Sweden, which has been a significant contributor to WIOMSA for over two decades, has reaffirmed its support for the organization’s core objectives which include building institutional capacity for marine science and assisting the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) region in strengthening a knowledge-based blue economy.
Sweden will provide 70 million Swedish Kroner (approximately US$ 6,400,000) to WIOMSA through the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida) over the next three years (2023-2026), for supporting WIOMSA’s new program, “Sustainable Blue Future in the Western Indian Ocean – Institutional Strengthening through Science, Capacity and Assimilation for a Sustainable Blue Future (SCALABLE)”.
The agreement, signed on May 24th 2023, in Zanzibar, renews and reaffirms Sweden’s long-standing cooperation with WIOMSA.
Sida’s new contribution will help WIOMSA continue to develop ocean professionals in the WIO region, including scientists, early career professionals, marine and coastal resource managers, governments, and local communities. It will also contribute towards WIOMSA’s efforts to enhance a closer engagement of researchers and policymakers in the form of multi-stakeholder exchanges, capacity-building activities, co-development and co-implementation processes and integrative scientific assessments to bridge the science-policy gap and to support the inclusive generation of knowledge and the development of comprehensive policies that will support the WIO Blue Economy development. In this programme, WIOMSA has prioritized problem-solving and applied ocean scientific research that will advance the UN 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the UN Decade of Ocean Science and the Global Biodiversity Framework.
New SCALABLE activities will be announced on the WIOMSA website in July 2023.