The sixth episode of Season 3 is dedicated to sustainable small-scale fisheries, a sector that is vital around the world for food security, livelihoods and marine stewardship. We ask what can be done to amplify the voices of small-scale fishers among other marine users and what it takes to empower fishing communities in policy-making. Meet Nicole Franz from the FAO Fishery Division’s Equitable Livelihoods Team and hear how the FAO Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries have already made a difference. Listen to Aliou Sall, Director of the NGO Le Centre de Recherche pour le développement des technologies intermédiaires de pêche (CREDETIP) in Senegal, as he shares his view from the ground and explains why small-scale fisheries are so often overlooked. We also discuss examples of successful co-management and explore what else is needed to secure sustainable practices. So dive right in to find out what can be done to help small-scale fishers to realise and above all use their hidden power.

The fifth episode of Season 3 is dedicated to Nature-based Solutions (NbS) and how they can empower local communities to build resilience to coastal hazards and climate change. We’re visiting Ghana where the MeerWissen MANCOGA project (“Mangroves as Nature-based Solutions to Coastal Hazards in Eastern Ghana”) is developing a robust and participatory NbS to help communities deal with flooding, erosion, and pollution while also building livelihoods. To achieve its objectives, MANCOGA is using a co-design approach, meaning close collaboration of multiple stakeholders from the very beginning. Listen to Dr Edem Mahu, marine scientist at the University of Ghana and co-lead of the MANCOGA project, and Togbui Kumassah, the spokesperson for the Paramount Chief of the Anlo State, explain the added value of mangroves as a NbS and how collaboration, awareness-raising and sharing knowledge is making a real difference to communities in eastern Ghana. Most of all, learn about the importance of co-design and how this has led to a real sense of ownership among the various stakeholders. So dive right in and hear MANCOGA's key messages on successful co-design.

A few weeks after COP28 drew to a close, the fourth episode of Season 3 is taking stock: How will climate change impact our coasts and seas, and what can and should we do in response? Eight years after the adoption of the Paris Agreement, COP28 was set to assess progress on climate action as part of the first Global Stocktake. This is a good opportunity to take stock ourselves: How will climate change impact our coasts and seas, and what can and should we do in response? In this episode we’re joined by James Kairo, the Blue Carbon Project Representative at Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute, and Stephen Widdicombe, Director of Science and Deputy Chief Executive at Plymouth Marine Laboratory, UK. Listen in as they discuss what oceans need to remain a key ally in fighting climate change and whether COP28 recognised the special role oceans are playing. This episode is also about the policy changes that might be needed to achieve real impact, and where we see ongoing challenges and science gaps. So dive right in - not least to hear what makes us hopeful that at least some positive change is being achieved.

Our third episode of season three discusses what effective protection can and should mean in times of climate change and rapidly developing ocean economies. The Kunming-Montreal Framework for Biodiversity Protection has been celebrated for its ambitious goals, but how can these goals be translated into practice? What are examples of successful MPAs or Other Effective Conservation Measures, and how can challenges be overcome to ensure a coherent approach to protection across geographical scales? We are in discussion with David Obura, IPBES Chair and Founder of CORDIO EAST Africa, Nonhle Mngadi, Senior Project Manager at the uThukela Marine Protected Areas Ecosystems Based Adaptation project in South Africa, and Dr Makame Omar Makame, Director of the Marine conservation department at the Ministry of Blue Economy and Fisheries in Zanzibar. So dive right in and hear what is needed to secure a future for marine biodiversity at the local, national and international level.

Local knowledge, indigenous knowledge and co-design - ever wondered what that's all about? Is local knowledge really as important as everyone seems to think, and might co-design even change the way we think about ocean governance? In this episode we ask why it is important to include a diversity of knowledge in ocean governance and how local and indigenous knowledge holders can be engaged in a meaningful or even transformative way. We’ll hear from Bernadette Snow, a co-design expert and researcher from One Ocean Hub for South Africa and Namibia, and Vatosoa Rakotondrazafy, IUCN regional manager for Eastern and Southern Africa. Vatosoa is also the former national coordinator of the MIHARI Network, Madagascar’s network of LMMAs or Locally Managed Marine Areas. So dive right in and be inspired by stories of successful collaboration of scientists and local knowledge holders - benefitting LMMAs and other marine management contexts around the globe.

In the first episode of season three the hosts Kira Gee and Alison Clausen talk about the challenges and solutions of achieving a sustainable ocean economy. Our guest are Betty Makena, Kenya's first ever woman Port Inspector for the International Transport Federation and Edward Kimakwa, Senior Marine Advisor for the Western Indian Ocean Governance Initiative (WIOGI) at GIZ Kenya and Our Blue Future (OBF) Coordinator. We’ll look at the outcomes a sustainable ocean economy could - and should - set out to achieve and actions that are already being implemented towards it. Dive in and learn more about how to manage the competing interests of conservation, sustainable use and social justice. 

To mark World Oceans Day 2023, a special episode of the MeerWissen podcast Ocean InSight looks at how Early Career Ocean Professionals in 5 African countries envision ocean science for sustainable development in the future. Yaw Atiglo, Ndeye Bousso, Kaijage Laurian, Thando Mazomba and Rendani Ndanduleni Ivy Malwela share what drew them to careers in ocean science and what challenges and opportunities they perceive for unlocking the science we need for the ocean we want. Be inspired by young voices from South Africa, Senegal, Ghana, and Tanzania.

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This special French-speaking episode of the MeerWissen podcast is hosted by Ibrahima Camara and Baye Cheikh Mbaye. They are taking us to West Africa to discuss how knowledge-based solutions can be implemented to foster a sustainable blue economy. Alison Amoussou from the Abidjan Convention is in conversation with Waly Ndiaye from the Institut Sénégalais de Recherches Agricoles, more specifically the Oceanographic Research Center of Dakar-Thiaroye (CRODT). So what exactly could a sustainable blue economy look like in the Abidjan Convention region, and what lessons can be drawn from the INDUCE project?

The "nature-sounds-ocean-waves-for-relaxation" and "calming-sea-sounds" are used under License: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). www.freesoundslibrary.com. Additional sound effects from www.zapsplat.com.

This episode takes the 2022 UN Biodiversity conference (COP 15) in Montreal, Canada, as a starting point to ask what is changing for biodiversity conservation and if we are on the right track for halting and reversing nature loss in the ocean. We are joined by Joe Appiott, coordinator for marine, coastal and islands biodiversity at the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and Dr Kerry Sink, Marine Program Manager and Principal Scientist at South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). So, what exactly might change with the new global biodiversity framework, and is this a step in the right direction? What about the regional perspective on biodiversity conservation in the ocean: What can experiences from South Africa teach us in going forward? 

The "nature-sounds-ocean-waves-for-relaxation" and "calming-sea-sounds" are used under License: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). www.freesoundslibrary.com. Additional sound effects from www.zapsplat.com.

Marine spatial planning (MSP) is often described as an attempt to balance the many demands we are placing on our oceans. Critics say it is all about blue growth and not enough about the environment. But is this always the case? In this episode of Ocean Insight we meet Dr. Anja Kreiner, Head of Subdivision Environment at the National Marine Information and Research Centre, Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources in Namibia and Chair of the National MSP Working Group, to explore Namibia’s interpretation of MSP. We also meet Nico Willemse, Project Manager of the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem Project and member of the Benguela Current Commission, to learn about the Benguela Current Convention and what is being done to support a transboundary approach to MSP. So dive right in to find out how blue growth and biodiversity protection can be reconciled and how MSP can support the 30x30 goal.

The "nature-sounds-ocean-waves-for-relaxation" and "calming-sea-sounds" are used under License: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). www.freesoundslibrary.com. Additional sound effects from www.zapsplat.com.

Blue nature-based solutions are being discussed worldwide as an innovative approach to mitigating climate change. But what exactly are nature-based solutions, and what support is needed from science, policy and practice to implement them? In this episode of Ocean Insight, Paubert Mahatante, Minister of Fisheries and the Blue Economy in Madagascar, and Arthur Tuda, Executive Secretary of the Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association (WIOMSA), give examples of blue nature-based solutions in the WIO. They discuss what sets this approach apart from traditional conservation and how it can support communities in becoming more resilient.

Welcome to the second season of Ocean Insight and our new episode! Have you ever wondered what ocean governance and integrated ocean management actually mean? The second episode of season 2 answers this question from the perspective of the Western Indian Ocean region and the Nairobi Convention. Our guests are Judy Beaumont, the newly appointed Director of the International Ocean Institute Southern Africa, and Dixon Waruinge, Head of the Secretariat of the Nairobi Convention. Dive in and learn about the challenges of ocean governance in an international context, especially one as diverse as the WIO region. Hear what can be done - and has been done - to successfully address them.

The "nature-sounds-ocean-waves-for-relaxation" and "calming-sea-sounds" are used under License: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). www.freesoundslibrary.com. Additional sound effects from www.zapsplat.com.

Welcome back to the first episode of season 2 of Ocean Insight! This episode takes us to Tanzania and Zanzibar. Christopher Muhando from the Institute of Marine Sciences at the University of Dar es Salaam and Dr. Aboud S. Jumbe, Principal Secretary at the Ministry of Blue Economy and Fisheries in Zanzibar, explain what scientists can do to package their data, and what kind of data and information decision-makers need to make an impact. Dive in and learn about the importance of platforms for data and information – platforms that bring together scientists and decision-makers to better understand each other’s needs and to ensure research has policy impact.