Meeting Report for the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) Regional Ocean Governance Workshop

In August, the Ninth Conference of Parties to the Nairobi Convention adopted Decision CP.9/6 on Ocean Governance, urging parties to work with regional bodies to implement AMCEN’s Cairo Declaration, the 2050 Africa Integrated Maritime Strategy, and the provisions of Agenda 2063 on ecosystem-based management approaches. The decision also requested the Secretariat to contribute to the development of an African strategy on ocean governance. In recognition of the importance of proper management of coastal and marine resources, the Nairobi Convention organized the workshop on Ocean Governance for the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) region on 04-05 September 2019. The workshop follows a Special Session on Ocean Governance in the Western Indian Ocean Region, organized by the Nairobi Convention and other partners in July 2019 in Mauritius, at which participants outlined several priorities, challenges, and recommendations for the development of a regional ocean governance strategy. The workshop incorporated the outputs from the Special Session and work towards an Ocean Governance Strategy for the WIO region, which will act as a strategic document to guide countries in their development agenda. The workshop brought together senior policy makers/ decision makers and marine and coastal ecosystem experts.

The specific objectives of the workshop were to:

1. Discuss the structure and objectives of the ocean governance strategy for the WIO region and ensure alignment with national regional priorities
2. Align the development of the WIO ocean governance strategy with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the ongoing global discussions on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ), the ocean dimension of the Paris agreement, the UN Decade for Ocean Science and other global ocean governance initiatives.
3. Identify the different governance needs among the WIO countries and priorities of the region
4. Discuss the message to be presented at the Marine Regions Forum[1] in Berlin in September, as well as the Ocean Conference in Lisbon in 2020, as an example of how regions are working to deal with the complexities of ocean governance
5. Discuss a mechanism to contribute to the ocean governance discussion at the continental level in the African Union (AU)

The expected outcomes of the workshop were to develop:

1. Overview of stakeholders and actors involved in the development of the WIO ocean governance strategy
2. List of ocean governance needs and priorities of the region
3. Agreement on the structure of the ocean governance strategy for the WIO region
4. A background paper on ocean governance to be prepared and presented at the Marine Regional Forum in Berlin in September and the 2020 Ocean Conference in Lisbon
5. A mechanism for contributing to the African Ocean Governance Strategy.