Indian Ocean countries in new deal to stop pollution 4/18/10

By Cosmus Butunyi

Ten East and Southern African countries have signed a new pact against pollution that will boost environmental management in the Western Indian Ocean.

The Protocol for the Protection of the Coastal and Marine Environment of the Western Indian Ocean from Land-based Sources and Activities will be implemented on the countries’ coastline that stretches from Somalia to South Africa.

This includes the shorelines of Tanzania, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa and Somalia, as well as the island states of Seychelles, Comoros, Mauritius, Madagascar and Reunion-France.

The agreement binds the governments to a common objective of preventing, reducing, mitigating and controlling pollution from land-based sources and activities to protect and sustain the marine and coastal environment in the Western Indian Ocean.

It was signed by environment ministers from the 10 countries at the sixth conference of parties to the Nairobi Convention for the Protection, Management and Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment of the Western Indian Ocean held at the United Nations Environment Programme headquarters in Gigiri, Nairobi.

Also ratified by the ministers is a 25-year strategic action plan for efficient management of the marine and coastal environment in the region; as well as amendments to the Nairobi Convention that take into account provisions on emerging issues such as climate change and the need for an ecosystem-based management approach.

Third regional agreement

It has taken five years of negotiations to develop the agreement through the Nairobi Convention led by a legal and technical review regional task force. Each of the governments also nominated legal and technical experts to participate in the drafting of the agreement.

This becomes the third such regional agreement on seas in the world with legal instruments for controlling land-based activities that degrade or pollute the marine waters. The other regions with a similar agreement include the Wider Caribbean and the Mediterranean Sea.

Unep executive director Achim Steiner said that the protocol would provide an important tool for shaping and guiding actions in order to protect the marine and coastal environment of the Western Indian Ocean.

“This will ensure that the unique ecosystems can deliver sustainable development and well-being to the 60 million people who live and depend on its resources,” he said.

Presently, the countries that share the Western Indian Ocean face challenges relating to sustainable management of their coastal and marine environments.

It is feared that this could affect the ocean, one of the few remaining undisturbed areas of the world ocean with diverse ecosystems that provide invaluable goods and services to growing populations of the region.

The Indian Ocean is globally recognised for its unique biological richness and natural beauty and high ecological and socio-economic value. Unep estimates the economic value of the goods and services provided by the Western Indian Ocean marine ecosystem alone, through fisheries and tourism, to be over $25 billion.

With a combined coastline that stretches over 15,000 kilometres and a continental shelf area of about 450,000 square kilometres, the Western Indian Ocean region is home to a diverse range of marine and coastal ecosystems that include lowland forests, mangrove forests, sea grass beds and coral reefs. This serves as a source of livelihood and income for over 60 million people residing within 100km of the coastal zone.

Recent studies have found out that out of the estimated total population of 175 million in the region, 40 million people reside within 25 kilometres of the coastal zone and are directly affected by the declining health of the coastal and marine ecosystems.

This is largely through the fishery and tourism industries that are crucial for food security, employment and income generation.

Efforts are already ongoing to safeguard the Western Indian Ocean under the $11.4 million WIO-LaB project that addresses some of the major environmental concerns related to the degradation of the marine and coastal environment resulting from land-based activities.

The project by the countries in the region is supported by the Norwegian government, Unep, and the Global Environment Fund.

It is designed to serve as a demonstration project for the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities.