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Introduction
Marine and coastal environments, and the goods
and services they provide, are under increasing
pressure from unsustainable consumption and production
patterns as well as ineffective management practices
in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The ecosystems
health and the sustainability of the services
that coasts and oceans provide are increasingly
being compromised by the impacts of pollution,
resource exploitation and physical alteration
and degradation of habitats.
Coastal tourism is an important industry in Mauritius,
Seychelles, Kenya, Tanzania and the Republic of
South Africa. The tourism industry is rapidly
growing in Mozambique, Madagascar and Comoros.
In Mauritius for instance, the contribution of
tourism to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased
from 3% in 1995 to 13% in 2001. The total direct
employment in the tourism industry has more than
doubled, increasing from about 9,000 to 20,000
between 1990 and 2001.
In Kenya, tourism generates an average of 18%
of the foreign exchange earnings and contributes
9.2% to GDP. It also provides 270,000 jobs both
directly and indirectly. Coastal tourism contributes
over 60% of Kenya’s tourism earnings and
accounts for 45% of the coastal economy. However,
in the last two decades, increased population
pressure, urban development and poverty have contributed
to physical alteration and the destruction of
coastal habitats, resource over-exploitation and
water quality degradation. Unregulated land use
patterns and poor regulatory regimes reduce the
aesthetic, cultural and tourism value of the coasts
and also reduce the protection of the coasts thus
increasing coastal erosion rates.
Some coastal urban hotspots are densely populated
and rapidly industrializing. Those hotspots are
facing a multitude of problems stemming from unplanned
and unregulated land use patterns worsened by
poor regulatory regimes. At the same time, there
is an interest in exploring and exploiting potential
oil and gas reserves, which could further exacerbate
the destruction of critical habitats such as coral
reefs, mangroves, beaches and sea grass meadows.
Recognizing the environmental
uniqueness of the coastal and marine environment
of the region, the threats and the necessity for
action, the countries of the Western Indian Ocean
region requested UNEP to create a regional seas
programme for the region. UNEP's Governing Council
decision 8/13C of 29 April 1980 created the Eastern
African Regional Seas Programme and further requested
UNEP to assist the Governments of the region to
formulate and implement a programme for the proper
management and conservation of marine and coastal
resources. Subsequent to the 8th session of the
Governing Council of 1980, UNEP supported the
development of the Eastern African Action Plan,
and a Convention on the Protection and Development
of the Marine and Coastal Environment of the Eastern
African Region (Nairobi Convention).
The countries of the region met
in 1985, to adopt an action plan for the protection
and development of the marine and coastal environment
of the Eastern African region. In addition, they
signed the Convention and its two protocols concerning
collaboration in combating pollution in cases
of emergency, and concerning protected areas and
wild fauna and flora. The Convention and its two
protocols entered into force on 30 May 1996 and
were ratified by all the signatory countries in
1999, and by South Africa in 2002.
The Joint Secretariat for the Abidjan and Nairobi
Conventions
The two Conventions are coordinated by a Joint
Secretariat hosted by UNEP under the Division
of Environmental Policy Implementation (DEPI).
The Joint Secretariat is supported by Regional
Coordinating Units in Seychelles and Cote d'Ivoire,
a forum of national focal points, and thematic
and technical task forces.
The Secretariat also works closely with collaborating
partners such as regional NGOs and various national
and research institutions. It has recently successfully
catalysed the establishment of the "Consortium
for Conservation of Coastal and Marine Ecosystems
in the Western Indian Ocean" (WIO-C). This
is a consortium between major NGOs in the Western
Indian Ocean which have developed marine programmes.
The aim is to enhance collaboration, exchange
of information and synergy towards a joint programmatic
approach in addressing marine and coastal environmental
issue in the region.
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