Journal articles and Discussion papers
Coastal cities are dynamic, complex systems which need energy, water, food and other resources to function and support diverse activities. If managed properly cities have the potential to offer better socio-economic conditions and quality of life to residents as well as the wider nation within which they are situated. The integrated adaptive management and sustainable development of coastal cities is therefore essential.
The Western Indian Ocean contains 16% of the world’s coral reefs, and the region is now thought to host the second peak of coral reef biodiversity globally. Coral reef ecosystems underpin the economies of the countries in the region, particularly fisheries and tourism sectors, and provide livelihood opportunities and income for local communities.
The Northern Mozambique Channel (NMC) area is under the jurisdiction of Madagascar, Mozambique, Tanzania, France, Seychelles and the Comoros, covering an area of approximately 700,000 km2. It is among the world's richest regions for biodiversity. It serves as a biological reservoir for the entire Eastern African coast, in particular for coral reefs and associated ecosystems, and is an important breeding and foraging areas for flagship marine and migratory species.
The United Nations Agenda 2030 further enshrines the central role of the ocean for sustainable development through Goal 14 (SDG14), to "conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources ", to lift millions of people out of poverty. The 2017 United Nations Oceans Conference provided a platform to focus countries' and other stakeholders' attention on commitments to achieving SDG14 at national and regional levels.
Seamounts are active or extinct volcanoes located on mid-oceanic rifts or intra-plate hot spots. Because of their magmatic origin, seamounts contain mineral resources. A crust of ferromanganese oxide enriched with cobalt, copper, manganese and sulphur has accumulated around the oldest reliefs. These reserves could exceed the quantities currently present on the continents, but their extraction cost remains prohibitive to be profitable.
Climate variability and change are among the biggest challenges of the 21st century. Like in many other areas globally, the coastal communities of Tanzania have always been facing climatic varia- bility at various time scales. Using focus group discussion and a household survey, this study ana- lyzes the perceptions of climate variability and change and the strategies for coping and adapta- tion by the selected coastal rural and peri-urban communities in Tanzania.
The sea cucumber industry, which is known to be particularly vulnerable to overexploitation and collapse, has been under tremendous pressure in Mauritius since the mid-2000s. Consequently, in 2010, the Ministry of Fisheries imposed a two-year ban on the collection of sea cucumbers, which was later extended for another four years (2012–2016) to avoid the collapse of the fishery.
Bioconstructions such as coralligenous outcrops and maërl beds are typical Mediterranean underwater seascapes. Fine-scale knowledge on the distribution of these sensitive habitats is crucial for their effective management and conservation. In the present study, a thorough review of existing spatial datasets showing the distribution of coralligenous and maërl habitats across the Mediterranean Sea was undertaken, highlighting current gaps in knowledge.
A comprehensive seafloor biomass and abundance database has been constructed from 24 oceanographic institutions worldwide within the Census of Marine Life (CoML) field projects. The machine-learning algorithm, Random Forests, was employed to model and predict seafloor standing stocks from surface primary production, water-column integrated and export particulate organic matter (POM), seafloor relief, and bottom water properties.