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Coastal East Africa
Projects
Community guards stationed at Puga Puga Island within Primeiras and Segundas, protecting sooty terns. Puga Puga is a major nesting island for sooty terns. Guards are stationed on the islands throughout the area for two-week long rotations.
© WWF / Peter Smith
For over 45 years we have worked with communities, heads of state, key industries, and others along the coast to tackle illegal fishing, use forest products sustainably, establish new national parks, empower communities to successfully manage the natural resources that they depend on daily, and educate children and others about the importance of conservation.
We are focused on five areas that present the best opportunities for altering the global markets that threaten this place, as well as to assist countries and communities to sustainably use their marine and forestry resources so that they are there to be used by generations to come.
Demonstrating conservation value and creating partnerships through science
Through research and field studies, we demonstrate how conservation can play a central role in improving socioeconomic status: by conserving the natural resource base for long-term sources of food, fishing and fertile land. By using science as a tool for outreach, we forge partnerships across governments and industry to create approaches that can alleviate poverty while protecting the environment.
The Eastern Arc Mountains supply many resources and environmental services for the people of Tanzania with an estimated value of $620 million. WWF’s Conservation Science program, together with TNC and Stanford University, are conducting an assessment of the Eastern Arc Mountains by determining the value of the ecosystem services they provide through The Natural Capital Project.
WWF’s Conservation Measures Program is implementing a monitoring program of representative conservation status measures in two priority landscapes for Coastal East Africa: the Ruvuma Landscape and the Primeiras and Segundas proposed reserve. These landscapes serve as models for quantifying the long-term socioeconomic benefits for local people resulting from conservation programs.
WWF supports exchange visits between marine protected area managers from Tanzania, Kenya, and Mozambique that enables them to learn about and discuss participatory approaches and livelihood activities in different parts of the region, and provides new ideas to apply in their own areas.
- Tracking sea turtles in Kenya to ensure their survival
- WWF's sea turtle satellite tracking update from Kiunga Marine National Reserve
Establishing a network of protected areas
WWF and its partners work to protect the land and seascape of northern Mozambique and southern Tanzania, and marine habitats such as Primeiras and Segundas. we work to enhance nature’s resilience to impacts from climate change; promote land zoning reforms to ensure corridors for wildlife; and implement a framework for sustainable development that protects nature and provides for the people who rely on it for their livelihoods and survival.
- The Greater Ruvuma Landscape: Encompassing miombo and coastal forests and protected areas in Mozambique and Tanzania, the Ruvuma Landscape is one of the largest unfragmented wildernesses in sub-Saharan Africa. WWF’s involvement in the Ruvuma Landscape entails working with a variety of stakeholders and key partners to lay the foundation for a success in which communities and government jointly maintain the ecological integrity of this magnificent landscape.
Empowering local communities
We work with local communities, governments and industry to create an awareness and appreciation for the fundamental connectivity between ecosystems and people. We assist local communities in securing management rights to the wildlife and fisheries on their lands. We are also teaching them how to use these natural resources in a sustainable manner to create an incentive for conservation and to generate income and increase economic opportunities.
- Saving the lives of elephants and local farmers by using “chili bombs.”
- Shutting down the largest illegal ivory markets in East Africa.
- Saving African wild dogs.
Creating sustainable fisheries
We are working to halt illegal commercial fishing in and around the two largest marine protected areas in the Indian Ocean. We partner with Mozambique’s naval forces to enhance enforcement, collaborates with governments to facilitate fair-fishing access agreements, and works with industry to implement sustainable fishing practices outlined by the Marine Stewardship Council.
In Tanzania, a new method of cultivating oysters and mussels is being trialed as a potentially significant source of income for a local producer group. Local oyster and prawn collection groups are being linked up with local hotels, and it is hoped that this developing market will benefit from a growing interest in ecologically sensitive tourism establishments.
- Saving critical fish spawning sites in Kenya to feed future generations.
- Establishing a fish sanctuary in Quirimbas National Park.
Protecting coastal forests
We seek to halt the illegal logging in Mozambique and Tanzania that is destroying vital coastal forests. We are collaborating with authorities in conducting a comprehensive investigation of illegal practices to create new policies and standards that mandate sustainable forest management and trade.
Since 2000, our Good Woods project in Kenya aims to conserve coastal forests by encouraging wood carvers to shift from traditionally preferred and depleted hardwoods such as ebony and mahogany to sustainably produced farm trees such as Neem and Mango. We have helped establish a farmers group and support FSC group certification for the Neem trees produced by participating farmers. These farmers sell their logs to local craft associations, who have received FSC Chain-of-Custody certification.
We are also assisting local communities in the protection and management of sacred forests, which have an important cultural value to rural people. In Kenya 47 out of more than 107 coastal forest blocks are reserved and protected by the local communities as sacred forests (the Kayas). In Mozambique and Tanzania there are sacred forests in most villages, generally harboring the graves of ancestors, where communities regulate and manage extractive use.
In the Eastern Arc Mountains, we are working to conserve the high biodiversity forest habitats through baseline studies that document the species richness of this area. WWF and partners are working to enhance the connectivity of the forests in the Eastern Arcs as that will allow species a better chance to move along climatic gradients as the climate changes.
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