The WIO-LaB project, which was executed by the Nairobi Convention Secretariat officially came to a close on 30 June, 2010.

Background

The broad goal of the Project “Addressing land-based Activities in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO-LaB)” was to address the degradation of the marine and coastal environment due to land-based activities in countries bordering the Western Indian Ocean (WIO).

It demonstrated to countries in the WIO region, the various sustainable approaches for tackling the degradation of the marine and coastal environment due to land-based activities.

The Project was executed within the framework of the Nairobi Convention for Protection, Management and Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment of the Eastern African Region covering 10 States of Comoros, France, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Somalia, Tanzania and Republic of South Africa

It created a strong partnership between the countries of the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) Region, the Norwegian government, United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), and the Global Environmental Facility (GEF).

Project Outcomes:

1) Improved the knowledge base, and established regional guidelines for the reduction of stress to the marine and coastal ecosystem by improving water and sediment quality;

2) Strengthened the regional legal basis for preventing land-based sources of pollution; and

3) Developed regional capacity and strengthened institutions for sustainable, less polluting development.

Project Achievements

1) Development and finalization of two major products mainly;

• Protocol for the Protection of the Marine and Coastal Environment of the Western Indian Ocean from Land-Based Sources and Activities (LBSA Protocol) which was adopted on adopted on 31 March, 2010;
• The Strategic Action Programme (SAP) for the Protection of the Western Indian Ocean from Land-Based Sources and Activities which was endorsed on 31 March, 2010.

2) Demonstration Projects

A key part of the WIO-LaB Project was to provide assistance to participating countries to implement demonstration projects at a number of hotspots and sensitive areas in the WIO region.

These projects were intended to demonstrate innovative, appropriate and cost-effective technical and managerial approaches for addressing the impacts of land-based sources and activities. The demonstrated projects

Other WIO-LaB achievements included;

• Development of the Nairobi Convention Clearinghouse and Information Sharing System; and
• Production of technical reports for example; the Regional Marine Litter Assessment.

For more information and documents on the WIO-LaB project, please visit the Nairobi Convention website