The Kunene River Mouth (KRM) is one of only two river mouths in Namibia. The Kunene river and river mouth is bisected by the international border between Namibia and Angola, and lies between two protected areas, Iona National Park in Angola and Skeleton Coast Park in Namibia. The governments of Namibia and Angola have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to link these two parks as a transfrontier park. This study further proposes a transfrontier Marine Protected Area to protect the marine environment surrounding the KRM and the Angola Benguela Front. The KRM is a fluvially dominated freshwater river mouth. The area is a biogeographically important biodiversity hotspot. The remoteness and pristine character contribute to the aesthetic appeal of the area. This study provides a profile of the KRM addressing its conservation value in terms of both biodiversity and aesthetic value, making use of the concept of “sense of place”. An analysis of all current and potential stakeholders is presented and their interests, activities and potential threats are evaluated. The main stakeholders are Government: the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, the Angolan Government, Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Namwater, Ministry of Mines and Energy, and the Kunene Regional Council. The private sector presently has a small stake in the area, with the exception of the Northern Namibia Development Corporation who is prospecting for diamonds at the KRM. Although the area has great tourism potential there is no tourism development currently underway or planned. The threat analysis suggests that the KRM is under severe threat from inappropriate development, both locally as well as within the catchment. Mining and prospecting were identified as the greatest threat, whereas tourism poses the least threat to the area. It is suggested that appropriate tourism is the most suitable development for this sensitive area. There is currently no coherent management strategy in place for the KRM. The current environmental legislation is ineffective. The need for a stringent adaptive management regime is identified and management goals for the area are suggested. It is further suggested that the concepts of “Thresholds of Potential Concern” and “Limits of Acceptable Change” are useful to monitor indicators for biophysical components and development activities respectively and to maintain a “Desired State” for the area. This “Desired State” must be the result of a participatory process. To be effective stakeholders must reach consensus on the “Desired State”. An eight step participatory process is proposed to develop and implement an adaptive management and development strategy for the KRM. / Thesis (M.Env.Dev.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.

Human-induced impacts associated with recreational use in wilderness areas have the potential to imperil the wilderness resource and the quality of visitor experiences. One approach to address this problem is the Limits of Acceptable Change System, which helps Protected-area managers determine acceptable levels of resource impacts and social conditions in wilderness areas. This study's objective was to determine the possible applicability of the Limits of Acceptable Change System to the overnight caves in the wilderness areas of the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park. Component A of the study discusses the ten steps of the Limits of Acceptable Change system and the management approaches for the wilderness areas and overnight caves in the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park. A product of Component A is a procedure manual for inventorying indicators of resource conditions in the overnight caves. During a brief period of field research this procedure manual was applied to four overnight caves in the Mlambonja Wilderness area. Component B of the study summarizes much of the information found in Component A and examines the results from the field research. Recommendations are made to improve the effectiveness of measuring the resource indicators for the overnight caves in the procedure manual. This study's conclusions indicate that the Limits of Acceptable Change System can be applied to the overnight caves and would provide a valid management framework to address visitor impacts / Thesis (M.Env.Dev.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2004.