Ahead of World Oceans Day and the UN Ocean Conference, this episode of Nature Breaking explores how local communities are leading the charge in ocean conservation. Join host Seth Larson and WWF’s Shauna Mahajan as they dive into the challenges and opportunities facing the Western Indian Ocean seascape—from climate change and overfishing to innovative community-led solutions.

Shauna shares inspiring stories of how coastal communities in places like Tanzania and Madagascar are using tools like microfinance and co-management to protect marine ecosystems, support sustainable development, and build climate resilience. Learn how the open-source tool Elinor is helping track and improve conservation governance, and why community-led conservation is key to achieving global goals like the 30x30 target.

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Links for More Info:

Shauna Mahajan bio

Southwest Indian Ocean Seascape

Elinor monitoring tool

CHAPTERS:

0:00 Preview

0:24 Intro

1:56 Shauna’s background

3:51 Western Indian Ocean seascape

6:46 Ingredients for successful community-led ocean initiatives

14:44 Elinor monitoring tool

20:47 The need for sustainable finance

26:30 UN Ocean Conference

28:09 Closing thoughts

29:47 Outro