Planning and management

Year Published: 
Author(s): 
Geographical Information: 
Type of content: 

World Oceans day was 8 June, 2019. This year, the Nairobi Convention celebrated by releasing information on major issues facing the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) region and how the Contracting Parties are working to sustainably protect, manage, and use their marine and coastal resources. 

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: 

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: 
Type of content: 

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.

Year Published: 
Geographical Information: 
Type of content: 

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.

Year Published: 
Geographical Information: 
Type of content: 

This report identifies the main issues affecting coastal and marine resources in South Africa, their immediate and direct causes, underlying pressures and root causes of these impacts and provides guidelines as to the best means for intervention to alleviate these problems. The work was undertaken in three phases modelled closely on the methodology developed for the Global International Waters Assessment project.

Year Published: 
Geographical Information: 
Type of content: 

Tanzania has a coastline of 800 km stretching from latitude 4o 49’S at the border with Kenya to the border with Mozambique at latitude 10o 28’S. The continental shelf is narrow with the 200km contour depth about 4 km offshore, except at the Zanzibar and Mafia Channels where the shelf extends for up to 80 km. The islands within the continental shelf include Unguja and Mafia, as well as a number of small islets and reefs. Pemba lies beyond the continental shelf and is therefore oceanic.

Year Published: 
Author(s): 
Geographical Information: 
Type of content: 

The Republic of Mauritius consists of a main island, Mauritius (20º17’ S, 57º33 E), and a group of small islands in the South West Indian Ocean namely Rodrigues, the Cargados Carajos, Agalega, Tromelin and the Chagos Archipelago. The total land area amounts to 2040 km2 whilst the marine exclusive economic zone covers an area of about 1.9 M km2 extending from 100 S to 200 S and from longitude 550 E to 750 E.

Year Published: 
Geographical Information: 
Type of content: 

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.