Key Activities

The first convening of the LaSMMI project took place in Zanzibar in October 2024 and brought together WIOMSA, Pew, University of Southampton, IUCN and country research partners to establish a common platform, foster engagement, clarify roles, and build linkages
Pew and Partners submitted a collaborative paper regarding the importance of seagrass at the Nairobi Convention Science to Policy Platform Meeting in Mozambique and supported the adoption of important decisions to further safeguard seagrasses at the Nairobi Convention 11th COP including the development of a regional seagrass strategy, vision, and action plan.
LaSMMI supported the Regional Seagrass Strategy Development Session at the 13th WIOMSA Symposium
LaSMMI was officially launched in March 2025 in celebration of World Seagrass Day - Press Release
LaSMMI field work has kicked started - check out this post from our research partner in Kenya - Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute - highlighting some of the field work undergoing in the Western Indian Ocean region.
Mozambique finalized soil collection for carbon assessments under LaSMMI

Q&A with experts

LaSMMI presence at the 13th WIOMSA Symposium in Mombasa, Kenya

LaSMMI supported the Regional Seagrass Strategy Development Special Session at the Symposium

LaSMMI Coordination Meeting – Building Bridges for Regional Seagrass Action

Ahead of the WIOMSA Scientific Symposium, the Large-scale seagrass mapping and management initiative (LaSMMI) team convened on 28th September 2025 in Mombasa, Kenya, for a half-day coordination meeting aimed at strengthening collaboration across countries and aligning priorities for 2025–2026.

The session brought together seagrass researchers and policy partners from Kenya, Tanzania (mainland and Zanzibar), Mozambique, Madagascar, alongside representatives from the Pew Charitable Trusts, SeyCCAT, WIOMSA, and the University of Southampton.

Key objectives included reviewing progress across countries, sharing updates on fieldwork and data processing, discussing national policy engagement, including integration with Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) processes, and planning next steps and priorities for the coming year.

The discussions highlighted the importance of regional coordination, mutual learning, and bridging science and policy. Teams emphasized the value of shared experiences and the need to integrate outputs from regional seagrass mapping into broader management frameworks, including national policies and international commitments such as the NDCs under the Paris Agreement.

This meeting reaffirmed LaSMMI’s role in advancing a unified approach to seagrass conservation and management in the Western Indian Ocean — one that connects science, policy, and practical action on the ground.