In association with the 7th WIOMSA Scientific Symposium in Mombasa, Kenya, the UNEP/CMS Dugong MOU Secretariat organized a special session on progressing dugong conservation in the South West Indian Ocean sub-region, on Friday 28 October 2011.

The largest remaining dugong populations in East Africa have received a welcomed boost for their continued survival today, when Mozambique became the 19th Signatory to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the Conservation of Dugongs and their Habitats throughout their Range.

The Technical Meeting for the Conservation of the Dugong and its Habitat in the South West Indian Ocean (SWIO) brought together 29 participants to Madagascar representing eight dugong range states from the East African coast and Western Indian Ocean Islands.