Article 14.1 of Nairobi Convention states that “As part of their environmental management policies, the Contracting Parties shall, in co-operation with competent regional and international organizations if necessary, develop technical and other guidelines to assist in the planning of their major development projects in such a way as to prevent or minimize harmful impacts on the Convention area”

In the WIO region over 48.3 million people live within 100 km of the coast with many local communities highly depended on coastal and marine resources and associated services for their livelihood.
Healthy and functioning coastal and marine ecosystems are key to food security, coastal protection, provision of employment as well as other forms of livelihood to these coastal communities.
However, there are concerns regarding the service and product provision and conservation of marine resources with respect to new and emerging threats from climate change stress, especially ocean warming (OW) and acidification (OA).
How will these ecosystems and communities respond or adapt to OA impacts and what needs to be done to mitigate these impacts (for resilience and adaptation)