Regional Collaboration Among Countries in the Indian Ocean for Better Coastal and Ocean Governance

The Mangroves for the Future initiative (MFF) has operated since 2006 as a strategic regional and partnership-led programmeworking in response to the continued degradation of coastal ecosystems, which threatens the livelihoods and security of coastal communities and makes them more vulnerable to impacts from climate change. MFF follows the principle that healthy coastal ecosystems (principally mangroves, coral reefs and sea grass beds) can contribute significantly to human well-being and the resilience of man and nature to climate change. In its initial phase to 2010, MFF supported India, Indonesia, Maldives, Seychelles, Sri Lanka and Thailand to deliver a targeted response to the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004. Since then, country membership has expanded to include Bangladesh, Cambodia, Myanmar, Pakistan and Viet Nam and the initiative has grown towards a wider response to the current and emerging challenges for coastal management in the Indian Ocean and South China Sea regions. MFF is also engaged with Malaysia on an outreach basis; and with the Philippines as a dialogue country. Co-chaired by International Union for Conservation of nature (IUCN) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and with ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB), Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), and Wetland International (WI) as institutional partners, MFF provides a unique platform for representatives from governments, civil society and private sectors to meet, discuss and take actions together at both regional and national scales. At the regional level, MFF is governed by a Regional Steering Committee that provides strategic leadership for policy change and advocacy and also serves as a forum for country to country information exchange and discussions on emerging issues of regional importance. Within each MFF member country, a National Coordination body has oversight on the programme implementation as guided by its National Strategy and Action Plan and delivery of the small, medium and regional grant facilities1. Through its inclusive partnership approach, MFF has significantly strengthened the collaboration between the key stakeholders from governments, civil society, and private sectors addressing national and regional coastal zone management issues. In particular, the MFF initiative has supported national and local governments in developing and implementing participatory and sustainable resource management strategies, and, through awareness and capacity building activities, empowered coastal communities to participate in the decision making processes relating to the management of the natural resources on which they depend for their livelihoods. The present paper elaborates successful examples of regional collaboration initiated through MFF that have contributed to better coastal governance in India Ocean region. The examples include the transboundary cooperation between Pakistan and Iran in Gawatar Bay, between India and Sri Lanka for in the Gulf of Mannar, and between Guangxi and Quang Ninh Provinces in China and Viet Nam. The paper also highlights the importance of the Sustainable Development Goals, especially the Goal 14 and concepts like Blue Economy for sustainable ocean and coastal management in the light of the rapid development in maritime trade, race for exploration of the ocean bed for mineral resources, unsustainable exploitation of fish resources, and increasing pollution load to ocean waters from rapidly developing coastal urban growth in the Indian Ocean region.