The Nairobi Convention for the Protection, Management and Development of the Western Indian Ocean region through its GEF-funded project on ‘Implementation of the Strategic Action Programme for the protection of the Western Indian Ocean from land-based sources and activities (WIOSAP)’, which started in December 2016, is facilitating the implementation of SDG 14 with a special focus on Targets 14.2 and 14.5. Target 14.2 calls for the sustainable management and protection of marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts, including by strengthening their resilience, and take action for their restoration, to achieve healthy and productive oceans by 2020. Target 14.5 states that by 2020, countries shall conserve at least 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas, consistent with national and international law and based on best available scientific information. This objective is reinforced through the CBD Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 Aichi Target 11, which encourages all signatory nations to ensure that by 2020, at least 17 per cent of terrestrial and inland water, and 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services, are conserved through effectively and equitably managed, ecologically representative and well connected systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, and integrated into the wider landscape and seascapes.
Component A (Sustainable management of critical habitats) of the WIOSAP project focuses on the protection, restoration and management of critical coastal habitats and ecosystems recognizing the enormous value of healthy critical coastal and marine habitats for the future well-being of the people in the WIO region. The component is designed to respond fully to both SDG14 and the Aichi Target 11.
One of the main outputs of Component A on Sustainable management of critical habitats of the WIOSAP project will be a Regional Outlook on critical habitats and Marine Protected Areas (MPA) in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) region. The Outlook when completed will comprise at least three parts: Regional assessment of critical habitats; Regional assessment of MPAs status & baselines; and brief syntheses of critical habitats & MPAs with recommendations on the available future strategic options (including other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) for countries to achieve the 10% target based on the identification of critical habitats that require protection.
As part of the implementation of this initiative, the Nairobi Convention in collaboration with the Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association (WIOMSA) is calling for expressions of interest from experts interested in authoring country chapters on MPA status and baselines. The process will involve 1 or 2 authors’ workshops, and peer-review, and is to be completed by April 2018. Download the information template for country-level MPAs Assessment.
Anyone interested in being an author is requested to submit a copy of their CV by email to secretary@wiomsa.org, copied to the Outlook editor, Lawrence Sisitka (heilaw@imaginet.co.za), on or before 7 October 2017.