Training Course on Mangrove Ecosystems

The First International Training Course on Mangrove Ecosystems in the Western Indian Ocean, was organized jointly by the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Institute (KMFRI) in collaboration with the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH), University of Nairobi (UoN), Coastal Oceans Research and Development – Indian Ocean (CORDIO) East Africa, UNEP Nairobi Convention and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) “Coastal East Africa Initiative” (CEA-NI) with funding from WIOMSA. The course was held in December 2013 in Diani, Kenya and at the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute’s Mangrove Center in Gazi. In total, twenty participants attended from the WIO region. Participants were a mix of young professionals, academics, park rangers and managers that deal with mangroves. The course comprised lectures, group discussions, and demonstrations and covered diverse topics including, mangrove biology and ecology, faunal and floral diversity, restoration and management tools, ecosystem-based climate change adaptation and mitigation, coastal resilience, mangrove fisheries, mangrove communities and livelihoods, as well as the application of economics, policies and laws for mangrove management.