Report of the Meeting of the Forum of Academic and Research Institutions in the Western Indian Ocean Region (FARI). Zanzibar, United Republic of Tanzania, 12-13 December 2017

The meeting of the Forum of Academic and Research Institutions in the Western Indian Ocean (FARI) was organized by the Secretariat of the Nairobi Convention in collaboration with the Western Indian Marine Science Association (WIOMSA). The meeting was organized pursuant to the Eighth Conference of Parties to the Nairobi Convention Decision CP 8/12 on establishment of a platform for Science to Policy Dialogue which urges the Contracting Parties to establish a dialogue platform to strengthen the links between science, policy and action, and to mandate the Forum of national Academic and Research Institutions (FARI) to act as the technical advisory body of the platform. The meeting was a follow-up to the one held on 13 April 2017 in Mauritius. In the Mauritius meeting, the role of FARI in implementation of the WIO-SAP (“Implementation of the Strategic Action Programme for the protection of the Western Indian Ocean from land based sources and activities”) and SAPPHIRE (“Western Indian Ocean Large Marine Ecosystem Strategic Action Programme Policy Harmonization and Institutional Reforms” projects were discussed. including promoting science to policy interface and accessing the support required in the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14 in the Western Indian Ocean region.