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Locally Managed Marine Areas (LMMAs) are the building blocks of the South West Indian Ocean region and have the potential to contribute meaningfully to the Global Biodiversity Framework targets. But to do so, LMMAs need support from their peers, governments, non-governmental organisations and regional and global entities.
To this end, IUCN, MIHARI, WWF, CORDIO, WIOMSA and other partners organised a forum to identify ways to strengthen LMMAs in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO). Held in Madagascar from 26 to 29 September, the WIO LMMA Forum convened more than 300 LMMA members and other prominent stakeholders from across the region, including His Excellency Paubert Mahatante, Madagascar’s Minister for Fisheries and the Blue Economy.
Eduardo Videira and Maafaka Ravelona, both from the WWF South West Indian Ocean (SWIO) Regional Programme, contributed to several facets and activities of the Forum, including a parallel group session for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and LMMA practitioners on improving information sharing and collaboration between stakeholders to enhance the overall support provided to LMMAs.

The forum concluded with a declaration and a draft roadmap outlining four main objectives to enhance recognition of and expand LMMAs:
- Strengthen national and regional LMMA networks and initiatives
- Develop multistakeholder governance mechanisms at subnational level
- Enable effective conservation actions and sustainable management of coastal and marine resources
- Accelerate the establishment of regional connected networks of LMMAs.
These objectives were supported by 11 concrete calls to action and 10 strategic priorities focusing on, among other topics, data and monitoring, inclusivity and gender equality, sustainable funding mechanisms, and the protection of local cultural heritage.
It was very inspiring to witness the engagement of Madagascar’s government in the oceans conservation sector, especially as the Minister publicly announced the full recognition of the LMMAs in Madagascar.”
Maafaka Ravelona, Coastal Community-led Conservation Coordinator, WWF-SWIO
WWF and CORDIO took advantage of the opportunity presented by the Knowledge Exchange Forum to share their joint initiative to establish a regional community-based natural resources management (CBNRM) learning network for the SWIO region. Research shows that people learn better from their peers, whether in a classroom setting or in the field. An important component of this learning network is to support such peer-to-peer learning on CBNRM at the regional scale and connect learning institutions across the region to provide a lasting enabling environment that will bridge capacity gaps created by project-based capacity-building initiatives, which are limited in time and location.
A learning network focusing on CBNRM would ensure continual learning and capacity enhancement beyond what transient projects can provide. Rather than using a traditional top-down training system, learning networks rely on connections between people and institutions to fill knowledge gaps on an ongoing basis. The learning provided by these networks can be adapted to local contexts while building capacity at scale across the region – a key feature that aligns with the priorities set out during by the delegation of Ocean and Marine Conservation stakeholders during the WIO-LMMA Forum and answers the calls to actions issued to NGOs.

A draft vision and mission for the emerging CBNRM learning network, provisionally named LearNet, was developed at a workshop hosted by CORDIO, IUCN, WWF, WIOMSA and Wildlife Research and Training Institute in July 2024. Participants agreed that the network should focus on empowering coastal communities to sustainably manage natural resources and should foster resilience by establishing regional partnerships that harness and distribute co-created knowledge, skills and tools to LMMA members.
Participants at the July workshop also identified three provisional objectives for the learning network:
- Empower communities to be effective stewards of the environments under their custodianship
- Alleviate poverty as a driver of overexploitation of coastal environments
- Facilitate community-managed areas to be recognised as a key contribution to the Global Biodiversity Framework as “Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures”, or OECMs.
WWF and CORDIO plan to see the regional learning network on CBNRM developed and launched over three phases, with full implementation by 2026.
