Co-creating an Information Management Strategy for the Western Indian Ocean through a Multi-stakeholder Working Group

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Participants of a Writeship for the Regional Ocean Governance and Information Management Strategies

Nairobi Convention

The Information Management Strategy (IMS) for the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) aims to promote marine environmental knowledge sharing and effective governance. Initiated at the 10th Conference of Parties to the Nairobi Convention in 2021, it's a participatory, multi-stakeholder approach, involving governments, NGOs, private sector, academia, and others.

The IMS seeks to raise public awareness about the ocean's importance and facilitate data sharing for informed decision-making. It establishes a Multi-stakeholder Working Group (MSWG) with regional representation to guide its development. Stakeholder engagements, dialogues, and technical guidance are key components.

This strategy recognizes the region's unique challenges and the need for multi-sectoral collaboration in managing the marine environment. It's a significant step towards creating a more ocean-literate public and informed ocean governance in the Western Indian Ocean.

Last update: 05 Feb 2024

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Context

Challenges addressed

Increasing temperatures

Land and Forest degradation

Loss of Biodiversity

Ocean warming and acidification

Sea level rise

Storm surges

Tropical cyclones / Typhoons

Conflicting uses / cumulative impacts

Erosion

Ecosystem loss

Pollution (incl. eutrophication and litter)

Unsustainable harvesting incl. Overfishing

Lack of food security

Lack of public and decision maker’s awareness

Lack of technical capacity

Poor monitoring and enforcement

Poor governance and participation

Unemployment / poverty

Feeding science into policy-making is required to ensure informed and sustainable approaches are taken to manage marine and coastal resources.
Data and information often exist but must be sufficiently shared across sectors, regions and institutions.
Identifying and engaging appropriate and a critical mass of stakeholders sufficient to constitute the Multi-stakeholder Working Group.

Scale of implementation

Multi-national

Ecosystems

Deep sea

Estuary

Lagoon

Mangrove

Open sea

Rocky reef / Rocky shore

Salt marsh

Seagrass

Seamount / Ocean ridge

Coastal forest

Coral reef

Beach

Theme

Access and benefit sharing

Biodiversity mainstreaming

Genetic diversity

Habitat fragmentation and degradation

Species management

Adaptation

Mitigation

Connectivity / transboundary conservation

Ecosystem services

Erosion prevention

Restoration

Gender mainstreaming

Legal & policy frameworks

Protected and conserved areas governance

Sustainable livelihoods

Islands

Local actors

Coastal and marine spatial management

Protected and conserved areas management planning

Science and research

Forest Management

Extractives

Fisheries and aquaculture

Tourism

Transport

Marine litter

Pollution

Renewable energies

Waste management

Wastewater treatment

Location

Somalia

Kenya

Tanzania

Mozambique

South Africa

Comoros

Mauritius

Madagascar

Réunion

Seychelles

East and South Africa

Process

Summary of the process

See the below image for an overview of the process architecture. Please note that the IMS MSWG is convened by the Nairobi Convention (NC) at the heart of the process with other organisations (incl. GIZ, CLI, ZMT) assisting the NC in developing the strategy.

Building Blocks

Political will and a mandate for developing an Information Management Strategy

A mandate from the Parties to the Nairobi Convention, adopted at the 10th Conference of Parties in 2021, forms the basis for co-designing an Information Management Strategy for the Western Indian Ocean. It was emphasised that the development should happen in a co-development process, recognising the fundamental role of the Nairobi Convention national focal points, involving national data centres and amplifying the role of national experts to a sustainable regional Information Management Strategy development and implementation in the long term.

Enabling factors

Having an official mandate is an essential success factor for such a participatory process. It helps create ownership for the process and the implementation of the resulting strategy.
Country participation in the creation of the strategy.

Lesson learned

Long process leading to the adoption of the decision asking for the development of the strategy.
Coordination of such a regional and political process requires continuous capacities on all sides and strong will to actively participate.
Continuity and a long-term process for developing and implementing strategy needs to exist before the start of the process.

Resources

10th Conference of Parties of the Nairobi Convention, Adopted Decisions

Developing the regional Information Management Strategy in a co-creation process

To develop a region-wide Information Management Strategy considering voices from across the region and different sectors, a participatory and representative Multi-Stakeholder Working Group (MSWG) of 24 persons composed of Nairobi Convention Contracting Parties and relevant stakeholders (incl. NGOs, universities, research institutions) in the region was established. The members of the MSWG have taken responsibility for designing and driving the IMS process within their organisations and with the broader stakeholder system, incl. organising and convening thematic stakeholder consultations.

The collective approach to developing the strategy values multi-stakeholder dialogue as key for co-developing a strategy informed by diverse voices and owned by a broad and representative set of stakeholders. Strategic partnerships to support the co-development of the Western Indian Ocean IMS are with the Collective Leadership Institute (CLI) and the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT). With workshops and webinars, CLI helped build multi-stakeholder dialogue and collaboration capacity among members of the MSWG to enhance the quality, viability, and ownership of the IMS. ZMT supported the IMS development process with technical expertise and experience in drafting the IMS document.

Enabling factors

A series of physical meetings were essential in developing the basic structure and content of the strategy.
Physical meetings also helped to keep the momentum alive for further online collaboration in the strategy development.

Lesson learned

Need to assign clear roles within the process including someone who drives the process forwards according to set timelines.

Resources

Members of the Multi-Stakeholder Working Group

Impacts

A draft Information Management Strategy has been developed and circulated. A final version will be presented to the Focal Points of the Nairobi Convention for possible consideration at the upcoming Conference of Parties to the Nairobi Convention in early 2024.
The IMS Multi-stakeholder Working Group engaged with regional stakeholders through Technical Dialogues on key topics identified as priorities for the Strategy, e.g. Ocean Accounting and Marine Spatial Planning.
The IMS Multi-stakeholder Working Group held exchanges with stakeholders involved in developing the Regional Ocean Governance Strategy for the WIO, ensuring regular communication and understanding of synergies and complementarities.
The Collective Leadership Institute conducted training and information sessions for members of the IMS MSWG, introducing CLI’s two core methodologies (The Collective Leadership Compass and the Dialogic Change Model). These helped participants better understand their respective stakeholder systems and enhance their individual and collective leadership capacities.
A regional consensus and ownership of the IMS development process assures mainstreaming of the IMS into national planning processes.