Understanding and Valuing Marine Ecosystem Services in the Northern Mozambique Channel

This case study compiles and synthesises data on marine ecosystem services to help identify the key ecosystem values of the Northern Mozambique Channel (NMC) region, one of the world’s outstanding terrestrial and marine biodiversity areas and a biological reservoir for the entire coastal area of East Africa. The coastal communities and economies of the countries and islands bordering the channel are dependent on its marine and coastal resources through fishing, tourism, and other economic activities, making their management and protection of key importance. 

 

In the NMC region, valuing ecosystem services can help bring together national and sectoral policies in a regional context and safeguard the natural capital that underpins the economies of all countries. Though data on ecosystem services in the Western Indian Ocean is relatively rudimentary, the authors compiled statistics in six key sectors across three ecosystem service groups: cultural (coastal tourism, coastal recreation), provisioning (fishery and mariculture), and regulating services (carbon sequestration and coastal protection).