National report
This report is a culmination of the Integrated Problem Analysis process on priority issues carried out on the Kenyan marine and coastal resources and the identification of underlying causes, within the GEF MSP Sub-Sahara Africa Project on Integrated Problem Analysis. The Kenyan coast runs in a southwesterly direction from the Kenya-Somali border in the north, at 1o 41’S to 4o 40’S at the border with Tanzania.
This report is the result of an exercise that was undertaken in Mauritius as part of the GEFMSP project on Coastal Zone in the Sub-Saharan countries. The project consisted of three parts (i) Identification of sites and prioritisation of issues; (ii) Environment and socio-economic Impact analysis; and (iii) Causal chain analysis.
The ecosystems in Mozambique are relatively well preserved compared to other countries in the region, probably due to the fact that the country is less developed. On the other hand the potential for degradation of those sites is higher and would increase in the future in the view of the current development. There was not a clear-cut separation between Hot spot and sensitive areas.
The ASCLME Project is approaching the Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis and Strategic Action Plan process initially at the country level through a national Marine Ecosystem Diagnostic Analysis (MEDA) The MEDA captures essential data and information relating to the coastal and marine environment and identifies areas of concern that will feed into the Transboundary Diagnostic Analyses (TDAs) and the Strategic Action Programme (SAP) for the Western Indian Ocean.
The Republic of Mauritius consists of the main island of Mauritius and several outlying islands namely, Rodrigues, Agalega, St. Brandon, Tromelin and Chagos Archipelago. The total land area of Mauritius is 2040 km2 the while the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is about 2 million km2. Mauritius has at different periods been a colony of the Dutch, French and British. Effective Dutch Colonisation of the island started in 1598 and ended in 1710.
Mozambique is located in the South-Eastern part of the African Continent, between latitudes 10°27’S and 26°52’S and longitudes 30º 12’E and 40º 51’E. The country has a total surface area of 784,032 km2 subdivided into 10 provinces. The country possesses the third longest coastline in the Indian Ocean covering a total distance of 2700 km. Total continental shelf area is about 104,300 km2 . The current population is slightly more than 20 million people with a growth rate of 2.5% per annum.
The Marine Ecosystem Diagnostic Analysis (MEDA) for Seychelles presents an analysis of the status of the coastal and marine resources. It identifies the status of the biophysical and human environment including challenges in the management of the coastal and marine environment. The Seychelles archipelago is made up of 115 islands which are located between latitudes 4–11°S and 45–56°E.
The Republic of Somalia, located in the Horn of Africa, covers a total surface area of 637,657 km2 with an estimated population of 10 million people from six (6) major clans and various minor clans. The country has been without a central Government since 1991. Years of political instability and war have resulted in over 1 million deaths, both as a direct result of the fighting and due to the country’s inability to cope with recurrent droughts, devastating floods and diseases.
South Africa has an extensive coastline in the southern section of Agulhas and Somali Current Large Marine Ecosystem (ASCLME) region, with the coastal provinces of KwaZulu Natal (KZN), Eastern Cape and Western Cape forming the seaboard. The southeast coastline is remarkably linear, with a narrow continental shelf descending to an abyss (deeper than 4,500 m) in the southern Transkei Basin.
Tanzania is located on the East coast of Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean, and lies between Kenya to the north and Mozambique to the south. Its total area is 945,087 km2 and this includes the islands of Mafia, Pemba and Zanzibar. Water covers 59,050 km2 of this area and the coastline along the Indian Ocean is 1,424 km. The population of the country is 40 million with a growth rate of 2.6%. The economy is largely dependent on agriculture, which accounts for about 48% of the GDP.
