The theme for the 8th Issue is “People Power: Role played by non-state actors in management of the coastal and marine environment in the WIO region”.
The term ‘Non-state actors’ embraces a huge diversity of institutions but for the purpose of this WIOMSA Magazine Issue, it includes the private sector, non-governmental organizations and community-based organizations. Networks and federations composed of any or all of the above is included in the definition. Increasingly, in most of the countries in the WIO region, there has been a shift from centralized state controlled management to more participatory and inclusive processes that consider resources users’ ability to contribute to management processes of coastal and marine environment. Under this theme, priority will be given to articles describing: formal and informal roles played by non-state actors in management of coastal and marine environment; their influences in policy changes; innovative working relationship with governments, strategic partnerships with other non-state actors and how their efforts have led to impacts at the environment
and community levels.