Collaboration, Governance & Cross-Boundary Solidarity
Since 2021, the Great Blue Wall (GBW) has united more than 120 partners across ten nations and territories—governments, civil society, scientists, youth networks, and investors—around one shared vision: to build a just, regenerative, and interconnected blue future. What makes this network unique is not only its scale but its philosophy. The GBW is replacing fragmented, project-by-project efforts with a model of shared governance rooted in trust, inclusivity, and common purpose. When values align, collaboration becomes catalytic—innovation flows, tensions fade, and the ocean wins.
Across the Western Indian Ocean, this spirit of solidarity is reshaping governance itself. In Kenya and Mozambique, new national mangrove councils now bring communities, scientists, and ministries to the same decision-making tables. The Western Indian Ocean Locally Managed Marine Area Alliance, launched in 2024, formalizes cooperation among community-led conservation sites, while the Tanga–Pemba seascape between Tanzania and Kenya demonstrates how collaboration across borders can restore ecosystems and strengthen food security. Policy is becoming participatory—built from the coastline upward.
This momentum is matched by an emerging wave of ocean finance. Since its inception, the GBW has helped unlock over 80 million dollars in new capital, showing that aligned priorities attract transformative investment. Yet the ambition is larger: to move beyond fragmented grants and toward blended finance, blue bonds, carbon markets, and debt-for-nature swaps that make conservation economically sustainable. These mechanisms, when adapted to local realities, can turn intact ecosystems into engines of prosperity and resilience—good for people, good for nature, and good for business.
At its heart, however, Blue Partnerships is a movement of people. From Comoros to South Africa, communities are no longer passive recipients of conservation projects—they are leaders of change. Women, youth, and Indigenous Peoples are steering restoration efforts, managing coastal enterprises, and blending traditional wisdom with modern science to safeguard their seascapes. Their leadership transforms conservation from an environmental cause into a social movement grounded in equity, dignity, and blue justice.
Shared storytelling is helping define this new regional identity. The Great Blue Expedition in Seychelles, co-led by IUCN and ODISEA in 2025, brought scientists, local leaders, and schoolchildren together on a floating platform of research and creativity. Coral reefs were monitored, rare species recorded, and young ocean ambassadors inspired. The stories that emerged now form part of a living regional archive—evidence that science, culture, and community can move in harmony. As Dr. Jennifer Appoo of the University of Seychelles noted, “The expedition advanced science while strengthening local capacity—it’s how we connect knowledge to identity.”
Innovation underpins it all. Knowledge and resources now flow freely across borders; lessons learned in Zanzibar inform projects in Madagascar, and youth-led labs in Kenya spark data-driven marine action across the region. The transformation under way is both institutional and cultural, redefining what Africa-led Ocean governance looks like—collaborative, credible, and globally connected.
The decade ahead will test this partnership’s resilience, but the foundations are strong. The Great Blue Wall is no longer an idea—it is a living movement, building solidarity, sovereignty, and sustainability for generations to come.
Collaboration, Governance & Cross-Boundary Solidarity
Since 2021, the Great Blue Wall (GBW) has united more than 120 partners across ten nations and territories—governments, civil society, scientists, youth networks, and investors—around one shared vision: to build a just, regenerative, and interconnected blue future. What makes this network unique is not only its scale but its philosophy. The GBW is replacing fragmented, project-by-project efforts with a model of shared governance rooted in trust, inclusivity, and common purpose. When values align, collaboration becomes catalytic—innovation flows, tensions fade, and the ocean wins.
Across the Western Indian Ocean, this spirit of solidarity is reshaping governance itself. In Kenya and Mozambique, new national mangrove councils now bring communities, scientists, and ministries to the same decision-making tables. The Western Indian Ocean Locally Managed Marine Area Alliance, launched in 2024, formalizes cooperation among community-led conservation sites, while the Tanga–Pemba seascape between Tanzania and Kenya demonstrates how collaboration across borders can restore ecosystems and strengthen food security. Policy is becoming participatory—built from the coastline upward.
This momentum is matched by an emerging wave of ocean finance. Since its inception, the GBW has helped unlock over 80 million dollars in new capital, showing that aligned priorities attract transformative investment. Yet the ambition is larger: to move beyond fragmented grants and toward blended finance, blue bonds, carbon markets, and debt-for-nature swaps that make conservation economically sustainable. These mechanisms, when adapted to local realities, can turn intact ecosystems into engines of prosperity and resilience—good for people, good for nature, and good for business.
At its heart, however, Blue Partnerships is a movement of people. From Comoros to South Africa, communities are no longer passive recipients of conservation projects—they are leaders of change. Women, youth, and Indigenous Peoples are steering restoration efforts, managing coastal enterprises, and blending traditional wisdom with modern science to safeguard their seascapes. Their leadership transforms conservation from an environmental cause into a social movement grounded in equity, dignity, and blue justice.
Shared storytelling is helping define this new regional identity. The Great Blue Expedition in Seychelles, co-led by IUCN and ODISEA in 2025, brought scientists, local leaders, and schoolchildren together on a floating platform of research and creativity. Coral reefs were monitored, rare species recorded, and young ocean ambassadors inspired. The stories that emerged now form part of a living regional archive—evidence that science, culture, and community can move in harmony. As Dr. Jennifer Appoo of the University of Seychelles noted, “The expedition advanced science while strengthening local capacity—it’s how we connect knowledge to identity.”
Innovation underpins it all. Knowledge and resources now flow freely across borders; lessons learned in Zanzibar inform projects in Madagascar, and youth-led labs in Kenya spark data-driven marine action across the region. The transformation under way is both institutional and cultural, redefining what Africa-led Ocean governance looks like—collaborative, credible, and globally connected.
The decade ahead will test this partnership’s resilience, but the foundations are strong. The Great Blue Wall is no longer an idea—it is a living movement, building solidarity, sovereignty, and sustainability for generations to come.