Delegates at the 12th Conference of the Parties (COP12) to the Nairobi Convention called for stronger cooperation on marine conservation and sustainable development in the Western Indian Ocean, as the summit concluded in Tanzania’s Dar es Salaam on Friday.
Footage shows officials and delegates attending speeches, applauding speakers and holding discussions at the conference venue.
Zanzibar’s Principal Secretary for Blue Economy, Dr. Salim Mohammed, outlined efforts to protect marine resources while supporting local livelihoods, including temporary fishing closures that allow fish stocks to recover for up to five months.
“At the end of this period, these areas are reopened, and the resources that have regenerated there help improve the livelihoods and development of local communities,” he said.
Mohammed also described initiatives using tourist entrance fees to compensate residents involved in conservation work, providing financial incentives for protecting marine ecosystems.
“This mechanism helps ensure that the revenue generated by tourism also benefits the people living in these areas and those who contribute to the protection of their marine resources,” he explained.
UN Environment Programme Deputy Executive Director Elizabeth Mrema stressed the importance of regional cooperation in the field.
“When we deal with ocean matters, ocean governance, and the sustainability of the ocean, it cannot be dealt with by individual states on their own. We need each other, and governments need each other, because the ocean is transboundary in nature,” she pointed out.
The conference marked the Nairobi Convention’s 40th anniversary, bringing together representatives from its ten contracting parties and adopting 15 decisions covering marine biodiversity, pollution, ocean governance, and sustainable development.
Established in 1985 under the UN Environment Programme, the Nairobi Convention provides a framework for regional cooperation to protect coastal and marine environments across the Western Indian Ocean. (Namibia Daily News/Viory)
