Tanzania Hosts Nairobi Convention COP12, Calls for Stronger Ocean Cooperation
Tanzania has called for deeper regional cooperation to protect the Western Indian Ocean at the 12th Conference of the Parties (COP12) to the Nairobi Convention, held in Dar es Salaam. Vice-President Deogratius Ndejembi, representing President Samia Suluhu Hassan at the opening, highlighted the region's ocean wealth - valued at over $300 billion - and warned that growing threats from climate change, pollution, habitat loss, and unsustainable activity risk undermining the livelihoods of more than 65 million people who depend directly on the ocean. The conference also marks 40 years since the Convention was adopted in 1985 under the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), bringing together ten contracting parties including Tanzania, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Madagascar, Mauritius, and Seychelles.
The gathering carries significant implications for tourism, with the sector accounting for approximately 70 per cent of the Western Indian Ocean's estimated $20.8 billion in annual economic output. Tanzania outlined six priorities for COP12, including translating the Convention into national law and enforcement, restoring coastal ecosystems such as mangroves and coral reefs, combating marine pollution, and increasing private sector participation in the blue economy. The country pointed to its own progress - including the adoption of a National Blue Economy Policy in 2024, the establishment of marine protected areas, and investment in marine research infrastructure at the Institute of Marine Sciences in Zanzibar - as a model for sustainable ocean governance across the region.
Source: Daily News