The WIO LME SAPPHIRE (Western Indian Ocean Large Marine Ecosystem Strategic Action Programme: Policy Harmonisation and Institutional Reforms) is a project financed by the Global Environment and implemented by the UNDP. It originated in two previous projects: i) the Agulhas and Somali Current Large Marine Ecosystems Project (ASCLME) – also a UNDP-GEF initiative; and ii) the Southwest Indian Ocean Fisheries Project (SWIOFP), a GEF financed project implemented by the World Bank. The ASCLME Project addressed a range of coastal and oceanic activities including offshore ecosystem assessment, coastal livelihoods and community engagement, coastal artisanal and subsistence fisheries, larval transport, marine pollution and marine invasive species while SWIOFP dealt with the offshore and nearshore commercial fisheries issues.