This study examines the relationship between Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) and marine and coastal resource management in the Western Indian Ocean Region. It explores what roles CBOs play in relation to natural resource utilisation and whether they have an ability to act effectively as community managers of these resources. The research focuses on CBOs in the coastal zone of Kenya and Tanzania. The specific objectives of the study were to: • document the types of CBOs existing in coastal areas of Kenya and Tanzania and how they have developed; • capture the internal dynamics and capacity of different CBOs; • consider the connections between CBO activities and natural resources in coastal and marine areas; • examine whether CBOs can mediate community diversity and dynamics to act as a force for integration around coastal resource management; • highlight the relationships between different CBOs and external institutional structures and governance processes; and, • identify whether CBOs engage in activities that constitute ‘natural resource management’ and to consider whether these activities are ‘effective’.
