Mafia Island, Tanzania – April 11, 2025 – The Marine Parks and Reserves Unit (MPRU) marked a significant milestone as five staff members earned certifications in Rescue Diving and Emergency First Response (EFR), following an intensive two-week training program in Mafia Island. This initiative, facilitated by Plongeurs Du Monde (Divers of the World), underscores MPRU’s
The WIO-COMPAS Programme marked a significant milestone with its first Portuguese certification event, held in Maputo, Mozambique, from April 14-18, 2025. Funded by JNCC, this event aimed to bolster marine conservation capacity in the region. The week began with a workshop gathering 20 participants, including Eugenio Manhica, Director of Conservation at ANAC, and representatives from
In May 2025, the MIHARI Network organized a national coordination meeting marked by the official launch of Madagascar’s LMMA Portal. This digital platform aims to centralize data on Locally Managed Marine Areas (LMMAs), thus facilitating the monitoring and evaluation of marine management initiatives and enhancing the visibility of community efforts in marine conservation, both at
Blue Ventures and its partners, with support from the Blue Action Fund and Green Climate Fund, are leading efforts to protect and restore the unique biodiversity of the Barren Isles in western Madagascar. This initiative not only safeguards vital marine and coastal ecosystems but also strengthens the socio-ecological resilience of local communities, helping them adapt
During three intense days, staff from Tanzania mainland’s different MPA teams and national level discussed how to stream-line the institutional structure, and harmonise objectives and monitoring at different governance levels and sites. Marine Parks and Reserves Unit-MPRU and the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management (SwAM) co-hosted the workshop in Morogoro, Tanzania. SwAM shared
Effective Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) require strong governance, strategic planning, and active, equitable management to achieve ecological, socio-economic, and cultural goals. Crucially, compliance with regulations ensures the ongoing success of MPAs. A new MPA Enforcement Toolkit has been developed to provide essential knowledge on monitoring, control, surveillance, and enforcement (MCS&E) systems. This toolkit offers marine
Join the #WIOMSA2025 “One Ocean, One Future” Communications Campaign. Become an ocean champion for the upcoming #WIOMSA2025by sharing a 2–3 minute video about what drives your work, a personal narrative (up to 600 words) on the ocean’s importance, or a brief quote or statistic that inspires action. Submissions are open on a rolling basis. For more
How can interdisciplinary approaches be implemented to strengthen the social and environmental resilience of marine social-ecological systems exploited by fishing, in the face of growing global pressures? Over five immersive days, the BRIDGES research program, in partnership with WIOMSA, is inviting a new generation of researchers and stakeholders from the Southwest Indian Ocean (SWIO) region
The BRIDGES INFORMATION project is developing a regional information system dedicated to the marine social-ecological systems of the southwest Indian Ocean. Hosted by the University of La Réunion and supported by IR Data Terra, it will centralize, secure and enhance the region’s environmental and socio-economic observation data, in a FAIR (Easy to Find, Accessible, Interoperable,
Led by the Terres australes et antarctiques françaises (TAAF) and funded by the Office Français de la Biodiversité (OFB), Fondation de la Mer, and IFRECOR, the “Récifs Isolés 2” programme (October 2022 – June 2025) focused on assessing coral reef ecosystem health across the Iles Eparses. This involved a series of comprehensive marine campaigns covering
