Project Duration: Long Term
View Access Routes on Map
In many countries minimum criteria for coastal access have been determined to ensure people's right of access. South Africa is no exception. The provision of coastal access is now a legal requirement in terms of the Integrated Coastal Management Act (No. 24 of 2008) and the Amendment Act (No. 36 of 2014) (Chapter 2, Section 18 in the consolidated Act). The Act stipulates that coastal municipalities are responsible for setting aside areas of land through which members of the public are able to access the coast and coastal public property. Municipalities within KZN are currently faced with the challenge of determining where public access is lacking, where public access is of poor quality, where coastal access routes are too dense and/or detrimental to the environment and where private routes are dominating.
The KZN coastline varies considerably from a pristine North Coast to a highly developed South Coast. Due to this variability the type and density of coastal access routes along the coast differs and consequently requires different management strategies. The first phase of this study aimed to define a proposed access route density index (PAD) considering various social, recreational and environmental indicators. This PAD index was based on the number of access routes required to provide sufficient access to coastal activities without exceeding the environment’s capacity to sustain such access. Seven indicators were used: activities (swimming beaches, fishing hotspots, subsistence fisheries and subsistence harvesting); coastal vulnerability index; protected and marine protected areas; altered land; built-up land; natural land and disturbed land. This geospatial tool aims to provide KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) coastal municipalities with the knowledge to support decision-making through improved understanding of coastal access localities and quality.
The second phase considered the current status of public access to the coast. Current access routes were captured by means of heads-up digitizing based on 2013 and 2015 aerial photographs using ArcGIS software. The routes were captured at a scale of 1:1000 and classified according to their location and various characteristics. The final phase defined a quality index of current coastal access which facilitated in defining priority areas that require urgent management attention. Current route densities for both formal and informal public access routes as well as private access routes were calculated for each grid; compared to the PAD; and indexed from which priority areas were identified for management: high, medium and low priority. For ease of management implementations, general recommendations were suggested for each priority class which could then be adapted for each grid upon an in depth review of its current status and accessibility.
Contribute to KZN's Coastal Access Database
If you are groundtruthing coastal access routes or would like to contribute any information regarding access routes please complete this survey form. Coastal Access Survey Form
The Story Map below is an interactive geo-spatial tool providing information on KZN's coastal access routes. Use the panel on the left to scroll through, or to view the Story Map in a new window click on the blue button below.
Coastal Access Story Map
Coastal Access Photos (28)
06 Jul 2017 - Banana Beach’s walkway is falling down: The walkway does not appear safe.
03 Jul 2017 - Resurfacing paves way for Bluff beach upgrade: The beaches are getting cleaned up at last.
19 Jun 2017 - Take up the beach walk challenge … get fit and enjoy the stunning scenery: All funds raised will be donated to the conservation groups.
05 Jun 2017 - Speed up Uvongo beach revamp please, say concerned ratepayers : The Uvongo Ratepayers’ and Residents’ Association is hoping to win back Uvongo’s Blue Flag.
17 Mar 2017 - Update: La Montagne fence fiasco continues: “We have agreed to cease construction for the moment – but we still intend to put up the fence”
14 Mar 2017 - Beaches closed as city counts cost of tidal wave damage: Durban beaches remain closed to the public while officials assess the cost of damage to infrastructure caused by high seas.
08 Nov 2016 - Slippery problem for Banana Beach in KZN: The walkway is slowly collapsing, and the bad news is that it won’t be fixed this season.
07 Nov 2016 - Repairs to Margate beach facilities expected soon: Councillor Dave Watson said the Olympic pool will also be repaired, and that a tender had been awarded to an engineering firm.
07 Nov 2016 - Improved beach access set for Durban: New retractable plastic mats, that would provide the physically challenged with access to the shores of the Durban beaches are on the cards.
29 Oct 2016 - Fishermen want access to piers after Durban drownings: The KZN Subsistence Fishermen’s Forum (KZNSFF) has asked the city to open the fishing piers off Durban’s beaches which were closed ahead of the 2010 World Cup.