Context: 

The marine and coastal environment provides valuable goods and services. In particular, continental shelves, coastal margins and estuaries are major fishing grounds; productive and diverse habitats such as mangroves, mudflats, sea-grass meadows and coral reefs provide coastal protection, food , shelter and safety for a great variety of organisms, including the fishes, crustaceans and molluscs which are of great ecological and commercial value. Some of the world’s most valuable coastal and marine ecosystems are found in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) region which unfortunately are also areas most vulnerable to the impacts of human activities.

Threats:

The health of the WIO marine and coastal environment is being jeopardized as a result of rapid population growth and associated intensification of human activities. The coastal zone of the WIO region is the site of most major cities, harbours, industries and other socio-economic infrastructure, which cause physical alteration and the destruction of critical habitats such as mangrove forests, seagrass beds and coral reefs. Furthermore, pollution from domestic, industrial and agricultural sources cause degradation of water and sediment quality, resulting in the loss and/or alteration of biological diversity, human health problems and a general reduction in fish stocks. Adequate responses to these environmental threats are hampered by a limited data and information base as well as inadequate institutional capacity and a legal and regulatory framework for the management and protection of the coastal and marine environment of the region.

Geographic focus:

The region encompasses two geographical sub-groupings: the continental and island states. The coastal region of the mainland states between Somalia and Mozambique is home to 25 million people. This represents 20% of the combined population of the mainland states on 12% of the land. Population trends indicate a doubling of population in about 25 years in the major coastal cities of Mombassa, Dar es Salaam, and Maputo, which are experiencing growth of 5.0%, 6.7% and 7.2% per annum, respectively.

Participating countries:

Four continental states Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and South Africa Four island states The Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius and Seychelles

Aims & Objectives:

This project proposal, Addressing land-based activities in the Western Indian Ocean has a primary concentration on some of the major environmental problems and issues of the region: degradation of the marine and coastal environment due to land-based activities.

The project focus on the Global Program for Action and OP 10 will result in the adoption and domestic resourcing of National Programmes of Action for abating land-based sources, as well as a regional GPA protocol for the existing Regional Environmental Convention (Nairobi Convention) with Annexes. This project is a direct follow-on to the African Process and the World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD), and addresses IW strategic priorities elucidated in the Draft IW support for WSSD decisions. The project focus on addressing major land-based activities in the region represents a strong partnership between the countries, the Norwegian government, UNEP, and the GEF. The project is designed to serve as a GPA demonstration project, as identified in OP 10 guidelines, to achieve three objectives.

Three objectives have been developed for this GEF project:

1) Reduce stress to the ecosystem by improving water and sediment quality;

2) Strengthen regional legal basis for preventing land-based sources of pollution through GPA; and

3) Develop regional capacity and strengthen institutions for sustainable, less polluting development.

A preliminary Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis and a preliminary Strategic Action Programme have been prepared, and these serve as the basis for preparation of this project proposal. The full GEF project will complete a geographically-specific TDA, a focused SAP with policy/ legal/ institutional reforms and needed investments for the transboundary problems and areas of important biomes in a state of decline, and specific NAPS with specific laws and investments included.

This project builds on the African Process through adoption of their methodology for identifying hot spots, addressing hot spots identified in the African Process, and addressing sensitive areas identified in this process. For countries not participating in the MSP for the African Process, the African Process methodology will be followed to identify hot spots and sensitive areas for demonstration projects. The project focus on broad stakeholder participation will help assure the sustainability of the GPA Plans of Action. This project also builds on the four other GEF IW activities in the pipeline that are in the region, representing a holistic approach. The private sector will be a focus for cooperation, as they also hold the key for long-term sustainability of actions.