A regional agreement aims to save a tropical paradise in trouble

The Nairobi Convention is part of the Regional Seas Programme established by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). The Convention entered into force in 1996 to address the accelerating degradation of the Western Indian Ocean by increasing the capacity of 10 West Indian Ocean nations to protect, manage, and develop their coastal and marine environment. 

The Convention’s Ocean Governance Programme is the glue that holds together its work on combating climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. Through the Sapphire project funded by the Global Environment Facility, the Nairobi Convention also promotes policy and institutional reform to foster sustainable resource management and ocean governance.

The Eleventh Conference of Parties (COP 11) to the Nairobi Convention kicks off on 20 August in Antananarivo, Madagascar. Among the agenda items is the completion of a regional strategy to govern the Western Indian Ocean. 

The gathering comes as the ocean is warming faster than any other stretch of sea, often resulting in catastrophic storms such as Cyclone Idai in 2019 and Cyclone Freddy in 2023.  

Along with a heavy human toll, the storms ravaged sensitive coastal ecosystems, including coral reefs and mangrove forests. Climate change, where warmer water makes oxygen less soluble, therefore making the ocean more acidic, limits its ability to absorb planet-warming carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

To counter these threats, the Nairobi Convention is developing a regional strategy to help countries reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and support communities as they adapt to climate change. In Kenya, for example, UNEP and the convention are backing so-called blue carbon projects, which will help direct financing towards the protection of thousands of hectares of mangroves.  

The Western Indian Ocean is home to an array of plants and animals and is crisscrossed by migration routes. However, overfishing and the destruction of life-sustaining ecosystems, like mangroves and sea grass beds, are threatening this biodiversity. 

To counter these perils, the Nairobi Convention has invested heavily in projects focusing on ecosystem restoration and management. UNEP and the Global Environment Facility have partnered together on several of these, including an effort to restore mangroves in Mozambique and bolster the income of local communities. 

The success of the Nairobi Convention would go a long way in ensuring the effective implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Adopted in 2022, the international agreement lays out 23 targets to be achieved by 2030 including protecting 30 percent of the ocean from threats like pollution.

With its beautiful islands, warm waters, and pristine sandy beaches, it is no surprise that many of the coastal areas of the Western Indian Ocean, such as Mauritius and Seychelles, are among some of the most popular destinations for tourists from around the world.

 However, over tourism coupled with rapid urbanization and industrialization have resulted in increased pollution, especially plastic pollution. An estimated 15 million tons of plastic waste finds its way into the Indian Ocean each year, making it the second-most-polluted ocean in the world after the North Pacific. 

 To deal with the growing threat of pollution and waste, the Nairobi Convention states have launched a project to reduce land-based stresses by protecting critical habitats, improving water quality, and managing river flows. Additionally, the convention has supported the development of a Strategic Framework for Water Quality Monitoring, a guideline that is currently being rolled out across Western Indian Ocean countries.