Department of Commercial Crops Fruits & Forestry

Fauna & Flora International (FFI)

Promoting Ecotourism in the Zanzibar Archipelago

In November 2004 FFI was invited to help the Forestry Department in the Government of Zanzibar design a strategy for ecotourism in the region. The site of focus was a 2,900-hectare nature reserve known as ‘Ngezi-Vumawimbi’ and situated on Pemba Island (off the coast of East Africa).

This reserve comprises the remaining 5% of a primary forest that used to stretch across the whole of Pemba, and is home to the Critically Endangered Pemba flying fox, which is found nowhere else in the world. There are also numerous endemic bird species, and mammals such as the endangered eastern tree hyrax, as well as endemic and endangered tree and shrub species.

The nature forest reserve is surrounded by 10 communities with a total population of around 12,000 inhabitants. Poverty is a fact of life in this area, with limited access to freshwater, no electricity and few means for these subsistence fishermen and farmers to break the ‘poverty cycle’.

The region is poised to undergo a dramatic change, however. The crucial decisions that are about to be made will dictate whether this change will be positive or negative.

Situated in such lush and beautiful tropical surroundings, the newly declared Ngezi-Vumawimbi Reserve has started to attract considerable attention from the international tourism industry. In many respects, this interest creates a very welcome opportunity for new employment and proactive development in the region in terms of road construction, electricity and an increased market for local produce. But the potential, and considerable, benefits will only materialize if tourism is of an appropriate kind. In this strongly Islamic region, it is crucial that tourism not only ensures that financial benefits are focused locally, but also respects local cultures and traditions.

To this end FFI has helped the Government of Zanzibar to produce Guidelines for Tourism Investors in the region, and undertaken a review of the policies and legislation controlling tourism to ensure that local community welfare and needs are paramount.

The Ngezi-Vumawimbi Reserve has the potential to exemplify how tourism can be managed effectively, and there are hopes that such a model might be replicated through other areas in East Africa, where tourism is becoming a primary contributor to the region’s economy and development.