This project is designed to support the Nairobi Convention and the Northern Mozambique Channel (NMC) countries to deliver on decisions taken by the 8th and 9th Conference of Parties of the Nairobi Convention (Decision CP8/6(b) and Decision CP9/7(b)) to implement an integrated ocean governance approach in the NMC. These decisions identified the need for trans-boundary protection and highlighted the NMC as an important region to show case the value of an integrated ocean management approach.

The NMC Initiative was also declared a flagship initiative under the regions commitment to deliver on SDG 14 and highlights the significance of this region for broader sustainable development across the WIO Northern Mozambique Channel partnership and the Northern Mozambique Channel Initiative.

Progressing MSP in the region is in line with major outcomes of the Strategic Action Programme Policy Harmonization and Institutional Reforms (SAPPHIRE) and Western Indian Ocean Strategic Action Programme (WIO-SAP) Projects which recognizes that a regional MSP strategy is vital to harmonize the different marine and coastal management and spatial planning initiatives in the countries of the WIO region.

 Given the exceptional biodiversity value and the increasing scale of the risks, the NMC region deserves special attention. Significant gaps in the protection of key biodiversity hotspots leave the NMC region vulnerable. It also provides an ideal testing ground for multi-country cooperation in applying Integrated Ocean Management MSP and facilitating transboundary management and protection and has therefore been identified as a priority demonstration site under the regional MSP processes.

The NMC is the second most important hotspot for tropical marine biodiversity in the world, and a strategic zone for marine species reproduction and primordial nutrition. The area’s coastal population, assessed at 10 million people, may reach 40 to 60 million by 2100: they are heavily dependent on marine resources.

Human activities - in particular, extractive industries - present a great threat to the region’s ecosystems, and the recent discovery of extensive volumes of natural gas and oil in the zone could potentially further endanger these ecosystems and the coastal communities. Faced with this threat, the NoCaMo project - supported by the FFEM - aims to steer development trends across the region toward sustainable practices, balancing economic development with marine ecosystem preservation. A main target will be to implement integrated governance for the oceans.

This project promotes an integrated oceans governance approach: an innovation on a regional and global scale. It also represents the first initiative to promote a “blue economy” in the NMC, to balance economic and social development with environmental protection. Its use of economic assessment tools and scientific scenarios as decision-making aids is also innovative in the area, as is the promotion of best environmental and social practices in the oil and gas industry. The model being developed could also be replicated to manage other resources and projects of different scales.

Countries : Mozambique, Madagascar, Comoros and Tanzania

By 2030, the Northern Mozambique Channel’s high biodiversity value coral reef and associated ecosystems are maintained and enhanced through effective spatial management of marine uses, in particular the oil & gas sector, to secure a sustainable future for coastal communities and economies.

1. BY 2026, THE INSTITUTIONAL AND KNOWLEDGE FOUNDATIONS ARE LAID FOR THE APPLICATION OF MULTI-STAKEHOLDER BASED MARINE SPATIAL PLANNING (MSP) ACROSS THE NMC REGION 

2. BY 2026, EFFECTIVE PLANNING IS PROMOTED AND BEST PRACTICES IN THE OIL & GAS SECTOR ARE ADOPTED BY GOVERNMENTS AND PRIVATE SECTOR CHAMPIONS, LEADING TO MITIGATION OF IMPACTS OF THE SECTOR TO THE BIODIVERSITY AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES IN THE NMC

3. BY 2026, COMMUNITY LIVELIHOODS AND WELL-BEING ARE INCREMENTALLY SECURED THROUGH THE SHARING AND REPLICATION OF BEST PRACTICES IN COMMUNITY-BASED MARINE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND POPULATION-HEALTH-ENVIRONMENT