About us

The Sustainable Western Indian Ocean Programme (SWIOP) is a €60.5 million Global Gateway flagship initiative funded by the European Union (€58 million) and co-funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) (€2.5 million). It is supporting actors in the region to strengthen ocean governance, catalyse sustainable blue economy investment and protect marine ecosystems.

SWIOP supports sustainable, productive and climate-resilient use of ocean resources. Through regional cooperation, the programme unlocks the economic potential of the blue economy for enterprises and communities, while safeguarding ocean ecosystems.

The programme is implemented across nine countries – Comoros, Djibouti, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Somalia and Tanzania – by the Nairobi Convention, European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA), Indian Ocean Commission (IOC), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and Expertise France.

Programme coordination and governance

SWIOP is coordinated through a collaborative governance arrangement designed to ensure strategic coherence, strengthen synergies, avoid duplication and maximise the programme’s collective impact across the Western Indian Ocean region

The programme brings together implementing partners and regional stakeholders through a non-hierarchical coordination model that promotes collaboration, transparency and alignment with regional and national ocean governance and blue economy priorities.

SWIOP’s coordination mechanism is anchored in a:

• Steering Committee, which provides strategic guidance and oversight.
• Technical Committee responsible for programme coordination and harmonisation.
• Secretariat hosted by GIZ that supports facilitation, knowledge management, communication and joint reporting.