Tanzania pushes stronger action on Nairobi Convention

**DAR ES SALAAM: **TANZANIA has called for stronger implementation, regional cooperation and sustainable financing to ensure the Nairobi Convention delivers tangible results for people and the environment across the Western Indian Ocean region.

Minister of State in the Vice-President’s Office (Union and Environment), Hamad Masauni, made the call yesterday while addressing heads of delegations at the 12th Conference of the Parties to the Nairobi Convention (COP12), taking place in Dar es Salaam.

He said the Convention’s 40th anniversary should serve as an opportunity for member states to renew and strengthen their collective commitment to addressing challenges facing the Western Indian Ocean region.

“Let us ensure that the next chapter of the Nairobi Convention is built on stronger implementation, more effective cooperation, greater institutional resilience and tangible results for people and the environment across the Western Indian Ocean region,” he said.

Mr Masauni said the Western Indian Ocean region is of great economic, ecological and social importance, supporting fisheries, tourism and other marine activities while contributing to employment, security and the well-being of millions of people.

However, he said the region continued to face growing challenges arising from climate change, marine pollution, biodiversity loss, coastal degradation and the unsustainable use of marine resources.

“These challenges transcend national borders and cannot be effectively addressed through individual countries’ efforts alone,” he said.

According to Mr Masauni, addressing the challenges required stronger regional cooperation, effective partnerships, the application of scientific knowledge, adequate and predictable financing, as well as practical, coordinated and sustained action.

He said member states should prioritise implementation of the work programme, emerging priorities, sustainable financing, resource mobilisation and stronger regional and international cooperation in the coming period.

Mr Masauni said decisions adopted at COP12 should be clear, focused, balanced, actionable and forward-looking to strengthen implementation of the Nairobi Convention.

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He said the Convention’s 40th anniversary should not only provide an opportunity to celebrate past achievements, but also strengthen regional cooperation and lay the foundation for more decisive action over the next 40 years.

COP12 brings together countries that are parties to the Nairobi Convention to review progress and agree on priorities for protecting and sustainably managing the marine and coastal environment of the Western Indian Ocean.

The Nairobi Convention is a regional environmental agreement adopted in 1985 under the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to promote the protection, management and sustainable development of the region’s marine and coastal environment.

Its 10 contracting parties are Tanzania, Kenya, Mozambique, Somalia, South Africa, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, Comoros and France.

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