Regional Outlook on Marine Protected Areas: Background, Purpose and Process

The Nairobi Convention through its GEF-funded project, ‘Implementation of the Strategic Action Programme for the protection of the Western Indian Ocean from land-based sources and activities (WIO-SAP)’, which started in December 2016, is supporting Contracting Parties towards the delivery of the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda in general and specifically Goal (SDG) 14 with special focus on Targets 14.2 and 14.5. Target 14.2 calls for the sustainable management and protection of marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts, including by strengthening their resilience, and take action for their restoration, to achieve healthy and productive oceans by 2020, while Target 14.5 states that by 2020, countries shall conserve at least 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas, consistent with national and international law and based on best available scientific information.