RCMRD is releasing two complementary policy briefs which, taken together, set out a single strategic ambition: to build a transnational governance framework for ecosystems based on credible data and shared evaluation mechanisms, in support of the sustainable management of natural systems in Eastern and Southern Africa.

 Whether we look at seascapes (oceans, coasts, fisheries, and marine habitats) or at terrestrial and marine protected and conserved areas (IMET), transboundary ecosystems cannot be governed with fragmented data, assessment and decision-making systems. Even where countries have policies, projects and international commitments in place, the blockage is the same: there is still no common regional infrastructure for knowledge and management.

 The two briefs present the same diagnosis from two complementary angles.

The Bridging Data Gaps brief essentially says: we do not know where we are going because data are scattered, not standardized, and poorly shared.

The IMET policy brief says: we do not know whether what we are doing is working, because effectiveness is not assessed systematically nor embedded in public policy.

One focuses on the input side of the system (data, observation, and interoperability). The other addresses the feedback loop (evaluation, learning and policy credibility). Together, they describe the same structural weakness.

 The lesson is clear: transnational ecosystem management requires a genuine public infrastructure for data and evaluation. This must combine data harmonisation (standards, platforms and data-sharing agreements), coordinated investments (Earth observation, geoportals, IMET and human capacity), institutionalisation of tools (IMET, reporting, NBSAPs and regional frameworks) and learning loops between the field, science and public decision-making. Without this, environmental policies will remain largely declarative, funding will be hard to justify, and regional cooperation will remain fragile.

 Seascapes – Bridging Data Gaps

Without reliable and shared data, marine ecosystem management remains fragmented, ineffective and largely blind. Eastern and Southern Africa does not lack initiatives, including strong programmes such as GMES & Africa, among others, but it does suffer from a lack of coherence, integration and effective sharing of data and governance frameworks for seascape management. This brief also issues a clear call to action: without regional data-sharing agreements, without harmonised conservation policies and without coordinated investments in observation technologies and local capacities, the region will be unable to track the real state of its marine ecosystems, steer public policy and meet global conservation objectives. Data must therefore become a true governance infrastructure for seascapes, not a mere by-product of projects, if Eastern and Southern Africa is to protect its oceans and coastal economies sustainably.

 IMET – protected and conserved areas 

Without credible data on the real effectiveness of protected and conserved areas, biodiversity policies remain promises rather than evidence. Countries in the region do not lack tools or international commitments, but they do suffer from a lack of institutionalisation, continuity and integration of management data into public policy. The policy brief therefore constitutes a clear call to action: without formal integration of IMET into national reporting systems such as NBSAPs, without regular assessment cycles, without national capacities for coaching and data governance, and without open sharing of results through regional platforms such as RCoE-ESA Data Geoportal and GD-PAME, the region will remain unable to demonstrate – and therefore improve – the actual effectiveness of its protected areas. IMET must move from being a project tool to becoming a governance infrastructure if conservation policies are to be credible and the Kunming–Montreal targets are to be achieved.