Science for Solutions: Bringing Stakeholders together to Improve Ocean Planning and Governance in ABNJ

The STRONG High Seas Project gathered in Cape Town with representatives from countries, NGOs and academia for the second dialogue workshop about Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction. This workshop was organised in conjunction with the UN-WCMC ABNJ Deep Seas Project and included representatives from all around Africa and was held in partnership with both the Abidjan and Nairobi Secretariats.

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Some of the STRONG High Seas Project Team in Cape Town, June 2019

The importance of the inherent connectivity of the ocean and how commercial activities in the High Seas can impact on coastal livelihoods and overall ecosystem health was reiterated while participants worked to tackle the complexity of how to conserve biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction – given the current fragmented governance systems. The workshop highlighted the role of regional organisations in this arena and was dove-tailed with a meeting of the ABNJ Technical working group for the Abidjan Convention.

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MAMI WATA Project visits

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The IOI-SA is one of the three Centers in Expertise for the “Enhancing Marine Management in West, Central and Southern Africa through Training and Application” Project. In January and February of this year (2019) we have visited the three pilot countries – Benin, Ivory Coast and Ghana – to understand their capacity needs for implementing Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) as part of the Mami Wata project.

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2019 Course in Ocean Governance

Applications are open for the 2019 IOI-SA Course in Ocean Governance for Africa.

The course will run from the 2 – 27th September 2019 in Cape Town, South Africa. The course is run in collaboration with our partners, SANBI and SAIMI. For more information, please go to the Course Page where application forms are also available.

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Applications will close on the 18th April 2019. Spaces are limited.