Biophysical environment

Year Published: 
Geographical Information: 
The northern half of the Northern Mozambique Channel (NMC) extends northwards from the narrowest part of the channel between Madagascar and Mozambique, at about 17°S (Fig. 4.1). The Aldabra group of islands lies just to the north, at about 9°S, but the precise northern limit is not clear and is operationally set to include Mafia Island in central Tanzania at about 7°S. It is bounded by northwest Madagascar, northern Mozambique, and southern Tanzania, with the Comoro archipelago at its heart.
Year Published: 
Geographical Information: 

The present Issues Paper aims at analysing how African countries can utilize the opportunities in the Blue Economy to bolster sustainable development and socioeconomic transformation. Agenda 2063 of the African Union declares the Blue Economy to be “Africa’s future” and recognizes the key role that the ocean plays as a catalyst for socioeconomic transformation. The paper examines the opportunities and challenges to developing the Blue Economy in Africa.

Year Published: 
Author(s): 
Geographical Information: 

Environmental flows improve water management by ensuring a sustainable water supply meets the needs of people, agriculture, energy, industry and the environment within the limits of availability. The application of environmental flows supports the health of aquatic ecosystems and the well-being of people who depend on them. By providing a system for equitable allocation of water, based on available supply, the application of environmental flows can support development and poverty alleviation.

Year Published: 
Geographical Information: 

Pollution from land-based run-off threatens coastal ecosystems and the services they provide, detrimentally affecting the livelihoods of millions people on the world's coasts. Planning for linkages among terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems can help managers mitigate the impacts of land-use change on water quality and coastal ecosystem services.

Year Published: 
Geographical Information: 

The present study investigated diffusive emissions of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) to the atmosphere from three relatively small (3–120 km2) reservoirs (Masinga, Kamburu and Gitaru) on the Tana River (Kenya). Sampling was conducted biweekly in 2011, 2012 and 2013, at sampling sites upstream and downstream of these reservoirs while five sampling campaigns were carried out in 2011, 2012 and 2013 for different sites within each of the reservoirs.

Year Published: 
Geographical Information: 

The principle purpose of this report is to provide recommendations, advice and practical guidance, for establishing programmes to monitor and assess the distribution and abundance of plastic litter, also referred to as plastic debris, in the ocean.

Year Published: 
Geographical Information: 

Without drastic efforts to reduce carbon emissions and mitigate globalized stressors, tropical coral reefs are in jeopardy. Strategic conservation and management requires identification of the environmental and socioeconomic factors driving the persistence of scleractinian coral assemblages—the foundation species of coral reef ecosystems. Here, we compiled coral abundance data from 2,584 Indo-Pacific reefs to evaluate the influence of 21 climate, social and environmental drivers on the ecology of reef coral assemblages.

Year Published: 
Author(s): 
Geographical Information: 

Blue economy in the WIO region -

A presentation by the Nairobi Convention at the Partnership Meeting in the WIO Region with RECs and Commissions in the WIO Region 11-12 April 2019 Durban, South Africa