Developed first in 2012, the MEDA was prepared by coastal and marine ecosystem experts who conducted documentation work on the biophysical and socio-economic processes of these environments in order to define Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs) and subsequently analyze the status of these ecosystems. The updating of the MEDA has been entrusted to the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MEDD) through the National Office for the Environment (Office National pour l’Environnement: ONE), within the framework of the "Western Indian Ocean Large Marine Ecosystems Strategic Action Programme Policy Harmonisation and Institutional REforms (WIO
LME SAPPHIRE)" Project, financed by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
It aims to collect essential coastal and marine environment data and to identify areas that raise concerns which can in turn be analyzed during the cross-border diagnosis and the strategic plan programming for the western part of the Indian Ocean.