Coastal Oceans Research and Development – Indian Ocean (CORDIO) works on marine and coastal ecosystems in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) specialising in generating knowledge to find solutions to the challenges facing coastal people and marine environments. CORDIO East Africa is a not-for-profit organisation based in Kenya working throughout the WIO and in the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea. CORDIO’s focus is in understanding regional scale biodiversity and biogeography of coral reefs and their resilience to climate change; holistic ecosystem-based approaches to fisheries management; broader aspects of societal dependence on the environment; livelihood security; and education and governance needs for coastal systems. CORDIO works on problems that are linked in the WIO: limited resources and habitat; high dependency on natural resources and food insecurity; growing population and poverty; low education and wealth; and weak governance. We emphasise linked solutions to these problems: ecological and social resilience; adaptive capacity; environmental conservation; sustainable use; education, policy and governance; investment in livelihoods and improved capacity.