The Burning Issue section provides space for summarising knowledge about “burning” or emerging issues relevant to the coastal areas of the BCLME. If you are looking for information or want to enhance your knowledge about a specific topic, this is a good starting point that will direct you to useful documents, photos, discussions and web links.

New issues are regularly added and updated on DLIST, opening doors for discussion, further development and better management of knowledge. You can contribute to existing issues or suggest the creation of new ones by writing to the DLIST Team .

Property Development along the Coast Recently South Africa’s West Coast has experienced an increase in property development that has sparked off hot debate amongst the environmental community. While there is no doubt that a country wide boom in the sale and development of property has played a strong role, the un-spoilt, often empty beaches of the West Coast have offered additional incentive for investment. It is significant that proposed and existing property developments here have predominantly taken the form of holiday homes, resorts and golf courses. [ read more ]		Sustainable Energy As the world population grows and nations become more industrialised, energy demand increases. Energy is considered a basic human need and much of what we take for granted in our everyday lives is dependent on it. But how are we going to cope with this increasing need without exhausting the Earth’s resources? Does the answer lie in switching to more environmentally-friendly sources of energy? Do we need to use energy more efficiently? [ read more ]
Marine Litter Our coast is precious for all—those that live by the sea and depend on coastal and marine resources for their subsistence, and those that visit beaches in their leisure time. Litter originating from the sea and the land, however, threatens the health of the coast and therefore ours as well. In this Burning Issue you can read about the sources and impacts of marine litter, and the laws and programmes that exist in Angola, Namibia and South Africa to deal with the problem. Find out also what students in Angola and Namibia and the BCLME Programme have been doing to clean the coast. [ read more ]		Coastal Tourism “If we are to survive economically we all have to start caring about this precious coastline, appreciate its peacefulness and beauty and maintain it well. We have to do this if we are to reap the benefits, jobs, economic upliftment that ecotourism can bring.“ Read what DLIST users are discussing about coastal tourism—we have gathered ideas and concrete examples from these discussions and, together with the DLIST community, built a pool of information and material relating to impacts from coastal tourism and approaches to minimise them. [ read more ]
Funding During a recent DLIST workshop in Walvis Bay, it became very clear that most organisations along the coast have a concern in common - the need to secure funding. With the help of DLIST members, our team has collected information about funding sources targeted at environment/sustainable development work in the region. [ read more ]		Indigenous Knowledge Folk knowledge, traditional wisdom or indigenous knowledge... the knowledge acquired over generations by communities as they interact with their environment is often the basis for local-level decision making in areas such as agriculture, health care and natural resource management. But why are we losing our traditional practices and how can we rediscover them? [ read more ]
Aquaculture Many people see aquaculture, the farming of marine life, as the solution to both the heavy decline of fishing stocks and food insecurity. Aquaculture, especially mariculture, has developed into a diverse global industry. In this Burning Issue, you can read about aquaculture, the economic opportunities that exist for coastal communities, the different methods of aquaculture, and current state of aquaculture in Angola, Namibia and in South Africa. [read more]		Student Funding The countries of Angola, Namibia and South Africa are endowed with some of the finest universities and colleges on the African continent, but the question people ask is, Can the youth afford tertiary education? DLIST recognizes that there are many of you who have overlooked the opportunity to further your studies because of the lack of financial resources and the lack of readily available information on how to access the necessary funding. Here, DLIST provides you with information and ideas on how you can raise the financial resources you will need to finance your studies in South Africa and Namibia. [Read More]