Resources
Major tourism impact in the physical alteration and destruction of habitats is mostly due to the tourism operation, rather than building of tourism infrastructures. The major degrading tourism activities are building in sand dunes and in mangrove swamps, and driving in coastal dunes. The major areas affected by tourism are the southern part of Mozambique, in the parabolic dune environment. Mangrove destruction is mostly due to urban expansion.
The United Nations Environment Programme as the Secretariat of the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities (GPA) established the GPA Coordination Office in The Hague, The Netherlands after the adoption of the GPA in Washington D.C. in 1995.
When most people try to visualize the “Sea” they envisage large marine expanses, and their underwater ecosystems. Until recently, the Sea Around Us project (SAUP) was way offshore, too. Yet, the sea also includes the coast – where the land meets the sea and where one finds some of the world’s most productive marine areas such as reefs, mangroves and seagrass beds. Coastal areas are of great importance to fisheries, not to mention tourism, aquaculture, transportation and gas and oil.
This report presents an assessment of the social and economic importance of three priority activities contributing to physical alteration and destruction of habitats (PADH) within the coastal and marine environments on the well-being of countries in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) region. These activities include:
Tanzania has over 800 km of coastline, characterised by a mixture of beautiful sandy beaches, rocky outcrops, extensive coral reefs, and dense mangrove stands, especially around river deltas. Among the more famous of these natural resources are the beaches of Bagamoyo, the Jozani Forest Reserve, the coral reefs of Mafia, Zanzibar and Pemba, and the Amboni Caves. These coastal ecosystems support a wide variety of marine life.
Tanzania has over 800 km of coastline, characterised by a mixture of beautiful sandy beaches, rocky outcrops, extensive coral reefs, and dense mangrove stands, especially around river deltas. Among the more famous of these natural resources are the beaches of Bagamoyo, the Jozani Forest Reserve, the coral reefs of Mafia, Zanzibar and Pemba, and the Amboni Caves. These coastal ecosystems support a wide variety of marine life.
The economic and socio-political interactions between countries can have major impacts on transboundary conservation decisions and outcomes. Here, we examined for 14 Western Indian Ocean (WIO) continental and island nations the extent of their marine coral reef species, fisheries and marine protected areas (MPAs), in the context of their geopolitical and socio-economic connections. We also examined the role of external countries and organisations in collaboration within the region.
Aim To describe, model and assess the relative importance of environmental and climatic factors likely influencing the regional distribution of coral cover and assemblages with contrasting life histories and susceptibilities to bleaching. Location We compiled the first comprehensive empirical dataset for coral communities in the south‐eastern Indian Ocean (SEIO), incorporating information from 392 sites along the western coast of Australia and offshore atolls/islands across ~19° of latitude.
Women’s role in the fisheries sector
Kenya
Countries in the Western Indian Ocean are endowed with coastal and marine ecosystems rich in biodiversity and luxuriant resources that are important to the wellbeing of their people. However, these resources are under pressure from a variety of natural and man-made factors, including; resource overexploitation, pollution, unplanned coastal development and climate change. Marine litter is becoming a significant contributor to marine pollution in the World Oceans and Western Indian Ocean (WIO), is not exempt. Over 80% of marine pollution that constitute marine litter