Consultancy to lead communications, digital visibility and engagement for the WIO LMMA Alliance

Terms of Reference for IUCN Consultancy

Title: Consultancy to lead communications, digital visibility and engagement for the WIO LMMA Alliance

Country coverage: WIO region (Kenya, Tanzania, Madagascar, Comoros and Mozambique)

Objective of the Consultancy

The main objective of this consultancy is to establish a strong, coherent and community-centred communications function for the WIO LMMA Alliance that increases the Alliance’s visibility, strengthens engagement with coastal communities, partners and donors, and provides a professional digital presence and practical communications systems for the Alliance. The consultancy will establish the Alliance’s communications strategy and editorial approach, strengthen its visual identity, develop and launch its website, support content and storytelling, manage LinkedIn and other agreed social-media channels, and provide day-to-day communications coordination. The Communications Lead will act as the main communications focal point for the WIO LMMA Alliance, working closely with the Regional Coastal and Ocean Governance Manager, the IUCN Communications Team and the ReSea Project Communications Team. The Communications Lead will coordinate the Graphic Designer and Website Developer and ensure overall coherence and alignment of communications activities across the Alliance, IUCN and ReSea.

Background

Project Reference: P04216

Donor reference: DR04216.69

About IUCN

IUCN is a membership Union uniquely composed of both government and civil society organisations. It provides public, private and non-governmental organisations with the knowledge and tools that enable human progress, economic development and nature conservation to take place together. Created in 1948, IUCN is now the world’s largest and most diverse environmental network, harnessing the knowledge, resources and reach of more than 1,400 Member organisations and around 15,000 experts. It is a leading provider of conservation data, assessments and analysis. Its broad membership enables IUCN to fill the role of incubator and trusted repository of best practices, tools and international standards. IUCN provides a neutral space in which diverse stakeholders including governments, NGOs, scientists, businesses, local communities, indigenous peoples organisations and others can work together to forge and implement solutions to environmental challenges and achieve sustainable development. Working with many partners and supporters, IUCN implements a large and diverse portfolio of conservation projects worldwide. Combining the latest science with the traditional knowledge of local communities, these projects work to reverse habitat loss, restore ecosystems and improve people’s well-being.

About the Project

In September 2024, the first Western Indian Ocean (WIO) Locally Managed Marine Area (LMMA) Forum was held in Mahajanga, Madagascar, bringing together more than 200 participants from nine countries. The Forum resulted in the adoption of the WIO LMMA Declaration and a strong collective call to establish a regional LMMA Alliance. The WIO LMMA Alliance was subsequently officially launched at the Our Ocean Conference (OOC), with a Steering Committee composed of community leaders from across Africa providing leadership and guidance to the Alliance. The Alliance is designed to ensure that coastal communities and LMMA practitioners have a stronger collective voice in national, regional and global processes and that community leadership remains at the centre of regional LMMA development. The WIO LMMA Alliance aims to address key regional challenges, including the absence of a shared understanding of LMMAs, uneven development across countries, and limited representation of LMMA communities in national, regional and global platforms. It also seeks to promote gender equity and inclusivity in LMMA management, strengthen local leadership and facilitate greater access to knowledge, technical support and financing for community-led marine conservation. The Alliance builds on existing networks and initiatives in the region, avoiding duplication of efforts and working as an umbrella platform to foster collaboration, learning and collective action. It also draws on Madagascar's leadership and lessons learned from MIHARI, the largest LMMA network in Africa, to support the sharing and replication of successful community-led approaches across the region. The broader vision is to contribute to the establishment of a Pan-African LMMA Alliance, with the WIO serving as a starting point and regional learning space. In support of the establishment of the Alliance, Mission Inclusion (Mi) and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) implement the Regenerative Seascapes for People, Climate and Nature (ReSea) project in partnership with local feminist organizations in Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Madagascar and Comoros. The project is funded by Global Affairs Canada (GAC) as part of the Partnering for Climate initiative. Its broader goal is to enhance the physical and socioeconomic resilience of coastal communities in these five countries by accelerating uptake of nature-based solutions and gender-responsive conservation practices to protect, restore, and sustainably manage marine and coastal ecosystems and unlock a regenerative blue economy. The ReSea project contributes to the Western Indian Ocean-led Great Blue Wall (GBW) initiative by supporting the establishment of a network of sustainable, resilient, and inclusive seascapes in the target countries through a people-centric approach. The GBW initiative is built around four key pillars that align with the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) and the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. Pillar 1: Blue Planet focuses on scaling and improving the management and governance of protected and conserved marine areas, with a strong emphasis on equity, gender-responsiveness, and local stewardship—supporting countries to achieve Target 3 of the GBF. Pillar 2: Blue Nature aims to restor