Poverty and gender perspectives in marine spatial planning: Lessons from Kwale County in coastal Kenya

Abstract: Kenya, like many other countries, is increasingly relying on a Blue Economy approach to ensure its sustainable development, an approach founded on the premise of poverty eradication by providing sustainable livelihoods and decent work, supplying food and minerals, generating oxygen, absorbing greenhouse gases, mitigating the impacts of climate change, and serving as highways for sea-based international trade. However, while the blue economy approach offers vast economic opportunities, it is necessary to ensure an inclusive approach and the social inclusion of the poor and vulnerable, by empowering people, building cohesive and resilient societies, and making institutions accessible and accountable to citizens in a bid to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) has worked with the Government of Kenya in multiple initiatives aimed at providing strategic alignment of the country’s Blue Economic sectors within the coastal and ocean space, to enable them to harness the benefits in an optimal manner. Recent joint initiatives have been geared towards ensuring that the ongoing Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) initiatives are inclusive and incorporate views and expertise from all stakeholders. The MSP process is integral as it offers a systematic and sustainable means to allocate space and understand the interactions among and between resource user groups and the marine environment in Blue Economy growth scenarios. This joint initiative with the generous financial support of The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), provides a unique gender lens to assess why and how planning and utilization of the coastal and seascape are expected to influence poverty outcomes in coastal zones of developing countries. A key finding from this study is that women often face limited access to opportunities compared to their male counterparts. It was further concluded that in some communities, cultural norms and societal biases continue to aggravate this vulnerability, exposing women to exploitation and unfair competition. This indeed highlights the need to ensure gender inclusivity in decision-making and resource allocation initiatives such as MSP.