Welcome, Nairobi Convention Member States, partners, and friends, to this installment of the Weekly News Round-up! Please keep reading to find out what’s new in efforts to protect, conserve and develop the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) region.
We look forward to continuing our work with you to create a prosperous WIO region with healthy rivers, coasts, and oceans.
Upcoming Events:
Partnership Meeting on Oceanographic Research and Data Collection in the Western Indian Ocean Region on 17 June 2019 in Mombasa, Kenya: organized under the SAPPHIRE project, this meeting will bring together several institutions to discuss the status of oceanographic research and data collection in the WIO region.
First SAPPHIRE and third WIOSAP Project Steering Committee Meeting on 25 – 27 June 2019 in Durban, South Africa: this meeting will bring together the PSCs of both projects to evaluate progress and provide recommendations to guide project implementation.
Partnership for Action Meeting on Management of Oceanographic Research and Data in the Western Indian Ocean Region on 28 June 2019 in Durban, South Africa: organized under the SAPPHIRE project, this meeting will discuss the status of national data centers; identify key country priorities in enhancing their capacity to use, manage, and own their data and research; and agree on a feasible partnership mechanism related to data collection and archiving for the region.
Special sessions on ‘Promoting Marine Protected Areas as a tool for Management Progress Towards Sustainable Development Goal 14’ and Ocean Governance in the Western Indian ocean region. Join us for these special sessions on July 5, 2019 at Port Louis Mauritius during the 11th Symposium of the Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association (WIOMSA)……… read more
World Oceans Day 2019 – Newsletter (Special Edition)
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.
In addition to sharing stories highlighting actions taken by each of its Contracting Parties, the Convention also received several stories from partner institutions outlining progress, challenges, and recommendations.
The Nairobi Convention would particularly like to thank all of its Focal Points, as well as CORDIO, Birdlife International, Jomo Kenyatta University, World Wide Fund for Nature, University of Nairobi, Indian Ocean Commission, Wildlife Conservation Society, and The Nature Conservancy for their contributions and input.
Find the stories in the download
News:
Designing Marine Protected Areas for Food Security in Open-Access Fisheries
A possible fishery management approach in these institution-poor settings is to implement fully protected marine protected areas (MPAs). Although the primary push for MPAs has been to solve the conservation problems that arise from mismanagement, MPAs can also benefit fisheries beyond their borders…….read more
Women Call for Gender Balance in Maritime Jobs
Last Saturday, Kenya joined other nations in marking World Ocean’s Day under the theme ‘Gender and the Ocean.’ The sector players used the opportunity to decry low representation of women in the sector and called for gender equality in ocean-related activities…..read more
How Marine Protected Areas Help Fisheries and Ocean Ecosystems
This issue brief provides an overview of the specific associated benefits that MPAs offer fisheries; discusses when the use of MPAs is and is not appropriate; and details ways to mitigate the economic challenges that MPAs can pose to commercial fishermen. The brief also presents a new analysis of U.S. MPAs—which examines their geographic distribution, size, and level of protection—to make the case for an expansion of the MPA system in the United States………read more
Should we Fertilize Oceans or Seed Clouds? No one knows
The climate clock is ticking. To turn it back, the world is putting its faith in ‘negative-emissions technologies’. These would suck carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and lock it up for centuries on the land, in the sea or beneath the sea floor. Although such technologies are yet to be developed, they are nonetheless implicit in assessments by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)…..read more
Seychelles Protecting Even More of its Waters, Minister says on World Environment Day
Seychelles has designated 26 percent of its territorial waters as marine protection areas to complete the second phase of the debt for conservation finance deal with The Nature Conservancy, the environment minister said on Wednesday. The announcement was made by Wallace Cosgrow, the Minister of Environment, Energy and Climate Change, in his message for the World Environment Day on June 5……..read more
Do you have an event or story you’d like included in the weekly round-up? Write [email protected] to be featured next week!
