Publications and Reports
The NMC’s strategic priority for biodiversity conservation has been confirmed by various processes, including the Indian Ocean Commission WIOMER process, the UNESCO World Heritage Convention and the Convention on Biological Diversity “EBSA” process.
The Regional State of Coast Report for the western Indian Ocean (WIO) provides insights into the enormous economic potential around the WIO, the consequential demand for marine ecosystem goods and services to match the increasing human population, the pace and scale of environmental changes taking place in the region and the opportunities to avoid serious degradation in one of the world’s unique and highly biodiverse oceans.
There is a broad scientific consensus in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) region that the critical coastal and marine ecosystems, mainly mangroves, seagrasss beds, estuaries/rivers and coral reefs will continue to be degraded by the impacts of land-based sources and activities without significant conservation interventions that cuts across
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.
The Regional State of Coast Report for the western Indian Ocean (WIO) is the first comprehensive regional synthesis to provide insights into the enormous economic potential around the WIO, the consequential demand for marine ecosystem goods and services to match the increasing human population, the pace and scale of environmental changes taking place in the region and the opportunities to avoid serious degradation in one of the world’s unique and highly biodiverse oceans.
Aim of this report is to:
- Provide an objective and scientific basis for listing birds in the Protocol Concerning Endangered Wild Fauna and Flora in the East Africa Region
- Provide information on the status of birds and the key habitats in the region
- Use information on birds to extrapolate the status of the wider ecosystems in the WIO region
The Western Indian Ocean (WIO) region is recognised as a global biodiversity hotspot and is one of the least ecologically disturbed areas of the world. The high biodiversity in the WIO and its broad array of habitats, both in the coastal and marine environment, are however under increasing pressure from burgeoning coastal populations.
Coastal communities in Kenya have adopted the use of Locally Managed Marine Areas (LMMAs) to conserve fisheries and marine resources and as a way of securing alternative livelihood activities. However, these LMMAs have been established in a somewhat ad hoc manner due to a lack of guidelines for their development and implementation. In this review we sought to determine if there are generic approaches and methods that LMMAs in Kenya have adopted that can be used for developing national guidelines. We also examined challenges and lessons learnt from the various LMMAs on the Kenyan coast.
