Building capacities of local practitioners for the assessment of the dynamics of ecosystems in emerging coastal towns in the WIO region

The emergence of cities and small towns in coastal areas once inhabited by rural populations is putting pressure on marine and coastal ecosystems and the services they provide. There has been an associated shift in the consumption patterns, energy requirements and food production of the growing “urban population” which may alter the stable state of an ecosystem in which all its components thrive.

It is against this backdrop that a training workshop on the assessment of ecosystem dynamics in the emerging coastal towns of the western Indian Ocean was conducted. The aim of the workshop was to build the capacity of local development and conservation practitioners in the western Indian Ocean region in the field of ecosystem and ecosystem services assessment in order to actively engage in achieving sustainable, resilient, and inclusive coastal cities.  The workshop took place in Kilifi, Kenya and was organized by Kenya Marine Research Institute in collaboration with South Eastern Kenya University, environmental research, conservation and management organization, ERACOMA, Machakos University, Kenyatta University, the University of Nairobi, and the University of Algarve, Portugal. It was funded by WIOMSA’s Cities and Coasts project.