Regional State of the Coast Report Western Indian Ocean
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Date
2015
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The United Nations Environment Programme/Nairobi Convention Secretariat
Abstract
The Western Indian Ocean (WIO) region spans across a
large latitudinal range, from the Somalia region, influenced
by the strong monsoon regime of the northern Indian
Ocean, to the southern temperate regime of the tip of
South Africa, where the Agulhas current diverges from the
northward moving Atlantic Benguela current. It encompasses
tropical and subtropical regions of diverse nature,
rich stretches of coast along the mainland countries of
Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and South Africa,
and vast oceanic areas surrounding the island states of
Madagascar, Seychelles, Comoros, Mauritius and French
Territories. Geomorphological and oceanographic features
define the character of the WIO. The social tissue of the of
the WIO, where much of the population lives at the coast,
is an amalgam of diverse populations with different origins,
a product of the rich and varied political history, where networks
of trade interactions have generated a high ethnic
and cultural diversity. The cultural heritage is thus important
and matches the natural richness of the region. Most
countries in the WIO have high population growth rates,
and coastal development is expected to grow accordingly.
The Regional State of the Coast Report (RSOCR)
derives from requirements of the Nairobi Convention and
contributes to the United Nations-led production of the
World Ocean Assessment (WOA) reports as well as to other
global and regional processes, such as the Environment
Outlooks coordinated by UNEP. The RSOCR aims to integrate
the socio-economic and ecological systems of the
WIO region by using a uniform methodology based on the
Opportunities Framework and the DPSIR (Drivers, Pressures,
Status, Impacts, Responses) approach. The RSOCR’s
approach has been adapted from the WOA framework,
however the content and organization of the concluding
chapters are based on the distinct needs of the WIO region.
While the political agenda included the Contracting Parties
and their National Focal Points to the Nairobi Convention,
the technical process was guided by WIOMSA
(Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association) and
involved a representative set of scientists with broad experience
in the region. The RSOCR’s main objectives are to
i) provide a comprehensive baseline, ii) highlight main
opportunities, iii) describe successes and challenges, iv)
identify capacity building needs, v) identify knowledge
gaps, and vi) propose policy options.
Description
Keywords
Geophysical environment, Coast, Ocean, Western Indian
Citation
Ateweberhan, M., Hudson, J., Rougier, A., Harris, A., Jiddawi, N. and Msuya, F.E., 2014. Community based aquaculture in the Western Indian Ocean: Challenges faced and lessons learned.