The Swedish support to Africa through the UNEP Africa Marine and Coastal Programme was instrumental in a number of ways in catalysing national action at both the Nairobi Convention and Abidjan Convention countries. The objectives of the Agreement were: 1. To conserve and sustainably use marine and coastal ecosystems for improved livelihoods and enhanced use of integrated-adaptive ecosystems-based management approaches, 2. To provide decision-makers with web-based information on the value of marine and coastal ecosystems services including socio-economic assessments of the most vulnerable cities and communities through national and regional integrated assessments, 3. To facilitate countries to ratify and implement protocols concerning the protection, development and management of the coastal and marine environment from land-based sources of pollution, 4. To integrate ecosystem-based management approaches including resilience building, vulnerability reduction and adaptation to climate change development and planning processes through strengthening integrated management capacities in the marine and coastal sector, 5. To improve environmental governance for sustainable management of marine and coastal ecosystems at regional and national levels through improved intergovernmental dialogues, information exchange and improved transboundary policies and laws based on ecosystem management principles, 6. To strengthen the capacity of the Nairobi and Abidjan Conventions and other regional organizations to participate and collaborate in marine ecosystem management processes. The greatest impact was at the regional level.