 |
| The Marine and Coastal Component of EARP |
|
|
More than half a million people in the region depend on Indian Ocean marine resources for food security, to support their livelihoods and to generate foreign exchange from fish exports and tourism. However, this resource is under immense pressure and the biodiversity of the marine and coastal areas is severely threatened. Main threats include: over-exploitation, pollution from both land and marine sources, unregulated construction and development, unregulated tourism, introduction of alien species and climate change - coral bleaching and rising sea levels.
In order to address these threats and to promote the sustainable and equitable use of marine resources, IUCN assists members and partners in the Eastern Africa Region with capacity building, provision of technical advice, dissemination of lessons learned and sharing of knowledge.
Protecting marine biodiversity: The marine environment of the Western Indian Ocean is home to over 11,000 plants and animals, of which nearly 15% are endemic to the region. Numerous species, such as marine turtles and dugongs, are considered to be threatened. Marine Protected Areas are key for ensuring the survival of marine biodiversity but establishment and management of such areas must be carried out in such a way that the needs of all those who use and depend on the ocean are taken into account. Our approach is to involve all stakeholders in the management of these areas, thus ensuring the equitable sharing of the benefits. A recently completed project, the Kisite Marine Park in Kenya, demonstrates how local communities may benefit from marine protected areas. The formal project may be completed but progress continues to this day. On-going projects include support Tanzania's newly established Mnazi Bay-Ruvuma Estuary Marine Park and Moheli Marine Park in the Comores.Marine Protected Areas in the region have limited resources at their disposal and it is critical that these areas are managed in the most efficient manner possible. In response, we are assisting with the production of a 'toolkit' to help managers find the resource information they need. We also work in collaboration with the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas to introduce the concept of 'assessment of management effectiveness'. See the
Food for free - or sustainable fisheries? Marine fish populations, perhaps the last "wild harvest", are rapidly declining in numbers. Remarkably little is known about stocks in the Western Indian Ocean. Funding from NORAD and WWF, is making it possible for us to spearhead an assessment of inshore fisheries. Sustainable management of marine fisheries requires participation by all stakeholders including fishing communities, the fishing industry and enforcement agencies. We work with The Tanga Coastal Zone Management and Development Programme to demonstrate how collaborative fisheries management programmes may best be developed and implemented. Similar activities are now being initiated at sites in the Comores as well as Mnazi Bay in Southern Tanzania.
 |
Resolving conflict over marine resources: The world's oceans have traditionally been 'open access' - used and abused by everyone. As growing numbers of people turn to the ocean for their livelihoods, conflicts increase. IUCN supports projects on Kenya's coast such as the Diani Project which demonstrates how such conflict may be reduced.
Island issues - isolation and invasives: Islands are special cases in the marine and coastal environment - often with very high levels of biodiversity and endemic species but faced with immense pressure from human activities. Special attention is given to biodiversity conservation in Small Island Developing States (SIDS), such as the Seychelles, where IUCN has been managing a fund established to support a series of practical biodiversity conservation projects. In the Comores, IUCN assists with the implementation of a GEF funded biodiversity conservation project.
Shared waters, shared resources: As the Kiswahili saying goes, 'Bahari haina mipaka' - the ocean has no borders. Animals and plants move freely in its waters, nutrients and pollutants are dispersed widely, and humans traverse it freely in search of its bounty. Regional and trans-boundary co-operation is thus vitally important in the marine environment. IUCN supports the framework for co-operation in the Western Indian Ocean, the Convention for the Protection, Management and Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment of the Eastern African Region or the "Nairobi Convention". IUCN-EARO provides support for the implementation of the Convention through our assistance to countries on national marine and coastal projects and through its regional work, funded by NORAD, WWF, UNEP/ICRAN and the Coastal Zone Management Centre of the Netherlands.
|
