Sustainable Financing of Community-Based Marine Management in the Western Indian Ocean
TLLG are working with CORDIO East Africa to understand and develop sustainable financing solutions in community marine management in the Western Indian Ocean. This project includes developing an understanding of the financing status of community-based marine management in the Western India Ocean, identifying opportunities for improving sustainability of financing, and sharing lessons between communities and countries.
Over-reliance on donor funding and lack of long-term financing options for community management is recognised as a key challenge in community marine management, but a lack of systematic assessment of the costs of management prevents the design of locally appropriate solutions. This project is using existing guidance from Protected Areas to adapt and develop a participatory assessment methodology to understand the different costs and constraints, and to identify the opportunities. Understanding what communities are already doing, and opportunities from the perspective of local stakeholders, is central to the project concept.
TLLG has completed a desk-top review of financing of community-based marine management, laying out some of the key issues and opportunities, and establishing a database of potentially relevant finance instruments. TLLG have worked with CORDIO to conduct an assessment of the financing status of LMMAs in Kenya, working with Beach Management Units, County Fisheries Departments and non-governmental organisations. The assessment documents the financing status, the challenges, and opportunities from the perspective of stakeholders involved in the management of LMMAs. Furthermore, TLLG and CORDIO have developed a sustainable financing assessment (SFA) protocol for assessing the financing status of LMMAs, and a Briefing Note summarising the results of the assessment.
Photo: Mkunguni BMU during a community coral reef health monitoring of their proposed LMMA. Photo credit - CORDIO East Africa/Peter Musembi, 2019.
Client: CORDIO East Africa
Location: Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Seychelles
Period: March 2020 - December 2021