Policy and Governance
In accordance to Article 23 of the Nairobi Convention, the Contracting Parties are obliged to transmit information on the measures adopted to implement the Convention and its Protocols, regularly to the Secretariat. The attached questionnaire is aimed at facilitating the transmission of such information from Parties to the Secretariat.
The Secretariat prepared and submitted to Sida an application for US$6,000,000 for a four year Africa marine and coastal programme to be implemented in the Sub-Saharan Africa including Small Island Developing States in the eastern Atlantic and western Indian oceans.
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.
In view of the major discoveries oil and gas in the WIO region and the potential social and economic impacts on the economies of the countries on one hand and negative environmental impacts on the other hand it is prudent that adequate governance mechanisms are put in place.
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.
The recent findings of oil and gas in the South Western Indian Ocean (SWIO) region are resulting in a new and unexpected economic dynamic in this part of the Africa continent. Although not a totally new feature, sporadic exploration having taken place for several decades, the recent developments have been made possible by advances in drilling technology and made more urgent by rising oil prices and problems of accessing traditional sources of supply due to current conflicts in the Middle East.
This Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA) has been developed jointly by the ASCLME and SWIOF Projects in 2012 and is the regional synthesis report on the current status of the Agulhas and Somali Current Large Marine Ecosystems. It presents an analysis of the ecosystem status and the threats to the long term sustainability of coastal and marine processes and resources in the region.
This Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA) has been developed jointly by the ASCLME and SWIOF Projects in 2012 and is the regional synthesis report on the current status of the Agulhas and Somali Current Large Marine Ecosystems. It presents an analysis of the ecosystem status and the threats to the long term sustainability of coastal and marine processes and resources in the region.
Working document of the 14th Global Meeting of the Regional Seas Conventions and Action Plans
Given the importance of the marine ecosystem, the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) countries with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) participated in the implementation of the Agulhas and Somali Current Large Marine Ecosystem (ASCLME) project. This project involved generation of data and information that can be used for the protection and sustainable management of coastal and marine resources of the WIO sub region.
