Effective maritime domain awareness in the Western Indian Ocean

Better knowledge can prevent threats and inform maritime operations and policies.

Accurate knowledge of maritime activities is vital for maritime security and the development of the blue economy. Although international donors have provided significant assistance, there are still no reliable regional maritime domain awareness structures in the Western Indian Ocean. This policy brief reviews current activities to identify opportunities through low-tech solutions, human resources and collaboration for improvement of maritime domain awareness in the region.


About the author

Christian Bueger is Professor of International Relations at Cardiff University and Honorary Fellow
at the University of Seychelles. He is the principal investigator of SAFE SEAS, funded by the British Academy (www.safeseas.net). He is also the lead investigator of the Lessons Learned Project of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (www.lessonsfrompiracy.net).

Picture: U.S. Navy

Development partners
Research for this policy brief was supported by an Economic and Social Research Council’s
Global Challenges Research Fund Impact Acceleration Award and a grant by the British Academy [GF16007]. The author also used part of a personal grant to undertake some of the research. The ISS is grateful for support from the members of the ISS Partnership Forum: the Hanns Seidel Foundation and the governments of Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the USA.
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