This article explores the strategic and practical challenges facing emerging regional networks of leaders and experts in marine and coastal management developing countries. These networks are attempting to create and share information about governing coastal The preparation of this article and network activities of the WIO Mariculture and EcoCostas networks have been supported in part by the U.S. Agency for International Development through Cooperative Agreement EPP-A-00-04-00014-00. The EcoCostas network has been provided substantial support by the AVINA Foundation, as well as the Science Steering Committee of the Land-Ocean Interface in the Coastal Zone (LOICZ) and the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP), and is sustained by the remarkable volunteer effort of its members. Address correspondence to Donald Robadue, Jr., Coastal Resources Center, 220 South Ferry Road, University of Rhode Island, Narragansett, RI 02882, USA. E-mail: robadue@gso.uri.edu 291 Downloaded By: [University of Rhode Island] At: 17:51 1 June 2010 292 D. Robadue, Jr. et al. ecosystems and attaining sustainable use, in the light of the growing body of literature on communities and networks of practice. Two examples of voluntary networks of practice are examined in detail, the Regional Network of Latin American Coastal managers (EcoCostas) and an emerging group of mariculture experts in East Africa, the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) Mariculture forum. The focus is on understanding the challenges and limits of technological approaches to support these endeavors in light of current literature on knowledge sharing through networks in place-based and virtual community settings. We first examine recent findings on the nature of communities of, or more appropriately, networks of practice. Then we briefly trace international thinking and experiences in such networks by organizations actively supporting ocean and coastal management projects and policy reforms such as the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the World Bank. These insights are applied to the EcoCostas Network and the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) Mariculture Forum. The article concludes with some reflections on the need to attain the right mix of face to face and virtual networking that is sustainable, effective, and supportive of learning.