Approximately 35 million people live in the coastal areas of the countries in the south west of the Indian Ocean. These populations depend mainly on the biodiversity and the availability of marine and coastal resources to meet their economics needs. However, the marine and coastal ecosystems are continually being degraded through mankind’s destructive practices, and the local population continues to increase; the annual rate of population growth in these coastal areas is estimated at 2%.
To find sustainable solutions to this problem and its impacts on national economies, the Secretary General of the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC), with the financial support of the European Union, has launched a regional programme for the sustainable management of the coastal zones (ReCoMaP). Its approach assumes that government authorities will develop and adopt management tools appropriate for the economic and socio-cultural contexts of their respective countries.
ReCoMaP is a regional coastal zone management (ICZM) programme that covers seven states in the South West Indian Ocean: Republic of Kenya, Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Mauritius, Republic of the Seychelles, Somali Republic, the Union of Comoros, and the United Republic of Tanzania. The IOC manages the programme which is financed by the European Union with a sum of 18 million euros.
ReCoMaP’s overall objective is to contribute to the reduction of poverty amongst the most deprived coastal populations in the WIO. ReCoMaP’s approach to achieve this objective is to strengthen the capacities of coastal communities, local and national government officers and civil society to sustainably manage coastal natural resources and local development.
The principal activities of the programme include:
. Strengthening the knowledge base on coastal resources and coastal resource users;
. Supporting the development of technical and managerial skills;
. Improving awareness amongst resource users of the key issues related to sustainable resource use;
Promoting integrated resource management and development approaches at local and national levels; and,
. Contibuting to the effective participation of civil society, locally-elected bodies and others in resource management and sustainable local development through a call for proposals scheme.