Moving towards a sustainable blue economy in the Western Indian Ocean

Project description

Title: Western Indian Ocean Governance Initiative (WIOGI)
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)​​​​​​​
Country: Eastern and Southern Africa; pilot country Mozambique​​​​​​​
Lead executing agency: Secretariat of the Nairobi Convention, hosted by UNEP
Overall term: 2020 to 2024

Context

The ecosystems of the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) are critical for food security and economic development in 10 states in eastern and southern Africa. Over 60 million people rely directly on this biodiversity hotspot, which is under threat from climate change and unsustainable human activities. 

The Nairobi Convention (NC) was established as a legal framework and coordinating mechanism for the countries to bolster and coordinate protection of the region’s biodiversity. However, fostering collaboration between diverse actors is challenging, particularly the private sector and civil society. 

The project aims to improve cooperation amongst regional and local actors for good ocean governance and a sustainable blue economy.

Objective

The project is improving cooperation between the relevant regional and local actors to achieve better ocean governance and a sustainable blue economy in the WIO region.

Approach

The Western Indian Ocean Governance Initiative

  • Improves regional policy dialogue by supporting stakeholders in co-creating a Regional Ocean Governance Strategy and an Information Management Strategy, with collaboration frameworks to better manage WIO’s oceans and coastlines. 
  • Enhances the collaboration between actors in the region, including the private sector, through Our Blue Future (OBF). OBF is a multi-stakeholder initiative for an inclusive and sustainable blue economy in the Western Indian Ocean region. It fosters a diverse network of impact-oriented partnerships, projects, and champions. 
  • Develops multi-stakeholder partnerships to protect marine and coastal resources and sustainable blue economy approaches in Mozambique. WIOGI supports companies, government entities and civil society partners to protect the environment while improving local governance and livelihoods. 

Last update: Juni 2022