Partnerships

Department of Commercial Crops Fruits & Forestry

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World Wildlife Fund (WWF)

Summary

Menai Bay in Southwestern Zanzibar is a traditional fishing ground and contains extensive areas of coral reefs and mangrove forest. The marine ecosystem in Menai Bay has been under threat from factors associated with growing human population and the associated waste production. Specific problems include overfishing, the use of destructive fishing methods, and the destruction of mangrove forests.

WWF works with the Zanzibar government and community-based organisations to provide support and enhance the management of marine and coastal resources in Menai Bay.

Background

Zanzibar has some of the most outstanding and most threatened marine and coastal resources in East Africa. The coastal and marine areas remained relatively pristine until a decade ago when dynamite fishing and other destructive fishing methods became a prominent environmental problem. Both the government and the local communities have asked WWF to help initiate a system of community-based resource management (CBRM) in Menai Bay.

Objectives

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 Establish the multi-use marine conservation area in Menai Bay.
• Maintain and improve ecosystem and resource yield within the Menai Bay Conservation Area (MBCA) through proper management systems which include active local community participation.
• Local communities participate fully in the planning, implementation and monitoring of the natural resource of Menai Bay.
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Local communities attain greater awareness of conservation and sustainable resource through educational and public awareness programmes.
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Biological and socio-economical research and monitoring provide the basic for rational management, development and exploitation of MBCA.

Solution

The second phase of Menai Bay Conservation Area is focusing on maintaining and improving the successes achieved in phase I, especially the level of environmental awareness of the communities.

Communities are in favour of the interventions and have taken own initiatives including closing areas that are thought to be over fished to allow resource recovering. Villagers continue to participate in patrol and mangroves replanting to regenerate the degraded mangrove areas. There is sufficient political will and commitment to continue supporting initiated interventions.

Achievement

Main achievements include the completion of the General Management Plan, development of a revenue collection and distribution scheme where an entry fee of USD 2 per head was introduced, enhancing environmental education to communities and schools, and strengthening of surveillance sea for the Bay.

The project has generated local ownership with the allocation of USD 9,500 by the Zanzibar government as contribution to the project implementation.

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