The Addo Elephant National Park (AENP) is situated in the Eastern Cape adjacent to Algoa Bay and incorporates a diverse range of terrestrial habitats representing 5 terrestrial biomes. The Woody Cape Nature Reserve and the Bird and St Croix islands have also been incorporated into the AENP more recently providing some protection to marine and coastal habitats. Despite the inclusion of these areas, marine habitats in the Eastern Cape, and the South African coastline, are poorly represented in existing marine protected areas. Previous attempts to proclaim new MPAs in Algoa Bay were rejected due to a general lack data with which to demonstrate the conservation benefits for biodiversity and the resultant socio-economic and opportunity costs to resource users.

The South African National Parks (SANParks) received funding from the World Bank and French Global Environment Facility to undertake surveys to obtain baseline biophysical, ecological and socio-economic data in order to undertake a transparent and defensible marine spatial planning assessment and develop a conservation plan.

Russell was contracted over a six year period to undertake the baseline surveys, analyse data and develop a conservation plan using systematic planning approaches. The project involved the following: