Policy and Governance
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.
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.
Madagascar est la 4ème plus grande île du monde, plus précisément. En effet, outre sa superficie qui couvre 590.750 km², elle se prolonge dans l’océan par un plateau continental pouvant aller jusqu’à p^lus de 100 km couvrant ainsi une superficie supplémentaire de 117.000 km². Madagascar est une république dotée de 6 provinces, 28 régions et de près de 1300 communes.
The fourth meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Convention for the Protection, Management, and Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment of the Eastern African Region (Nairobi Convention) was held in Antananarivo, Madagascar, from 6 to 8 July 2004. The meeting was convened by the Secretariat of the Nairobi Convention at the kind invitation of the Government of the Republic of Madagascar.
Dugongs occur in shallow tropical and subtropical coastal and island waters of the Indo-Pacific.
The Toolkit aims to act as a first point of call in the search for information on issues that MPA managers and practitioners face in day-to-day operations. This first Edition of the Toolkit contains 78 theme sheets, most of which include a case study to help illustrate each topic. The Toolkit is arranged in two parts: 1) The Management Process and 2) Conservation and Sustainable Use.
The coastal and marine habitats of the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) region support the livelihoods of a rapidly growing population, currently estimated at over 60 million. The region is still one of the least ecologically disturbed in the world, hosting over 2,200 species of fish, including rare and endangered species, such as the dugong, coelacanths, marine turtles, sharks, birds and over 350 species of corals and a diverse assemblage of coastal forests, mangrove forests and sea grass beds.
