Claiming the blue: An exploration of expanding ocean uses and conflict in South Africa's changing ocean space

In response to declining resources on land and advances in technology, the ocean has undergone a fundamental change in the last 50 years marked by the accelerated growth of novel ocean claims. This shift not only produces cumulative environmental impacts, but also establishes new interactions between claims competing for space, materials, and food. This thesis seeks to examine the implications of ocean claim growth in South Africa, a country characterized by high biodiversity, rich marine resources, and a dynamic, rapidly growing ocean economy. Using an exploratory, mixed-methods approach, this study examines temporal and spatial dynamics of diverse ocean claims, develops a marine conflict dataset using court cases, and compiles interview data to identify key sectoral interactions and core challenges that emerge within this increasingly contested marine space. In doing so, this study compiles several novel datasets that explore the linkages between cross-sector interactions and marine conflict, offering insights that can inform marine spatial planning. Results indicate that many ocean claims in South Africa have been marked by unprecedented temporal and spatial growth during the last 10 years, particularly for oil and gas activity as well as marine protected areas. This expansion has been accompanied by court-case conflicts characterized by increasingly diverse ocean sectors. Interview results show that these expanding ocean claims have generated complex cross-sector interactions that are mediated by the marine environment and through political and legal avenues. Critical challenges arising from the expansion of ocean claims are identified including equity concerns, siloed governance structures, and cumulative environmental impacts. Building on these findings, this thesis discusses key avenues and management strategies to support a more sustainable and equitable ocean future.