Welcome to the ASCLME Project
Over the next five years, the nine countries of the western Indian Ocean region, including Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa and Tanzania, will work together through the Agulhas and Somali Current Large Marine Ecosystems (ASCLME) Project.
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An ecosystem is a geographic area that includes all the living organisms (people, plants, animals and micro organisms), their physical surroundings (soil, water and air) and the natural cycles that sustain them. All of these elements are interconnected. Managing any one resource affects the others in the ecosystem. The ecosystem approach places human needs at the centre of biodiversity management. It aims to manage the ecosystem based on the multiple functions that ecosystems perform and the multiple uses that are made of these functions. The ecosystem approach does not aim for short-term economic gains, but aims to optimise the use of an ecosystem without damaging it. The ASCLME Project aims to implement an ecosystem approach to management of the LME resources through information-driven governance and policy reforms at the regional level, in partnership with the member countries and other stakeholders.
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 "I am impressed by how well the Project has come together over the past year. The complexities of the project are such that it takes an enormous amount of effort to achieve even modest gains; for example, we are working with eight countries, with different languages and different levels of development. With all these challenges, the project has come a long way in a year.
David has put together a young and efficient team. These people are delivering at a level that would be expected from a much more experienced team. The cruises were undoubtedly a catalyst for action. More than just a data gathering exercise, the cruises became a bridge building exercise for the countries that participated. I am also impressed by the growth of the Project; after only one year there has been a growth in project activities and project partners." Prof. Paul Skelton, representing the South African Institute of Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB), South African host of the Project Co-ordination Unit.
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The ASCLME Project 
