Where to find us

Advancing Marine OECMs in the Western Indian Ocean: From Policy Commitments to Action.

📍 Katavi🕒 Wed 7 Oct, 10:30-12:00

As the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) region strives toward Target 3 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, standard Marine Protected Area (MPA) networks alone are insufficient to achieve the 30×30 target. Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs) offer a transformative pathway to recognize, support, and account for the diverse, equitable, and effective conservation efforts led by local communities, traditional authorities, and sectoral agencies across the region. However, key challenges persist, including legal ambiguity, operationalizing Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC), ensuring long-term ecological monitoring, and strengthening robust governance frameworks tailored to national contexts.

Lead Organizer: WIO-C Technical Working Group on OECMs.

Co-Organizer / Partners: WCS, WWF, WIOMSA, IUCN, Fauna & Flora, CORDIO, TNC, Wetlands International Eastern Africa

WIO Mangroves: 40 Years of Regional Cooperation to Local Action for People, Nature and Climate.

📍 Katavi🕒 Thu 8 Oct, 16:30-17:30

This side event aims to trace a clear pathway of the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) regional cooperation in the lens of the Regional Mangrove Action Plan (RMAP), connecting it to the scientific and practical tools, the national implementation frameworks, measure for community action, and measurable benefits for people, nature, and climate.

This is in recognition of the 40-year journey of regional cooperation under the Nairobi Convention, the WIO has built a strong foundation of knowledge, policy and partnerships for mangrove conservation. The recently adopted WIO RMAP provides an important framework for taking this cooperation forward. The challenge now is to translate such regional commitments, scientific advances and growing investments into coordinated national implementation, effective community action and measurable benefits for people, nature and climate.

Theme: Ocean-Climate Nexus

Lead Organizer: Western Indian Ocean Mangrove Network (WIOMN)

Co-Organizer / Partners: Institute of Marine Sciences (IMS) – University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM), WWF, Wetlands International, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)

From Commitments to Action: Upscaling Blue Carbon Ecosystems Conservation, Sustainable Management, and Investment Across the Western Indian Ocean.

📍 Olduvai🕒 Wed 7 Oct, 10:30-12:00

This side event will convene governments, scientific institutions, civil society organizations, development partners, and finance experts through a Regional Blue Carbon Dialogue. The event will provide a platform to share lessons, showcase tools and implementation experiences, identify barriers to progress, and explore pathways for increasing investment and strengthening regional cooperation. The event will start with a high-level round table with representatives from multiple governments, followed by panel and open floor discussions focused on advancing progress toward governance, science-to-policy integration, sustainable finance solutions, and cross-country collaboration.

Theme: Ocean-Climate Nexus

 Lead Organizer: Government of the United Republic of Tanzania

Co-Organizer / Partners: Government of Kenya • Government of Seychelles • Nairobi Convention Secretariat • WIOMSA • Fauna & Flora • East African Wildlife Society • Seychelles Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust • The Pew Charitable Trusts • Oceans 5 • Other regional governments and partners subject to confirmation.

Who Pays? Who Acts? Who Benefits? Charting the Western Indian Ocean’s Roadmap to Combat Marine Plastic Pollution.

Leading the Global Charge to Combat Marine Plastic Pollution through Connecting the Global Plastics Treaty, the Western Indian Ocean Plastics Roadmap, and Solutions on the Ground.

📍 Katavi🕒 Thu 8 Oct, 14:00-16:00

As countries prepare for the next phase of global action on plastic pollution, a critical question emerges: who will finance implementation, drive action, and stand to benefit from successful solutions? At a time when governments are transitioning from treaty negotiations to implementation planning, there is an urgent need to move beyond commitments and focus on practical pathways for delivery.
This dialogue will bring together government representatives, plastics treaty focal points, regional institutions, private sector, civil society, and technical experts to examine what it takes to accelerate action in the WIO. Drawing on experiences from across the region, the discussion will explore policy and governance gaps, financing and investment needs and accountability mechanisms.

Theme: Marine Pollution

Lead Organizer: WIO-C Plastics Working Group

Co-Organizer / Partners: Wetlands International Eastern Africa, WWF International, The Nature Conservancy, WildTrust, COMRED, WCS, EAWLS