Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem Programme (BCLME)

The BCLME Programme is designed to improve the structures and capacities of Namibia, Angola and South Africa to deal with the environmental problems that occur across the national boundaries, in order that the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem may be managed as a whole.

These transboundary issues include the migration or straddling of valuable fish stocks across national boundaries, the introduction of invasive alien species via the ballast water of ships moving through the region, and pollutants or harmful algal blooms that can be advected by winds and currents from the waters of one country into another.

The BCLME Programme focuses on a number of key areas, including fisheries, environmental variability, seabed mining, oil and gas exploration and production, coastal zone management, ecosystem health, socio-economics and governance. The area of interest is the region extending from the northern border of Angola (Cabinda Province) to Port Elizabeth on the southeast coast of South Africa. The east-west boundary extends from the high water mark out to the edge of the 200 mile Exclusive Economic Zone and further seaward in the region of the Angola-Benguela front.