Goal: Improve the management of 190,000 km² of ocean and strengthen the region’s foundations for community-led ocean conservation

To support the region in attaining its marine conservation goals, the Blue Nature Alliance is collaborating with the Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association (WIOMSA), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and a number of technical partners. Through these partnerships, we seek to address acute local challenges such as food security and sustainable livelihoods together with a regional sustainable ocean conservation strategy.

The coastal and marine habitats of the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) support rich and complex populations of marine species. This region generates about 4.8% of the global fish catch, equivalent to about 4.5 million tons of fish per year.

The WIO region’s population is estimated to be approximately 220 million people, over 60 million of whom live within 100 km of the shoreline. Community fisheries are vital for food security and livelihoods in the region, but they are being significantly impacted by illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, both near and offshore.

Countries in the Western Indian Ocean cooperate on coastal and marine management via the legally binding Nairobi Convention, a partnership framework for governments, civil society, and the private sector. The region aims to improve the management effectiveness of existing marine protected areas (MPAs) and explore the declaration of Locally Managed Marine Areas (LMMAs) to increase the coverage of critical ecosystems. This will enable the restoration of fish stocks and the regeneration of ecosystem health – securing the integrity of vital seascapes. Thriving biodiversity and improving ecosystem health can unlock blue economy development potential inclusive of enhanced direct benefits to coastal communities.

With acute challenges related to food security, poverty, and illegal fishing in this region, a community-driven ocean conservation strategy is an optimal way to make meaningful advancements towards ocean conservation in the WIO.

During this four-year partnership, the Alliance will work with the governments and communities of the WIO region through WIOMSA and IUCN to (1) accelerate the development of enabling and catalytic conditions at the regional level, (2) build capacity across stakeholders, including government managers and technicians, to enable support community-driven conservation, and (3) ensure that Indigenous peoples and local communities are equipped with the knowledge and means to drive sustainable and regenerative blue economic development.

Ultimately, this initiative will support a new kind of conservation where local stakeholders are at the heart of planning and implementation. Together, we seek to generate lasting and transformational impacts for the people and nature that call the Western Indian Ocean region home.

Without good management, marine protected areas are just lines on a map. In East Africa, the Alliance is supporting a training and certification program called the Western Indian Ocean Certification of Marine Protected Area Professionals (WIO-COMPAS). WIO-COMPAS is a voluntary certification program designed to ensure practitioners meet the highest standards in effective marine protected area management. At the last WIO-COMPAS event in 2023, 15 candidates were assessed and certified as ‘MPA PROs’, bringing the number of certified professionals in the region to 130. The event was also the first to achieve complete gender equity among participants, and female candidates claimed the four highest scores in the certification process. 

To manage the WIO’s growing network of MPAs and locally managed marine areas (LMMAs), stronger regional collaboration is required to streamline the various interventions aimed at increasing management effectiveness, including those carried out at the regional, national, and local levels. The Blue Nature Alliance helped strengthen the Western Indian Ocean Marine Protected Areas Management Network (WIOMPAN). The WIOMPAN is a network of MPA practitioners in the Western Indian Ocean region, including Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, South Africa, Comoros, Seychelles, Mauritius, Somalia, Madagascar, and Reunion (France). Working with more than 140 MPAs and 300 LMMAs in the Western Indian Ocean region, WIOMPAN facilitates exchanges among MPA practitioners dealing with common issues in various local contexts. With the support from the Alliance and other partners, the network held its inaugural meeting in 2023, with over 100 participants in attendance from across the region.