Water Quality Workshop

In 2024, the Nairobi Convention Secretariat commissioned South Africa’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to facilitate a week-long training and capacity development workshop, focusing on the development and implementation of C&MWQM at national level, guided by the region’s strategic framework (UNEP et al. 2022b). The workshop held at the CSIR Campus in Durban, South Africa, was attended by twenty-seven participants from five countries (Kenya, Madagascar Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania and Zanzibar). This workshop provided practical training on the development of country-level frameworks and plans for C&MWQM. The workshop included dedicated lecture sessions on the development of monitoring programmes relevant to C&MWQM. Practical sessions provided country teams the opportunity to prepare a draft National Frameworks for C&MWQM, as well as preliminary zoning and monitoring programs/plans for selected marine pollution hotspot as input to the development of local C&MWQM plan at a later stage. Building on the 1^st training workshop, the aim of this 2nd Training and Capacity Development Workshop on C&MWQM will be to provide the original country teams with the opportunity (i) to share progress and challenges encountered in the National Framework development process, and (ii) to focus on the development of detailed local C&MWQM plans addressing a specific marine pollution hotspot.  This activity contributes to achieving objectives of the SAPPHIRE project Component 1 on Supporting Policy Harmonization and Management Reforms towards improved Ocean Governance, Deliverable 1.2.2 which focuses on supporting the appropriate regionally and globally mandated bodies and Conventions (e.g. Nairobi Convention, etc.) toward the adoption of regional and global standards (e.g. as provided for by IMO Conventions and protocols) for marine water quality parameters and contaminants/pollutants.