-financing with industry and donors

7. Fish Resources and Fisheries Sustainable management and use of LMRs Annual swept-area surveys of shared fish stocks State-of-art stock assessments Stock assessment working groups Assessments of climate variability on the resources Provision of best available scientific advice

8. Pollution & Ecosy Health Maintenance of ecosystem health and protection of biodiversity Accession to the Abidjan Conv under consideration In collaboration with IMO, oil spills contingency plans; OSRA and sensitivity mapping in place / undertaken Spatial biodiversity assessment (e.g below) HABs monitoring programmes Marine spatial planning & EBSA (Germany: 2014-2020)

9. Productivity Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) Programme Real-time environ monitoring stations

10. Socio-economics Socio-economic surveys and review of institutional arrangements Enhance climate change resilience in the BC fisheries (FAO/GEF:2015-2020)

11. Governance Instruments: SAP (2000) Interim Agreement (2007) BCC Convention signed (2013) HR, Finance, Procurement, Data and Information, TCB SAP (2015-2019) Convention development process: Strong political will; Ownership Spirit of cooperation; Flexibility in negotiation Catalytic support from GEF and other development partners Drawing from best practices and modern instruments Available competence from all countries drove the process Ministerial Conferece Mianagement Board / Commission Commission EACEAC SecretariatSecretariat

12. Key challenges Competition for domestic resources (e.g. HIV, floods, droughts); Highly dynamic marine environment compounded with climate variability; Conflicts among sectors (e.g. tuna vs oil; fish vs mining) Growing demands for food security and jobs creation; and Adequate resources to sustain the south-south cooperation.

13. Opportunities: -- Sustained trust among the Member States; -- Strong political will and leadership for south- south collaboration; -- Strong support from development partners (led by the UNDP/GEF, Norway); -- Available domestic resources to support multi- sectoral ocean governance and sustainable development (e.g Members support Secretariat operations and Personnel) -- Realizing the inclusive and sustainable development in the BCLME region through the BCC Convention Implementation (UNDP/GEF: 2016- 2020) -- Willingness by private sector to be involved (BCC Business Leardership Forum)

14. In closing: The success in institutional, legal and policy reforms made possible by catalytic support from GEF and other partners A foundation for science to governance in place However, a framework for sustainability beyond GEF’s intervention remains a challenge. Suggestions would be appreciated in this regards.