The WIO-C is a membership consortium consisting of regional and international NGOs and intergovernmental organizations that have presence and are active in regional marine and coastal ecosystem management in the Western Indian Ocean.

Membership application criteria

In their membership application, interested organizations should address each of the six items below. Particularly for items 3 and 4, please provide a list of engagements and links to any documentation to facilitate the process of reviewing membership applications.

1. Willingness to commit (financial, human and other) resources towards achieving WIO-C charter and processes
2. Willingness and commitment to work in coordination and cooperation with other members of the Consortium
3. Present and active in the WIO region for at least 5 years
4. Active affiliation and engagement with at least two existing member organisations
5. Ethically reputable as proven by clear internal policies related to corruption, gender, etc., and a transparent and accepted track record.
6. Admission should be based on expression of interest and written acceptance of the commitment principles and code of conduct.

Procedure for Membership Application

The membership application procedure will follow these steps:

1. The prospective member writes an expression of interest to the Secretariat.
2. The Secretariat forwards to the prospective member the following documents: WIO-C Commitment Letter; WIO-C Charter; WIO-C Guiding Principles; WIO-C Code of Conduct and Pro-forma for documentation of the prospective member’s credentials.
3. The prospective Member signs the Commitment Letter and presents a justification of why the organization wants to become a member and what the organization has to add in this regard. The pro-forma that specifies the six Membership Criteria can be used as guidance.
4. The Commitment Letter and justification are circulated among the WIO-C membership for consideration.
5. Members may express their endorsement of the application or otherwise raise/concerns questions in this regard.
6. In case concerns are raised about membership, the secretariat will write back to the prospective members, requesting clarification on issues raised. A second iteration of review (steps 4-6) is taken by the Membership Committee and general membership.
7. The Committee will forward the decision to the WIO-C Secretariat for formal communication to the membership and the prospective member.
8. The secretariat provides feedback to the prospective member.