Sustainable management and conservation of the marine environment in the the Indian Ocean: support for local innovation and partnerships (COI)

The marine and coastal ecosystems are essential for coastal protection, pollution filtering, tourism and food safety, for the poor coastal communities south west of the Indian Ocean who are heavily dependent on fisheries for their survival. Attacks on the coastal and marine environments of the region are numerous and are the result not only of direct activities on the ecosystems but much of the work on the watershed. Moreover, the pressure increases off-shore with development programs for large-scale exploitation of oil and gas. The increasing threats from the greenhouse effect and global climate change are also of great concern, as evidenced by the numerous occurrences of intensive coral bleaching experienced in the region.

The project is organised into two components:

Regional component: capitalise and disseminate experiences and tools for integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) at a regional level

• Complete an inventory of good practices in the region and specialists with experience in this field.
• Facilitate regional exchanges in the form of workshops, meetings and direct exchanges of practices on the ground.
• Support the establishment of databases and regional information systems.
• Provide support for coral reef monitoring activities (ISLANDS project).

Local component: develop best ICZM practices at the 3 homogeneous pilot sites: the islands of Moheli (Comoros), Rodrigues (Mauritius) and Sainte-Marie (Madagascar)

• Identify social, heritage and economic issues and establish a platform for dialogue between local stakeholders with an interest in the region’s land.
• Develop an integrated action plan for the management and protection of the marine environment and fishery resources, to be implemented by local stakeholders.
• Help the islands to register sites internationally (as Biospheres).

• Improved management practices, strengthened links between the stakeholders protecting coastal areas, and practical testing of ideas for integrated coastal zone management.
• Protect this remarkable area of the Indian Ocean and support local, social and economic development in the three pilot sites: the islands of Moheli (Comoros), Rodrigues (Mauritius) and Sainte-Marie (Madagascar).
• Endorse the importance and the role of the high seas for global marine biodiversity, and for the global population, through a regional example, while demonstrating the relationship between the high seas and coastal ecosystems.