CORDIO Strategic Plan 2021-2025
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1<br />
Coastal Oceans Research and Development in the Indian Ocean, East Africa<br />
STRATEGIC PLAN <strong>2021</strong>-<strong>2025</strong><br />
An African hub for<br />
marine science and<br />
conservation in the<br />
Western Indian Ocean
2<br />
Foreword<br />
The <strong>CORDIO</strong> East Africa team are looking forward<br />
to an exciting and productive five-year programme<br />
to address their mission to improve the health and<br />
resilience of marine ecosystems and coastal peoples’<br />
well-being in the Western Indian Ocean.<br />
<strong>CORDIO</strong> East Africa is an established African centre of marine science expertise, operating<br />
as an independent civil society organisation. In this <strong>CORDIO</strong> is unique, bridging the<br />
gap between government and community, between policy and practice and providing<br />
independent and novel thinking.<br />
This new <strong>Strategic</strong> <strong>Plan</strong> outlines <strong>CORDIO</strong>’s innovative approaches in research, conservation<br />
action and support to policy and governance, and is captured in four Goals:<br />
1. IMPROVING POLICY AND GOVERNANCE for marine biodiversity and the people<br />
dependent on it.<br />
2. SUPPORTING LOCAL MANAGEMENT of marine resources by strengthening LMMAs and<br />
other co-management approaches in Kenya and across the Western Indian Ocean (WIO).<br />
3. BUILDING SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE and capacity for marine conservation and<br />
management.<br />
4. STRENGTHENING <strong>CORDIO</strong>’S INTERNAL CAPACITY, with a focus on internal leadership<br />
and team development, fundraising and communications.<br />
<strong>CORDIO</strong> will achieve these goals through building on its established reputation as a worldclass<br />
scientific research organisation and leader in coral reef ecology, tropical small-scale<br />
fisheries and monitoring. <strong>CORDIO</strong>’s interconnected approach that integrates, through<br />
partnerships, science, policy, management and governance, is highly adapted to achieve<br />
these ambitious goals. I am confident that <strong>CORDIO</strong> will continue to lead and have a positive<br />
impact from community to regional and global levels.<br />
—Ali Kaka, Chair, <strong>CORDIO</strong> East Africa’s Advisory Board
3<br />
Introduction<br />
Coastal Oceans Research and Development in the<br />
Indian Ocean (<strong>CORDIO</strong>) was established in 1999 as a<br />
regional research network in the Western Indian Ocean<br />
(WIO) focused on coral reef science. Its formation<br />
was originally spurred by the global coral bleaching<br />
event of 1998. Formally established as a non-profit<br />
organisation in Kenya in 2003, <strong>CORDIO</strong> has grown over<br />
the past two decades (see below) into a leading centre<br />
for coastal marine and ocean science and conservation<br />
in East Africa and the wider WIO region.<br />
<strong>CORDIO</strong>’S EVOLUTION: 1999-2020<br />
1999: <strong>CORDIO</strong> is founded with a<br />
focus on supporting and building<br />
capacity for coral reef monitoring<br />
in the Western Indian Ocean and<br />
South Asia.<br />
2003: Registration of <strong>CORDIO</strong><br />
East Africa as a Kenyan non-profit<br />
organisation.<br />
2006: Transition from Sida<br />
(Sweden) dominated funding to<br />
multiple donors and to regional<br />
research projects; transition in<br />
<strong>CORDIO</strong> coordination from Sweden<br />
to Mombasa, and of geographic<br />
focus to the Western Indian Ocean.<br />
2007 - 2012: Expansion with<br />
addition of Co-Director, and shift<br />
of focus to regional research on<br />
coral reef climate resilience and<br />
biogeography, threatened species<br />
and fisheries research and capacitybuilding<br />
with fishing communities.<br />
2013 - 2018: Institutional<br />
strengthening through establishing<br />
Advisory Board; increased<br />
leadership roles in regional<br />
and global initiatives (Northern<br />
Mozambique Channel, multiple<br />
IUCN groups, SDG14, blue economy<br />
and ocean governance).<br />
2019-2020: Institutional growth<br />
through larger grants (Norad, IKI-<br />
IUCN), expansion of research and<br />
management staffing, end of 2016-<br />
2020 <strong>Strategic</strong> <strong>Plan</strong> coinciding with<br />
major decadal policy processes<br />
(CBD, SDG, UN Decade).<br />
This new strategic plan<br />
presents <strong>CORDIO</strong>’s approach for<br />
strengthening and delivering on its<br />
mission as marine conservation<br />
and sustainability concerns rise on<br />
the global development agenda due<br />
to increased pressures on marine<br />
systems and resources. <strong>CORDIO</strong><br />
continues to operate as an African<br />
research organisation focused on<br />
marine science, conservation and<br />
sustainability in the WIO, as well as<br />
part of global networks.
4<br />
The Context<br />
Marine Conservation Challenges and<br />
Opportunities in the Western Indian Ocean<br />
The degradation of marine resources is a critical challenge for<br />
people and biodiversity in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO).<br />
Marine ecosystems such as coral reefs play<br />
a central role in the livelihoods of millions of<br />
coastal people in the region, through local forms<br />
of utilisation and key national industries such<br />
as tourism. The annual “gross marine product”<br />
of the WIO region – equivalent to a country’s<br />
annual gross domestic product (GDP) – is at least<br />
US$20.8 billion, derived from a total “ocean asset<br />
base” estimated at US$333 billion. As the growing<br />
regional focus on the ‘Blue Economy’ indicates,<br />
healthy coastal and marine ecosystems play a<br />
central role in sustaining human well-being across<br />
the WIO.<br />
The WIO contains the second peak of coral reef<br />
biodiversity in the world. However, in the past<br />
two decades, average coral cover has declined<br />
by a quarter as a result of coral bleaching events,<br />
overfishing and other pressures. All coral reef subregions<br />
in the WIO are rated Vulnerable to Critically<br />
Endangered by the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems.<br />
Small-scale fisheries are ranked as 76% overfished<br />
across the WIO, 50% of shark species are<br />
considered threatened, and critically important<br />
larger predatory fish such as groupers are heavily<br />
depleted or functionally extinct across much of the<br />
region.<br />
There are several fundamental drivers of decline<br />
of the region’s marine resources and biodiversity.<br />
These include climate change, overexploitation of<br />
fisheries, inadequate governance and enforcement<br />
systems including protection of marine areas,<br />
insufficient or inadequate policy measures and<br />
lack of investment in local management capacity.<br />
As pressures grow on marine ecosystems and<br />
the livelihoods that depend on them, ocean and<br />
marine issues are rising in prominence in global,<br />
regional and national policy arenas. New interests<br />
and resources are converging on the challenges,<br />
and generating important opportunities. Ocean<br />
conservation is now mainstreamed within the<br />
UN Sustainable Development Goals, and the<br />
UN ‘Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable<br />
Development’ begins in <strong>2021</strong>.<br />
Growing recognition of the central role that oceans<br />
and marine ecosystems play in human economies<br />
is driving greater interest across scales in Marine<br />
Spatial <strong>Plan</strong>ning, Sustainable Blue Economy<br />
strategies, and a suite of related strategies that<br />
seek to improve the management of fisheries<br />
and other marine resources while unlocking new<br />
economic opportunities.
5<br />
Expanding Marine Protected Area<br />
(MPA) coverage has been a priority<br />
under the Convention on Biological<br />
Diversity’s Aichi Targets, which<br />
set a target of 10% coverage for<br />
2020, and likely to expand to 30%<br />
under the new global biodiversity<br />
framework (GBF) being negotiated<br />
for 2030.<br />
Globally, a key trend in conservation<br />
approaches over the past two<br />
decades has been the increasing<br />
role of local community-based<br />
management approaches, and this<br />
has been strongly emphasised<br />
in the WIO in the last 15 years,<br />
in the form of Locally Managed<br />
Marine Areas (LMMAs), whereby<br />
community institutions take the<br />
lead in collectively managing<br />
defined coastal territories and the<br />
reefs and fisheries therein.<br />
By<br />
2014<br />
LMMAs covered<br />
> 11,000 km2 in the<br />
WIO, collectively<br />
increasing overall<br />
MPA coverage to 11%.<br />
Madagascar and Kenya have led the<br />
way in the region, with important<br />
positive impacts documented, and more<br />
recently Mozambique passed important<br />
regulatory reforms to support LMMA<br />
establishment.<br />
Although LMMAs have spread widely across the region,<br />
their governance and financial sustainability tend to<br />
be limited and they have often been unable to prevent<br />
continued depletion of local fisheries. The growing<br />
interest and investment in marine policy and local<br />
management approaches amongst policy makers,<br />
local governments, local fishing communities, private<br />
sector and conservationists, provides critical context for<br />
<strong>CORDIO</strong>’s work and evolving strategy.<br />
These trends are also creating new opportunities and<br />
partnerships at different scales, and a greater focus<br />
on the intersection of people’s livelihoods and marine<br />
conservation.
6<br />
Background<br />
<strong>CORDIO</strong>’s Track Record & Key Achievements<br />
Scientific Expertise<br />
<strong>CORDIO</strong> is a leading African non-governmental<br />
organisation working at the intersection of marine<br />
scientific research and conservation policy and<br />
practice on a regional scale. <strong>CORDIO</strong>’s work<br />
ranges from promoting sustainable resource<br />
use within fishing communities to national and<br />
regional research to support policy development<br />
and improved governance of marine ecosystems.<br />
At the global scale, <strong>CORDIO</strong> contributes to major<br />
international policy and convention processes,<br />
through its scientific research and publications, as<br />
well as involvement in expert working groups and<br />
committees.<br />
<strong>CORDIO</strong>’s identity and reputation has been built<br />
on its long history of producing quality scientific<br />
research on Western Indian Ocean coastal and<br />
ocean issues.<br />
<strong>CORDIO</strong> is one of the leading sources of scientific<br />
and monitoring expertise on coral reefs in the<br />
region, including their resilience to climate<br />
change, and other related topics such as coastal<br />
fisheries, endangered species and biogeography.<br />
<strong>CORDIO</strong>’s research effectively bridges science<br />
and management, notably through its body of<br />
work pioneering sustainability in artisanal fishing<br />
gears and the establishment of LMMAs in Kenya.<br />
<strong>CORDIO</strong>’s publications are diverse and increasingly<br />
multi-disciplinary, ranging from top global scientific<br />
journals such as Science and Nature, to userfriendly<br />
manuals on fisheries and LMMAs designed<br />
for local communities and other managers.<br />
<strong>CORDIO</strong> employs a collaborative, inclusive and<br />
open research culture, spanning numerous other<br />
conservation organisations, government agencies<br />
and academic institutions.
7<br />
“<strong>CORDIO</strong> stands above<br />
all the organisations that<br />
I know in the region, and<br />
nationally in Kenya, in<br />
terms of their particular<br />
expertise on coral reefs –<br />
they are known as the one<br />
stop shop on coral reefs.”<br />
–Ali Kaka, former Regional Director of IUCN<br />
Eastern and Southern Africa, and Chair of<br />
<strong>CORDIO</strong>’s Advisory Board
8<br />
Policy Influence<br />
<strong>CORDIO</strong>’s technical expertise and strong roots<br />
in Kenya, the WIO and the global coral reef<br />
community, enable a wide-ranging engagement<br />
with marine and conservation policy development.<br />
This spans national policies on small scale<br />
fisheries and LMMAs, including their legislative<br />
guidelines, marine spatial planning, scoping<br />
related to ocean governance and Blue Economy,<br />
and technical inputs to global policy processes,<br />
such as the Convention on Biological Diversity.<br />
<strong>CORDIO</strong> brings its expertise, track record, technical<br />
capacity, extensive partner network, and its local<br />
grounding into these policy processes to link<br />
science, decision-making and action.<br />
<strong>CORDIO</strong> also supports local organisations working<br />
on marine issues particularly in Mozambique,<br />
Tanzania and Comoros, through training and<br />
collaborative implementation of monitoring and<br />
conservation activities. These partnerships beyond<br />
Kenya, and <strong>CORDIO</strong>’s regional role as a hub of<br />
science on key marine issues, are a foundation of<br />
its work and role in the WIO.<br />
Building National and Regional<br />
Capacity in Marine Science and<br />
Conservation<br />
Over the past two decades, <strong>CORDIO</strong> has developed<br />
into a unique East African hub of knowledge on<br />
marine science and conservation, led by a growing<br />
team of African marine scientists. <strong>CORDIO</strong> has<br />
played a key role in facilitating regional knowledge<br />
and the flow of information through targeted<br />
training, mentoring and advice. For example,<br />
through its role as a regional node for the Global<br />
Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN), <strong>CORDIO</strong><br />
builds capacity in data management and analysis<br />
with counterparts in national research institutions.<br />
<strong>CORDIO</strong> also collaborates with scientists at<br />
universities in the region contributing to a strong<br />
community of marine scientists within the WIO.<br />
An internship programme provides Kenyan<br />
undergraduates, as well as recent graduates, a<br />
chance to work within <strong>CORDIO</strong> for three months<br />
during or after their studies, providing a vital step<br />
for a student’s career. <strong>CORDIO</strong>’s culture of staff<br />
development through support to undertake further<br />
qualifications or new career opportunities, has<br />
also built a strong cadre of marine scientists in the<br />
region.<br />
“<strong>CORDIO</strong> has an<br />
important role of<br />
promoting young<br />
scientists through<br />
capacity building<br />
opportunities. Many<br />
coral reef and fisheries<br />
scientists have been<br />
through <strong>CORDIO</strong>.”<br />
–Dr. Saleh Yahya, Institute of Marine<br />
Sciences, Zanzibar, Tanzania.
9<br />
Community Marine Management<br />
and Support<br />
<strong>CORDIO</strong> applies its scientific and technical<br />
knowledge to actively support communities<br />
and local institutions in developing sustainable<br />
marine management practices. <strong>CORDIO</strong>’s ability<br />
to bridge top-level science with community-level<br />
management is an important aspect of its work<br />
and positioning within its field. <strong>CORDIO</strong> has played<br />
a central role in supporting communities in the<br />
development and implementation of LMMAs and<br />
documenting their impacts in Kenya, Mozambique<br />
and Tanzania. <strong>CORDIO</strong> has also worked directly<br />
with fishing communities and local government<br />
bodies to monitor, train and track small scale<br />
fisheries and their impacts in order to develop<br />
best management practices. <strong>CORDIO</strong> provides a<br />
range of direct support services through training,<br />
monitoring and community exchanges. Given the<br />
level of interest in small scale fisheries and coastal<br />
management systems such as LMMAs across<br />
the region, there is significant demand for this<br />
capacity.<br />
Partnerships<br />
<strong>CORDIO</strong>’s diverse and extensive collaboration<br />
and partnerships are central to nearly all facets<br />
of its work, from project delivery to its scientific<br />
publications. Nearly all of these are carried out<br />
through partnerships, both with international<br />
organisations, funders and networks, and with<br />
more locally site-based organisations such as<br />
<strong>CORDIO</strong>’s partners in Tanzania and Mozambique.<br />
Collaborations with government on policy<br />
development and research are also important and<br />
emphasised, as are institutional relationships with<br />
other research and training organisations, notably<br />
Pwani University in Kenya.<br />
Keys to successful LMMAs, based on <strong>CORDIO</strong> research in Kenya:<br />
EXTERNAL FUNDING<br />
Availability of donors and<br />
supporting institutions to<br />
finance and facilitate LMMA<br />
establishment<br />
FUNDING<br />
SUPPORT<br />
GOVERNMENT<br />
SUPPORT<br />
COMMUNITY<br />
SUPPORT<br />
INFORMED AND COMMITTED<br />
community members<br />
PAST TRAINING in<br />
community based marine<br />
resource management<br />
INSPIRATION<br />
Presence of opportunties for<br />
sharing LMMA information<br />
A supporting legal FRAMEWORK PROVIDED through<br />
national Environment and Fisheries regulations
10<br />
Vision,<br />
Mission,<br />
and Value<br />
Proposition<br />
Vision<br />
Healthy coastal and ocean<br />
ecosystems that support livelihoods.<br />
Mission<br />
To improve the health and resilience<br />
of marine ecosystems and coastal<br />
peoples’ well-being in the Western<br />
Indian Ocean through research,<br />
conservation action and support to<br />
policy and governance.
11<br />
Value Proposition<br />
<strong>CORDIO</strong>’s value proposition lies in the<br />
following core attributes:<br />
• A world-class scientific research<br />
organisation and global leader in<br />
coral reef ecology, tropical small<br />
scale fisheries and monitoring;<br />
• An established African centre of<br />
marine science expertise, operating<br />
as an independent civil society<br />
organisation;<br />
• Knowledge and impact that<br />
extends from community to<br />
regional and global levels;<br />
• An interconnected approach<br />
that integrates science, policy,<br />
management and governance,<br />
through partnerships.<br />
<strong>CORDIO</strong>’s Values<br />
• Excellence in science and research<br />
• Driven, diverse and dynamic team<br />
• Strong collaborations and<br />
partnerships<br />
• Professionalism and integrity<br />
• Accountability and transparency<br />
• Commitment to community<br />
participation in sustainable<br />
resource use<br />
• Open communication of data,<br />
research and information<br />
• Ethical and inclusive
12<br />
Theory of<br />
Change<br />
<strong>CORDIO</strong>’s work seeks to deliver<br />
healthier coastal and marine<br />
ecosystems that can improve people’s<br />
livelihoods in the WIO. <strong>CORDIO</strong> believes<br />
that sustaining the marine environment<br />
and its resources, including coral reefs<br />
and fisheries, can be achieved through:<br />
• ENHANCING INFORMATION and<br />
knowledge of the issues critical for<br />
conservation;<br />
• STRENGTHENING THE CAPACITY<br />
of community level management<br />
bodies (e.g. LMMAs/fisher<br />
associations) to promote<br />
sustainable resource use;<br />
• IMPROVING POLICY and<br />
governance of marine resources<br />
by government at multiple levels<br />
and changing attitudes to promote<br />
sustainable production and<br />
consumption.<br />
<strong>CORDIO</strong> will<br />
contribute towards<br />
change in these<br />
key outcomes by<br />
marshalling its<br />
knowledge and<br />
capabilities in science,<br />
monitoring, training,<br />
and stakeholder<br />
engagement, as well<br />
as by leveraging its<br />
regional reach and<br />
partnerships.
13<br />
OUTCOMES<br />
IMPROVED POLICY &<br />
GOVERNANCE<br />
• Nationally &<br />
Regionally<br />
• Key Processes<br />
such as Marine<br />
Spatial <strong>Plan</strong>ning<br />
VISION:<br />
HEALTHY<br />
COASTAL<br />
ECOSYSTEMS<br />
& IMPROVED<br />
LIVELIHOODS<br />
STRENGTHEN<br />
LOCAL<br />
MANAGEMENT<br />
CAPACITY<br />
• BMUs<br />
• LMMAs<br />
GREATER KNOWLEDGE,<br />
INFORMATION, and human<br />
capacity across WIO for marine<br />
science and conservation<br />
INFORM INFLUENCE EDUCATE<br />
EMPOWER<br />
ENABLE<br />
SCIENCE/<br />
RESEARCH<br />
TRAINING, TOOLS,<br />
MONITORING<br />
SUPPORT<br />
COMMUNICATIONS<br />
PARTNERSHIPS,<br />
NETWORKS &<br />
COLLABORATION<br />
ACTIVITIES: THE WORK
14<br />
Goals &<br />
Objectives<br />
<strong>CORDIO</strong>’s work over the next<br />
five years will be organised<br />
around four core goals:<br />
1<br />
Improving policy and<br />
governance for marine<br />
biodiversity and the people<br />
dependent on it.<br />
3<br />
Building scientific<br />
knowledge and capacity<br />
for marine conservation<br />
and management.<br />
2<br />
Supporting local management<br />
of marine resources by<br />
strengthening LMMAs<br />
and other co-management<br />
approaches in Kenya and<br />
across the WIO.<br />
4<br />
Strengthening <strong>CORDIO</strong>’s<br />
internal capacity, with<br />
a focus on internal<br />
leadership and team<br />
development, fundraising<br />
and communications.<br />
Each of the goals has strategic objectives which detail the actions<br />
<strong>CORDIO</strong> will undertake in order to achieve each goal.
15
16<br />
Goal 1: Improving Policy<br />
and Governance<br />
Much of <strong>CORDIO</strong>’s work throughout its history has focused on<br />
generating science, research, and informational tools that can<br />
inform and improve marine policies and governance. Improving<br />
policy and governance processes at different levels is key to<br />
addressing the present and horizon threats of overexploitation,<br />
unsustainable coastal development, and global changes that<br />
threaten marine biodiversity and ecosystem benefits across the<br />
WIO region.<br />
Recent examples of <strong>CORDIO</strong>’s work here include ongoing<br />
technical inputs to the CBD, the Intergovernmental Science-<br />
Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES),<br />
the regional Nairobi Convention science-to-policy dialogues, and<br />
the production of legislative guidelines for LMMAs in Kenya and<br />
small scale fishing gear policy advisories.<br />
<strong>CORDIO</strong> will focus on shaping its research agenda around<br />
informing key policy issues and in the process continue to use<br />
its expansive collaborations and diverse partnerships.
17<br />
Objective 1: Contribute to<br />
improved marine policies through<br />
partnerships and providing<br />
scientific knowledge to key<br />
decision-making processes.<br />
KEY ACTIONS<br />
• Contribute the latest species-specific,<br />
resource-use and ecosystem information to<br />
inform biodiversity conservation, fisheries and<br />
other marine management<br />
• Publicise findings from relevant recent<br />
research on coral reefs and related systems<br />
that inform a broad audience.<br />
• Promote the successes and needs in<br />
community approaches to local governance<br />
and marine resource management.<br />
• Encourage inclusive co-management and<br />
the uptake of local/community knowledge in<br />
decision making circles.<br />
• Participate in fora that build sustainability<br />
into sub-national, national, regional and global<br />
policy processes and implementation.<br />
Objective 2: Improve planning and<br />
governance of marine systems at<br />
local, national and regional levels.<br />
KEY ACTIONS<br />
• Engage with various stakeholders from<br />
community to regional levels to promote<br />
actions that contribute to conservation and<br />
sustainable use.<br />
• Contribute to policy change for sustainability<br />
in small scale fisheries operations.<br />
• Communicate research findings and their<br />
implications to community level institutions<br />
and other local stakeholders.<br />
• Develop tools and training for governance<br />
in LMMAs and other community-based<br />
approaches.<br />
• Engage and contribute to Marine Spatial<br />
<strong>Plan</strong>ning and Blue Economy dialogues and<br />
processes in WIO countries and the region as<br />
a whole.<br />
• Integrate species and ecosystem Red<br />
Listing in conservation and marine planning<br />
processes.
18<br />
Goal 2: Supporting<br />
Local Marine Resource<br />
Management<br />
A core foundation of <strong>CORDIO</strong>’s work in developing other effective<br />
conservation measures is through directly working with and<br />
supporting community marine management bodies in their<br />
efforts to strengthen LMMAs and manage small-scale fisheries<br />
(SSFs). <strong>CORDIO</strong>’s approach has been to provide training and<br />
technical support for monitoring and management of SSFs and<br />
to a wide range of LMMAs inside and outside Kenya.<br />
<strong>CORDIO</strong> will continue to aim for a broad geographic approach<br />
through its tools, networks and partnerships, but will also<br />
work to increase its investment at a core set of sites where<br />
it has strong, long-term relationships, in order to advance<br />
those LMMAs to greater success in their overall management,<br />
including of SSFs, and financial sustainability.
19<br />
Objective 1: Enable communities to<br />
effectively manage and sustainably<br />
use their marine resources.<br />
KEY ACTIONS<br />
• Equip communities with relevant knowledge,<br />
skills and technology to effectively manage<br />
their fisheries and other marine resources.<br />
• Engage communities in the research process:<br />
design, data collection and analysis, reporting<br />
and feedback.<br />
• Train community trainers to deliver various<br />
capacity building activities long term.<br />
• Focus on key LMMA sites to demonstrate<br />
success and impact.<br />
• Promote exchange of information among<br />
coastal communities through learning<br />
networks and exchange visits.<br />
Objective 2: Engage with local<br />
partners and other relevant<br />
networks to support their efforts<br />
in strengthening community<br />
governance of marine resources.<br />
KEY ACTIONS<br />
• Support local partners and other relevant<br />
networks to support their efforts in effective<br />
management of LMMAs and small scale<br />
fisheries.<br />
• Collaborate with partners to develop long-term<br />
financing mechanisms for management of<br />
SSFs and LMMAs .<br />
• Support fishing communities’ institutions<br />
(BMUs, CCFs etc) to develop concepts and<br />
proposals that will help them secure funding.<br />
• Promote improved sustainability of LMMAs<br />
and SSFs through MSP and Blue Economy<br />
processes.
20<br />
Goal 3: Strengthening<br />
Scientific Knowledge<br />
and Capacity<br />
<strong>CORDIO</strong> started as a network organisation to enable and build<br />
capacity for coordinated monitoring and research on coral<br />
reef condition in the WIO. <strong>CORDIO</strong>’s regional role focuses on<br />
producing and communicating innovative scientific research,<br />
aggregating and sharing data, strengthening coral reef<br />
monitoring standards and building the human capacity for<br />
marine science.<br />
<strong>CORDIO</strong> engages with partners to ground its research within the<br />
region, and through its networking role links WIO science into<br />
global research and conservation networks.
21<br />
Objective 1: Undertake high quality<br />
integrated ecological and social<br />
research on coral reefs, associated<br />
marine systems, their fisheries and<br />
other human impacts.<br />
KEY ACTIONS<br />
• Conduct novel scientific research and publish<br />
results with applied management relevance to<br />
the WIO.<br />
• Partner with leading research institutions<br />
internationally and in the region.<br />
• Operate a regional coral reef monitoring node<br />
with a coral bleaching alert network and<br />
information hub.<br />
• Incorporate social and rights-based aspects<br />
into research on community-based natural<br />
resource management (CBNRM).<br />
• Engage in topical or urgent needs-based<br />
research and assessments.<br />
• Collate latest spatial information on<br />
MASPAWIO’s portal and dashboards.<br />
Objective 2: Increase capacity of<br />
researchers, managers and other<br />
stakeholders to generate, manage,<br />
analyse and freely share scientific<br />
data and results.<br />
KEY ACTIONS<br />
• Strengthen the application of innovative<br />
survey methods and tools in the WIO region<br />
among management agencies to improve<br />
standards and practices.<br />
• Manage GCRMN and other data repositories in<br />
collaboration with data providers/contributors<br />
and relevant networks.<br />
• Organise events for WIO researchers,<br />
technicians and managers on methods, data<br />
management, analysis and communication of<br />
results.<br />
• Strengthen links with Kenyan Universities<br />
to support marine research / conservation<br />
teaching, postgraduate studies and <strong>CORDIO</strong>’s<br />
internship programme.
22<br />
Goal 4: Positioning<br />
<strong>CORDIO</strong> for Success:<br />
Managing Growth and<br />
Building Internal Capacity<br />
<strong>CORDIO</strong> has grown significantly in the last five years with<br />
staff numbers rising by 40% and significant recent investment<br />
resulting in the organisational annual budget almost doubling<br />
to US$900,000 in 2019-2020. <strong>CORDIO</strong> has been able to build<br />
a talented team of younger Kenyan marine scientists as<br />
well as nurture individuals who move on to other leadership<br />
positions in the national and regional marine policy, science and<br />
conservation arena. An important phase in <strong>CORDIO</strong>’s own growth<br />
has been to build a larger senior team, spreading leadership<br />
responsibilities more broadly beyond the co-directors. <strong>CORDIO</strong><br />
will continue this expansion by attracting additional staff in key<br />
areas, while building up the capacity of the existing team to take<br />
on leadership roles.<br />
To translate <strong>CORDIO</strong>’s deep and perhaps unequalled body of<br />
information, knowledge, and published products into forms<br />
that facilitate application and action, <strong>CORDIO</strong> will invest in<br />
new approaches and communications channels. To effectively<br />
influence policy and governance changes, communications<br />
platforms essential to promoting <strong>CORDIO</strong> as an organisation,<br />
such as its website and annual reports, need rebranding, as does<br />
leadership development across staff. These factors guide our<br />
organisational development objectives over the next 5 years in<br />
the context of the changing and dynamic issues facing coastal<br />
and marine environments and people in the WIO.
23<br />
Objective 1: Strengthening capacity<br />
of <strong>CORDIO</strong> staff in strategic<br />
leadership, science, training and<br />
conservation action.<br />
KEY ACTIONS<br />
• Build leadership capacity in senior staff to lead<br />
<strong>CORDIO</strong>’s programmes and raise funds<br />
• Support staff to build their capacity needs<br />
through technical training and professional<br />
courses<br />
• Build the capacity of staff to manage projects,<br />
engage with stakeholders and partners, and<br />
produce scientific publications and outreach<br />
materials<br />
Objective 3: Strengthen <strong>CORDIO</strong>’s<br />
governance to support the<br />
achievement of its vision<br />
KEY ACTIONS<br />
• Build leadership capacity of Senior<br />
Management Team staff to improve strategic<br />
decision-making of the organisation.<br />
• Ensure organisational policies are kept current.<br />
• Improve financial and administrative decisionmaking<br />
by clearly defining roles and authority<br />
of Directors and Senior Staff.<br />
• Strengthen <strong>CORDIO</strong>’s Advisory Board to<br />
provide stronger strategic and fundraising<br />
advice to <strong>CORDIO</strong>.<br />
Objective 2: Diversify and expand<br />
<strong>CORDIO</strong>’s Funding Portfolio for long<br />
term sustainability<br />
KEY ACTIONS<br />
• Develop a financial sustainability strategy to<br />
consolidate existing and identify new revenue<br />
sources.<br />
• Give grant writing opportunities to staff to<br />
enhance proposal writing skills<br />
• Leverage existing projects and relationships<br />
with donors to secure repeat funding.<br />
• Forge new donor relationships, including<br />
prioritising greater flexible core funding<br />
required to invest in <strong>CORDIO</strong>’s capacity.<br />
Objective 4: Improve external<br />
communications<br />
• Develop an institutional level communication<br />
strategy to guide all communication activities.<br />
• Improve communication tools that showcase<br />
<strong>CORDIO</strong>’s brand, achievements and key<br />
features.<br />
• Improve internal capacity in communications<br />
including overall strategic management as<br />
well as generating content.<br />
• Incorporate specific budget allocations in<br />
proposals to support communication expertise<br />
in-house.<br />
• Target multiple audiences with different<br />
knowledge products with clear objectives on<br />
our intended impact.<br />
• Build partnerships to expand our<br />
communications reach and impact.
David Obura<br />
Director<br />
Melita Samoilys<br />
Director<br />
SUSTAINING THE FUTURE OF<br />
PEOPLE AND OCEANS TOGETHER<br />
Office Address:<br />
#9 Kibaki Flats, Kenyatta Beach<br />
Bamburi, Mombasa – Kenya<br />
Postal Address:<br />
P. O. BOX 10135- 80101<br />
Mombasa – Kenya<br />
facebook.com/cordioeastafrica<br />
twitter.com/cordioea<br />
youtube.com/cordioea<br />
info@cordioea.net<br />
www.cordioea.net<br />
+254 736 341184<br />
+254 791 717 714