Increasing the capacity of WIO Island MPAs

The first meeting of marine protected areas (both MPA and LMMAs) practitioners of the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) island states, organized by WIOMSA and the Western Indian Ocean Marine Protected Areas Network (WIOMPAN), was held in Nosy- Be, Madagascar from the 27th to 31st of March 2023. RECOS, Varuna and WIOMSA supported the meeting. attended the meeting, which began with a two-day inception and planning workshop also supported facilitated by the Indian Ocean Commission and the French Government through the  RECOS and  Varuna projects respectively. This was followed by two days of training on the integrated management effectiveness tool (using the IMET) offered by WIOMSA. The discussions resulted in developing the WIOMPAN (island chapter) activities roadmap. The Varuna MPA programme will implement these capacity- building strategies and identify research priorities for MPAs that will be designed as MSc and PhD programmes with the support of RECOS. A range of tools to support the capacity development  of MPA/LMMA  practitioners  in  the region,  including  thematic workshops, technical exchange programmes, training, mentorship, and companionship – all conducted in a peer-to-peer learning context– were identified. In the one-week meeting, networking and partnership building were bolstered; participants shared lessons learned and best practices from their respective protected areas, discussed and prioritized their concrete capacity development needs, and assessed the available expertise in the region.