About

SOLSTICE-WIO was a four-year project funded by the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF). The project aimed to address three sustainable development challenges facing developing countries:

• Secure and resilient food systems
• Resilience and action on short-term environmental shocks and long-term environmental change
• Reduction in poverty and inequality

Partners and project activities

The project brrought together 21 organisations from the UK and Western Indian Ocean. Together they aimed to:

• undertake collaborative research focusing on case studies from Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa,
• increase research capability through mentoring of early-career scientists, training courses and on-line tutorials for marine professionals,
• build on existing regional initiatives to engage with policy makers and fisheries managers to meet their information needs,
• work with local communities to build on their understanding of the issues and increase ocean literacy by sharing scientific information.

Regional Case Studies

The project aimed to demonstrate its approach through three case studies, identified by the local project partners as important for food security and economic development in three WIO countries:

• Kenya: Emerging fishery of the North Kenyan Bank: the next frontier for food security of the coastal population (led by Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute)
• Tanzania: Pemba Channel small pelagics: threats and opportunities of climate change (led by the Institute of Marine Sciences in Zanzibar)
• South Africa: Ecosystem shifts & fishery collapse: South African Chokka squid fishery (led by Nelson Mandela University)