Improving Marine Governance in East Africa
In PictureRoundtable event hosted by ICCF Kenya on marine governance.
The Western Indian Ocean Large Marine Ecosystem (WIO) and Strategic Action Program (SAP)
The Western Indian Ocean connects the following countries: Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, South Africa and the island states of Mauritius, Comoros, Seychelles, Madagascar and Réunion.
The major conservation issues plaguing this transboundary marine area include climate change adaptation and mitigation, critical habitat degradation, overexploitation and loss of marine biodiversity, and land-based marine pollution.
The project supports the Strategic Action Programme (WIO-SAP) by focusing on improving transboundary marine governance to protect, restore and manage Critical Coastal Habitats, with a specific focus on support for MSP processes, critical ecosystem conservation, and Marine Protected Area (MPA) and Transboundary Conservation Area (TBCA) support.
The Project in Kenya, Mozambique, and Tanzania
The project works with existing Conservation Caucuses in Kenya, Mozambique, and Tanzania on priority blue economy issues of:
- Marine Protected Area management, including transboundary conservation areas
- Mangrove conservation and restoration, and;
- Sustainable blue carbon implementation.
The project is focusing on capacity building activities that engage legislators with stakeholders on policy gaps for the implementation of national and regional goals, and supporting ongoing initiatives in the region through legislative engagement on needed policy action. Key challenges identified by stakeholders in each country have focused on the need for greater collaboration within government to streamline blue economy implementation, which can be fragmented and siloed in different agencies, so a major focus of all activities is the collaboration of the inter-agency.
Project Partners in the Western Indian Ocean
The Nairobi Convention Secretariat
WIOMSA (Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association)
KMFRI (Kenya Marine Fisheries Research Institute)
The Commonwealth Secretariat
Kenya Forest Service
Kenya Wildlife Service
Tanzania’s Marine Parks and Reserves Unit (MPRU)
CORDIO
Regional Headquarters