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Marine Spatial Planning as a Tool for Management in the Western Indian Ocean

GEF/UN Environment Western Indian Ocean Land-based Sources

By IW:LEARN

October 31^st, 2018

As countries of Western Indian Ocean (WIO) region gain traction for increasing Gross Domestic Product (GDP) over the last 15 years, there is increasing levels of sectorial activities and diverse coastal zone users among different sectors such as fisheries, ports and shipping, oil and gas mining, tourism and urbanization growth among others. The rapid population growth and economic expansion have increased pressure on coastal resources thus reducing economically important fish stocks and cultural practices in addition to destroying the structural complexity of various marine communities across a rich range of habitats, species and trophic levels.

Different coastal and marine sectors have been managed individually resulting in lack of coordination in decisions affecting management of coastal and marine resources. It is important to apply a harmonized approach in the development of coastal areas and utilization of coastal and marine resources and space among all the competing needs and associated stakeholders.This will ensure effective management coupled with sustainable utilization of marine resources. Coordinated management of coastal and marine resources can be achieved through proper marine spatial planning (MSP) to accommodate all the stakeholders.

Recognizing the urge for systematic and inclusive spatial planning in the WIO region, the Contracting Parties[1]to the Nairobi Convention[2] have adopted decisions (e.g. decision CP8/10 and CP9/10) supporting development of capacity-building programmes on MSP as a tool for sustainable ocean/blue economies. Through the GEF-funded projects WIOSAP[3] and SAPPHIRE[4], Nairobi Convention is supporting the preparation of MSP for at least five key marine and coastal zones in selected participating countries in the region. In this endeavor, the Convention is working with partners to develop technical capacity to support implementation of MSP across the region.

A high-level workshop was held in Seychelles last year to sensitize Contracting Parties and partners on Area Based Planning tools including MSP in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction with technical support from Blue Solutions. In September 2018, Nairobi Convention and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO in partnership with the Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association (WIOMSA) organized a MSP training workshop in Mombasa attended by 40 participants representing Anglophone countries from the six Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs) in Africa. In October 2018, Nairobi Convention organized a second workshop on MSP as a joint initiative of the Department for Continental Shelf, Maritime Zones Administration and Exploration of Mauritius as host in partnership with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO and the Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association.

Forty-five senior government officers from agencies having a planning mandate from French-speaking African countries including Comoros, Madagascar, Democratic Republic of Congo and Ivory Coast, as well as Reunion Island/France, Seychelles and Mauritius participated in the workshop.The workshops provided a platform to examine MSP practices and allow participants to use their critical knowledge to formulate tailored-made MSP applications including governance frameworks, stakeholders engagement and spatial zoning to their respective maritime domain.

Marine Spatial Planning as a Tool for Management in the Western Indian Ocean

The Convention in collaboration with WIOMSA has also developed a strategy on Marine Spatial Planning for the WIO Blue Economy. Many countries in the region have made a lot of progress in the application of MSP, e.g. Mauritius and its Ocean Economy drive; Seychelles and its Blue Economy and MSP and Republic of South Africa’s Operation Phakisa.

The adoption and application of MSP in the WIO region by policy makers and managers will help in preventing and resolving conflicts between stakeholders within the coastal areas. Spatial planning will ensure that biodiversity conservation objectives are incorporated in coastal development decision-making thus promoting sustainable management of coastal and marine environments. The WIOSAP and SAPPHIREprojects will work with contracting parties to mainstream MSP into policy decision making and support on ground demonstration of MSP in selected sites across the region.

For more information, please contact Jared Bosire on jared.bosire@un.org and visit iwlearn.net/iw-projects/4940.

[1] Convention’s contacting parties include: Comoros, France, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Somalia, Tanzania and South Africa.

[2] Convention for the Development, Protection, Management and Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment of the Western Indian Ocean (in this article shortened to the Nairobi Convention)