Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) are made effective by a host of practitioners including managers, wardens, rangers, community members and others. These practitioners are faced with a multitude of different situations, issues and problems on a daily basis, often in remote locations, without easy reference to sources of information or help. There are a number of tools to help MPA practitioners share solutions and lessons that have already been developed in the WIO, including many publications and MPA toolkits. But the most valuable way to share knowledge is through peer-to-peer networking, and MPA practitioners’ networks are recognised as a cornerstone of MPA performance.   

The Western Indian Ocean Marine Protected Areas Management Network (WIOMPAN) is a network of MPA practitioners in the WIO. The Network bring together MPA practitioners from 10 countries in the WIO – Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, South Africa, Comoros, Seychelles, Mauritius, Somalia, Madagascar  and Reunion (France).  The Network was established to facilitate exchanges between WIO MPA practitioners to deal with common issues in different local contexts. MPAs in the WIO context include all formal marine protected and managed areas under government, communities (LMMAs) and privately managed MPAs.