“……… We recognize that oceans are critical to sustaining Earth’s life support systems. Careless exploitation of the oceans and their resources puts at risk the ability of oceans to continue to provide food, other economic benefits and environmental services to humankind.  We stress the importance of the conservation, sustainable management and equitable sharing of marine and ocean resources. We also recognize the significant economic, social and environmental contribution of coral reefs to island and coastal States, and support cooperation based on the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI), and the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI)……..”

Excerpts from ’The Future We Want UNCSD Rio+20 Declaration’ by the World Leaders, Rio de Janeiro, 22^nd June 2012.

Introduction: The Rio+20 Summit

The statement above amply summarizes the global leaders call for action in ensuring the sustainable utilization of coastal ecosystems including seas, oceans, and the marine bio diversity for socio economic development ventures that includes tourism. This statement is part of the declaration developed and adopted by the leaders and representatives of 191 UN Members states including 79 Heads of State and Government who attended the recently concluded UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20).

The Summit was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 13-24 June 2012 amid a backdrop of a weakened global economy, dampening the global expectations from this year’s conference. However, after heightened negotiations and sustained advocacy by civil society organizations, UN agencies, the curtains finally fell on the conference with some ‘glimmer of hope’ as, the global leaders issued what is hoped to be, yet another important declaration for the future of sustainable development. Many of the civil society stakeholders and environmental activists who attended the Summit however regret the failure by the international community to include ‘concrete or measurable results in key areas’ within this agreement.

Rio+20 Outcomes: In the Context of COAST Project Work in Africa

Many stakeholders are continuing to analyze the process, final products and way forward of Rio+20, and opinion remains divided on the final impact of the Rio+20 conferences. However, it is clear that for sustainable coastal tourism issues in the context of the COAST Project, this declaration is a step in the right direction. The Collaborative Actions for Sustainable Tourism (COAST) Project is working in 9 coastal states in Africa (Cameroon, Senegal, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, the Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria and Seychelles) to enhance the adoption of Best Available Practices/Technologies for sustainable tourism practices in three main thematic areas; Eco-tourism Practices, Environmental Management Systems by hotels and Reef and Marine Recreation Management.

The COAST Project hopes to document working best practices on the afore-mentioned thematic areas and other areas such as waste management, energy efficiency, community participation in tourism and conservation of coral reefs through proactive engagement with the tourism sector. These are at the very core of some of the final Rio+20 outcomes. Indeed, the final outcomes in the Rio+20 Declaration highlighted issues around oceans and coastal marine biodiversity and the need to conserve them. In addition, and for the very first time, the issue of sustainable tourism was part and parcel of the deliberations at Rio+20 and was included in the outcome document from the conference.

On sustainable tourism, the global Leaders emphasized that well-designed and managed tourism could make a significant contribution to the three pillars of sustainable development (People, Planet and Profit) and could protect the environment (giving the environment and economic value) create decent jobs and generate trade opportunities. They further called for increased support to sustainable tourism activities and relevant capacity building that promote environmental awareness, conserve and protect the environment, respect wildlife, flora, biodiversity, ecosystems and cultural diversity, and improve the welfare and livelihoods of local communities. In addition, the Rio+20 Outcome document noted the importance of Eco-tourism as a sustainable touristic venture that needed more investment by the countries.

For oceans, coastal and marine ecosystems and their associated biodiversity, the Rio+20 deliberations noted the importance of countries working to  ...”advance implementation of the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities, including further capacity-building and mobilization of resources for investment in treatment of human wastes and waste water and to develop a global action plan to combat marine litter and pollution”.  Some of these issues were positively received by the Global Ocean Forum that brought together 375 participants from 46 countries during the Oceans Day celebrations held on the sidelines of Rio+20. In the Global Ocean Forum’s Declaration, the leaders expressed their appreciation for the high level of attention given to oceans, coasts, and SIDS in the Rio+20 Outcome document, and the recognition of their importance in achieving the three pillars of sustainable development.

These twin issues of coastal ecosystems and their marine biodiversity; and sustainable tourism highlighted in the  Rio+20 Outcome Document represent an integral element of the work of UNEP, UNWTO and UNIDO GEF’s COAST Project.

CONCLUSION

For Africa, sustainable Coastal tourism and conservation of coastal marine biodiversity are of critical importance now than ever before, and the global leader’s commitment in the Rio+20 Outcomes only serves to bolster the efforts of most players, like the COAST Project that are working towards this realization. As the global community sets out to confront the challenge of translating the Rio+20 outcomes into tangible achievable and measureable targets, our work in the nine Coastal Countries (Cameroon, Senegal, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria and Seychelles) will go a long way in informing the course of the activities in this thematic areas (Eco-Tourism, Environmental Management Systems and Reef and Marine Recreation and Management).

It is important to reiterate here that the COAST Project is in the process of developing, documenting and disseminating important lessons, best practices and technologies in the subject area of coastal tourism. As our experiences from the Demo  Sites mature, we expect to be able to document some useful lessons on governance, management and policy - proposals that we will share with the global community. It is therefore important for the international community to lead the way in facilitating real sustainable development criteria for all sectors. In the days to come, the emerging Best Available Practices and Technologies, experiences and lessons leant from the COAST Project Demo Sites will be documented and disseminated broadly to help towards realization of the global vision as encapsulated in “The Future We Want” Declaration in areas pertaining to coastal ecosystems for Africa, and the rest of the world.

By Geoffrey Omedo,

Knowledge Management and Communications Officer,

COAST Project

The aim of this section is to outline a strategy for encouraging the engagement of a wider spread of stakeholders from each of the stakeholder groupings in Coastal Tourism, and thereby maximize the likely uptake and sustainability of best practices and technologies which have been applied and tested within the African context of the COAST Project.

Stakeholders in the COAST project can be categorized into three on the basis of their involvement as; core implementation actors (being consulted during implementation) secondary actors (second layer of project beneficiaries but not involved in actual implementation) and general participants/beneficiaries, those, and those with whom we will share our results (passive target).

Core actors, represent the group of stakeholders who have direct involvement in implementing project activities, either directly, or through collaboration. For the COAST Project these people are the National Focal Points (FPs), the Demo site Project Coordinators (DPCs) and the Demo Site Management Committee (DSMC) members.

They also include locally based authorities and NGO/CBOs who are either directly, or indirectly sub-contracted by the project to carry out project activities including training events.

Those who are, or have been, consulted, by the COAST Project are secondary actors, stakeholders with whom the project is collaborating through addressing common short term, or longer term objectives – for example, local and national government authorities (aside from the tourism and environment sectors – who are participants – refer above), other donor supported country level projects, and GEF supported International Waters transboundary projects, such as the ASLME, GCLME and Benguela Current LME.

Finally, there are stakeholders whom the project will ‘target’ within the KM&C Strategy referred to above. These will be general beneficiaries and will be categorized according to the three governance sectors within which the project works; hence some of these stakeholders may be neighbouring coastal communities/ community groups. Others may be members from the private sector such as Hotel and Tour Operators associations, as the project ‘outreaches’ to try to influence additional private sector investors within the coastal tourism industry.

Finally, there are government agencies and authorities who operate at either the local level (within the Demo site area), or national level, such as government cross sector working groups, technical committees, GEF country level committees, and inter-ministerial committees. Each of these stakeholder groupings will be ‘targeted’ with specific KM&C products derived from the project. These are explained in more detail within the Project’s KM&C implementation plan[1], but a number of examples are provided below in order to demonstrate how the COAST Project will specifically target and engage with each audience.

For  copy of the COAST Stakeholder Engagement Strategy here

Figure 1: School children planting trees in Kribi Demo Site. Sustainable coastal tourism is about investing in the future.

What is the Place of Sustainable Governance in the Tourism Industry?

The Collaborative Actions for Sustainable Tourism (COAST) Project is a five-year project in its fourth year of implementation. It is a Global Environment Facility (GEF) funded Project with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) as the implementing agency; United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) as executing agency in partnership with the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). At the very outset during the formulation process of the project, the nine participating countries (Cameroon, Senegal, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, The Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria and Seychelles) identified the need for a more integrated approach to planning for coastal tourism. They all had appreciation of the need to protect biodiversity alongside socio-economic and cultural priorities, and the need for a comprehensive and effective regulatory framework to ensure the long term sustainability of the tourism sector.

It is important to note here that even those countries that had already started developing a policy and strategy framework for sustainable tourism (good examples being Seychelles and Senegal) identified the need to strengthen their policy and regulatory framework for sustainable tourism as a key priority. In this regard, it was felt that the lack of mid to long term planning mechanism of tourism developments and regulation of tourism activities impacted directly on the health and well-being of the marine and coastal environment, and the quality of life of people who live there.

The COAST Project therefore included a Sustainable Tourism Governance and Management (STGM) component titled “Development and Implementation of Mechanisms for Sustainable Tourism and Management”. This component is being implemented by UNWTO through desk and field research into the mechanisms for sustainable tourism governance and management in coastal areas of Africa.

The purpose of the research on sustainable tourism governance and management is:

• To determine whether the nine countries’ policies facilitate the long term sustainability of tourism and identify gaps, needs and options for sustainable tourism governance and management;
• To provide a vision and recommendations for the most appropriate type of mechanisms for sustainable tourism governance and management;
• To provide guidance for key stakeholders in the nine countries on the reform of sustainable tourism governance and management as it relates to coastal tourism.

Towards Sustainable Tourism Governance: The UNWTO Approach and Methodology

The UNWTO has adopted a methodology based on literature review and wide stakeholder consultations in the nine COAST Project countries. The research addresses mechanisms for sustainable tourism governance and management at both country level and local (Demonstration site) level. It starts from the understanding that the fundamental requirement of governance for sustainable tourism is to have effective engagement of the key public and private stakeholder bodies whose policies and actions can affect the impact of tourism.  It also builds on the understanding that sustainable tourism governance requires engagement and coordination of tourism, environment, community and wider development interests at a local level.

Indeed, it is at this level that much of the necessary planning, networking, capacity building and information delivery occurs and where tourism needs to be effectively integrated into local sustainable development.  A particular issue is how national policies and governance processes are reflected and implemented at a local level, which may be influenced by decentralization policies and actions as well as local governance capacity and community engagement structures. To attain the foregoing, the research has taken its approach and direction partly from the UNWTO and UNEP publication ‘Making Tourism More Sustainable, a Guide for Policy Makers’, which contains guidelines on governance structures, sustainability aims and management instruments relevant to all types of destination (UNWTO and UNEP, 2005).

Field Missions in the COAST Project Countries

Figure 2: The UNWTO Consultant Dr. Richard Denman posing with tourism stakeholders after a consultation meeting in Watamu, Kenya

The first phase of the research was based on a series of field missions to each of the nine COAST partner countries conducted between March and July 2011. These missions lasted approximately seven days each and involved time in the capital cities consulting with government and other national level bodies and in the COAST Project Demo Sites, consulting with local stakeholders and observing the situation on the ground. Based upon recommendations from the Mid-Term Review of the COAST Project, a second phase has been added to the study, which looks particularly at financial incentives for sustainable tourism governance. Field and desk research for this phase were completed in the fourth quarter of 2012, including missions to Tanzania and Ghana and phone interviews with selected key-stakeholders from other countries.

The initial field and desk research looked particularly at policy aims related to:

• Environmental impacts – Biological diversity, physical integrity and environmental purity. This reflects the GEF funding and ultimate project aim of conserving coastal and marine ecosystems and biodiversity. It relates to coastal landscapes, terrestrial and marine habitats, waste management, and pollution control among others
• Sustainable livelihoods – Local prosperity, social equity and community wellbeing.  This recognises the positive and negative impact of tourism on coastal communities and the interrelationship between poverty alleviation and conservation.

The study investigated the extent to which policies and management in the nine countries are covering potential areas for intervention in order to achieve more sustainable tourism.  Areas of particular relevance to coastal tourism, assessed during the research, include providing strategic direction for coastal destinations, and influencing tourism development, the operation or tourism enterprises and the behaviour of visitors. The research identified and assessed the current policy frameworks in the nine countries which do, or could, influence tourism sustainability.

Some preliminary results from ongoing work

Conclusion and Way forward

Emerging from the work of the COAST Project in the Sustainable Tourism Governance area, individual reports for each country have been prepared, which look in detail at the policy context, governance structures and management processes relating to coastal tourism and at the experiences and needs in the Demo Sites.  These country reports contain recommendations for the country as a whole and for the Demo Sites, and will be used as the basis for preparing an action framework for sustainable tourism governance and management in coastal areas for each of the COAST countries. The final overall report of the sustainable tourism governance study will be published in 2013, and used as a basis to organize regional capacity building workshops for stakeholders in the COAST Project. In the workshops, the focal points can exchange views and experiences on how to implement the recommendations from the sustainable tourism governance study, and further guidance will be given regarding the use of the action framework to strengthen the mechanisms for sustainable tourism governance and management in each of the COAST countries and Demo Sites.

Some references for this article, for further reading

Tourism is important in The Gambia as a leading foreign exchange earner and one of the pillars for the eradication of poverty. In this regard, the government's stated policy is to promote tourism and its contribution to economic growth by marketing the country as the ‘Smiling Coast of Africa’, a popular and affordable winter destination attracting tourists in search of sun, sand, sea and rich cultural experiences. The main objective is to increase the contribution of tourism to the economy and to raise the general living standards of all Gambians. To this end, the government is continuing its efforts to broaden the tourism market, improve quality standards, and ensure rational use of the country’s Tourism Development Area by supporting ideals of responsible and sustainable tourism. The Gambia is one of the nine participating countries and is executing its activities at the Kartong Demo Site, through a collaborative venture with the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the Gambia Tourism Board (GT Board) and the Gambia’s National Environment Agency (NEA).

1. 2. Background Information on the Kartong Demo Site

Kartong is one of the oldest settlements in The Gambia situated about 43km from Banjul (the capital city) and only 10 minutes across a river from the Senegalese Region of Cassamance. The area is growing rapidly and currently has an estimated population of 5,000 people of multi ethnic settlement and different religious practice. Community members engage primarily in farming, fishing, trading and most importantly in tourism related activities. The shape of Kartong village (also known locally as Kartung) is narrow and surrounded on three sides by Cassamance (Senegal) by a famous natural feature known as Hallahin Bolong (river). To cross to the other bank of the Hallahin Bolong (river), there is a crossing taking not more than five minutes of canoe paddling. The Demo Site area is famed for providing eco-lodges; traditional dances; authentic cultural experiences; river excursions; bird watching; a rich variety of local cuisine; picnic areas; and expansive and clean beaches. To interact with the locals, a trip to the sacred crocodile pool popularly known as ‘Folonko’ and the ‘Balanta’ Palm wine tapping center would afford visitors a real treat.

Figure 1: The Hallahin Bolong River, acting as the border between Senegal and The Gambia. It is thriving with fishing, oyster harvesting, tourism and cultural activities (Photo: COAST Project)

Figure 2: Map showing the Kartong Demo Site’s key touristic sites

1. 3. Showcasing the COAST Project Work in The Gambia

The COAST Project has been executing its activities aimed at demonstrating and supporting the adoption of Best Available Practices and Best Available Technologies (BAPs/BATs) approaches for sustainable coastal tourism that reduces the degradation of marine and coastal environments of trans-boundary significance. Previously, the project had activities in three sites in The Gambia (Tumani Tenda, Denton Bridge and Kartong) but a Mid Term Review conducted in 2012 recommended a strategic emphasis on Kartong site, with the other two sites benefiting through knowledge sharing and mainstreaming of sustainable coastal tourism BAPs/BATs and lessons. Kartong is also emerging as a national icon for responsible and sustainable tourism, and is expected to lead the way in generating valuable lessons and results that will spur a national re-awakening to place sustainability criteria at the peak of the tourism development plans in The Gambia.

1. Working with Local Communities to Deliver Sustainable Tourism Practices in Kartong

Through collaboration with UNWTO, GT Board and the NEA, the project is currently implementing a number of activities under the eco-tourism thematic area. The eco-tourism thematic area seeks to provide local communities ample opportunities to engage in, and benefit from the tourism industry. It seeks to also ensure that the nexus between environment and community eventually translates to sustainable tourism practices that are beneficial to the Kartong area.

Some of the activities being undertaken by the COAST Project to enhance this are summarized below:

1. a. Community Awareness on Protection and Management of Marine and Coastal environment

This has been achieved through a series of workshops, trainings and public forums that have been done to ensure the local communities and the tourists in the area contribute effectively to environmental conservation in order to protect the marine and coastal environment. For instance, the project has held trainings of over 20 community members on environmental issues to protect the marine and coastal ecosystems, and a training for 25 staff from tourism and hospitality institutions on how to become biodiversity champions; and the project will organize a ‘train the trainers’ seminar for 6 members of the Kartong Association of Responsible Tourism (KART) and the Village Development Committee  to build capacity within the community so that they can conduct their own training programs on environment. The project also supports a number of beach clean ups and community sensitization workshops at Kartong. During the annual Kartong Cultural Festival, a one day triathlon event is set to be organized in Kartong that will include activities such as athletics, bike riding and regatta style rowing on the Hallahin River. The overriding message during this event will be the need to protect the rich marine and coastal environment in the area.

To support all these activities, the COAST Project is supporting the local Kartong Responsible Tourism Association (KART Assoc.) by equipping and furnishing their local offices with solar energy, a computer, printer and basic office functionalities. The lack of electricity in the area is a key impediment to the running of such a centre, and with the expected purchase and installation of solar panels at the office this year, the KART Association will be empowered to effectively deliver on the eco-tourism plans for the Kartong area. A follow up training program to equip the key staff with business and administration skills required to run the KART office and staff at the community owned Tesito Camp has also been planned within this year. This training will cover administration including record keeping, customer service, IT, food hygiene and business management.

1. b. Managing Solid Wastes through Recycling and Manure for Income Generation

The COAST Project is working with the local partners in Kartong to support efforts of sustainable management of the solid wastes in the area. In this regard, the project purchased 20 waste bins for project tourist attractions with 10 bins being branded green for degradable waste materials and another ten in red color for non-degradable waste. A series of community awareness sessions will be conducted to teach the local people on how to use these bins to ensure successful application. These bins have since been distributed to the area, and are located at key tourist attraction sites to help manage the pervasive problem of waste management in the area. It is deplorable for tourists to visit a site and find a mountain of plastic, which are also known to cause fatal injuries and even deaths to marine life. Through this initiative, the COAST Project hopes to encourage the local partners in Kartong to adopt these bins and to conduct periodic clean ups activities to help rid the area of the wastes. In addition to the bins, the project plans to conduct training for 25 locals on waste recycling into organic fertilizer and crafts (bracelets, footwear, bangles etc), which can be sold to tourists visiting the area.

Figure 3: The NEA and GT Board officials including the COAST Project DPC handing over the waste bins to the local community in Kartong

1. c. Supporting Eco-tourism for Employment Creation and Empowerment of Local Communities in Kartong

The issue of economic empowerment of the local communities is at the heart of the eco-tourism project being executed by the COAST Project in Kartong. Indeed, if the local communities get to benefit from the resources emanating from the tourism industry, they enhance local community ownership and improve the standards of living. In return, this may lead to immense environment benefits, since the local people now view their local surroundings as a valuable resource that is having direct impacts on their livelihoods. This is the importance of eco-tourism, as a key platform for supporting sustainable and responsible tourism practices. The COAST Project has identified a number of valuable opportunities and projects that will directly inject some resources into the local households.

They include:

• Development of the Tesito Camp, a local community owned facility, into a camping site with solar energy and facilities like toilets, showers and proper waste disposal arrangement. Additional eco-tourism activities will involve the introduction of Gambian cookery classes with the village women leading these sessions for visitors;
• The organization of a familiarization trip for local and international tour operators to Kartong in order to expand the market to more operators for the South Gambia cross-village excursion that is a combination of bush and river adventure covering the villages of Sifoe and Berending before ending in Kartong;
• Enhancement of the local handicraft sector by introducing new craft products such as pottery as well as building workshops and points of sale for Kartong artists;
• Rehabilitation and fencing of the Folonko crocodile pool to keep intruding animals away and introduce an entrance fee to the sacred site to raise some revenue to support the local community and their conservation efforts;
• Purchase of 10 bicycles to introduce more environmentally friendly activities such as village cycling with the view to hire bikes out to visitors at the following locations: Sandele, Hallahin Camp and the KART Tourists Information Office. A training on tour guiding for 10 youths from Kartong will be undertaken for the youths who will be conducting the  bicycle tour as well as the village walking tour;

Figure 4: The COAST Project Environment Focal Point Mr. Momodou Suwareh handing over the 10 bicycles to the KART Association (Photo: COAST Project)

1. 6. Conclusion

Resulting from our ongoing work in the Kartong Demo Site in The Gambia, it is clear that the COAST Project is on the right track to deliver on its core objective of supporting and enhancing the conservation of globally significant coastal and marine ecosystems and associated biodiversity in Sub-Saharan Africa, through the reduction of the negative environmental impacts which they receive as a result of coastal tourism. The eco-tourism activities at the Demo Site are expected to help enhance the local economic impact of tourism and to motivate local people to protect the environment and biodiversity of the area, and turn Kartong into a tourist destination site in The Gambia that places a maxim on sustainable and responsible tourism practices. It is the intention that valuable lessons and experiences can be learned from the activities in Kartong, which will be useful to share with professionals and institutions dealing with sustainable coastal tourism in Africa and beyond. When all these activities will have been executed at the Kartong Demo Site, the COAST Project will generate useful results, experiences and good lessons for replication in other similar coastal destinations in the region. It is also our hope that these activities will continue beyond the COAST Project life span to enhance the place of Kartong Demo Site as a sustainable coastal tourist destination in The Gambia.

Tourism in coastal areas is one of the largest and fastest growing sectors of the industry that holds a promise of contributing to the economic and social wellbeing of the destination countries. Yet, the local residents of most popular destinations are more likely to experience the uglier side of tourism trade than any real promise of tantalising riches. In essence, communities have to contend with negative impacts such as rising pollution and degradation of sensitive marine and coastal areas from poorly planned developments, competition for fresh water and over-exploitation of scarce resources to feed the tourism industry, rising real estate prices, displacement of local fishing and farming communities, and irreversible damage to local culture. The good news is that there is a growing recognition that not all forms of tourism are equal and that tourism can be managed to deliver both quality visitor experiences and benefits to local environment and biodiversity, economies and livelihoods rather than simply draw in large volumes of visitors.

The COAST Project Working to Maximize the Value of Marine Ecosystems

In recognition of these challenges, the COAST Project is working to apply, through a series of practical demonstration projects in different thematic areas, a number of Best Available Practices and/or Best Available Technologies (BAPs/BATs) within selected coastal tourism destinations in Sub Saharan Africa. These demonstration projects are all aimed to contribute to the reduction of negative environmental impacts resulting from land based, tourism sector actions and pollutants. To achieve this in the Reef and Marine Recreation Management Thematic Area, EcoAfrica are the UNIDO sub-contracted leader working across three countries (Kenya, Mozambique and Tanzania). The RMRM work focuses on reef surveys and GIS mapping of sensitive areas and damaged sites within the demonstration sites and includes management planning, awareness creation and capacity building on reef management and conservation to reduce pollution, loss of biodiversity and other negative impacts to the reef and marine areas.

All this is in recognition to the fact that sensitive marine and coastal ecosystems, specifically coral reefs, sea grasses and mangroves, are highly productive and provide significant economic goods and services. These include coastal storm protection, carbon sequestration, and feeding and breeding habitats for a great diversity of marine organisms including commercially important fish species. They also host a growing number of visitors and recreational activities with some of the main recreational attractions provided by marine ecosystems including glass-bottom-boat viewing, snorkelling, recreational and sport fishing and SCUBA diving. Assessments of the economic benefits generated from such activities are estimated at over $9 billion[1]globally. The question remains as to how much of this value translates into direct benefits to local communities, whose livelihood depends on these resources.

What does the Reef and Marine Recreation Management Thematic Area Seek to Achieve?

Within the broader COAST Project implementation framework, the objective of the Reef and Marine Thematic Area is to develop and test responsible management of reef and marine recreation through the promotion and testing of sustainable tourism Best Available Practices/Technologies (BAPs/BATs) at selected sites. This includes the documentation and dissemination of the results achieved.

This is done through:

1. Raising awareness on the conservation values and issues facing the sustainable management of East African marine and reef assets among all users groups;
2. Working with local stakeholders to design and develop sustainable marine recreation and conservation practices and technologies;
3. Supporting capacity building and skills enhancement relating to marine recreation management in the priority areas;
4. Studying and testing on a micro scale, the possibilities of livelihood diversification for local coastal residents through participatory tourism planning; and
5. Basing all of the above micro scale interventions on the best available scientific knowledge of the natural resource asset base.

The COAST Project is focusing its RMRM work in three demonstration sites in the East African region: Tofu, Barra and Tofinho (Mozambique), Bagamoyo (Tanzania) and Watamu (Kenya). All these areas have since project inception been taken through intensive reef assessments, GIS mapping, capacity building and awareness creation. While all these sites are in the Western Indian Ocean region, it is important to note each site experiences different tourism-related realities and issues, as summarised below;

Bagamoyo Demo Site in Tanzania

Emerging Results and Lessons: Opportunities for Positive Change through the COAST Project Work

As a result of COAST Project interventions in the three countries, a number of opportunities have emerged through the RMRM activities for practical improvement of management of reef and marine recreation in each of the Demo Sites. Some of these include:

• Stronger collaboration among decision-makers, and between government, local communities, researchers, the private sector and other user groups, to ensure more informed decision-making and improved enforcement of regulations governing coastal development and marine use.
• Stronger community involvement in planning and management of marine areas and resources to ensure that their voices are heard and that pressure on the marine environment is reduced through strengthening local benefits from the tourism sector.
• Greater awareness of the uniqueness, value and sensitivity of the ecosystems upon which the tourism industry is based through greater access to information within the Demo Site, particularly to visitors, decision makers and other user groups.
• Improved networking and collaboration among the private sector operators to self-regulate activities and assume more responsibility for ensuring that visitors behave responsibly.
• Enhanced support to the local fishing communities to undertake sustainable fishing methods and enhance benefits more directly from tourism. This includes linking more with the private sector to improve conservation and management of marine and coastal resources.
• Improved capacity building of tour guides on aspects of marine recreation to ensure safe and sustainable marine recreation activities.
• Enhanced sensitization and awareness creation of existing policies and legislation governing the coastal and marine resource targeting the key resource users.
• Harmonization of institutional roles and responsibilities to clarify roles and responsibilities in terms of governance of the marine resources.
• Improved monitoring of ecosystems at the most popular/ most heavily used tourist sites and use of the information to address the threats facing these sensitive areas.

The Bigger Picture: Towards Improved Reef Management and Recreation for Sustainable Coastal Tourism in Africa

While one could argue that the inherent value of marine natural ecosystems and organisms should be enough to justify their protection, the reality, especially on the coastlines of East Africa, is that there are many competing and sometimes conflicting uses of marine resources and ecosystems. This continues to pose numerous challenges to managers who need to balance the competing uses and the needs of the different user groups within natural parameters required for healthy functioning ecosystems. Consideration of the values of sensitive marine ecosystems in management decisions also helps to ensure that some of the benefits from tourism contribute to the economic well-being of impoverished coastal communities.

For a highly extractive industry such as tourism to be socially, economically and environmentally sustainable, the industry needs to respond to the needs and aspirations and sensitivities of the local realities. The placement of local coastal communities central to future planning and management is critical to any efforts to improve the management of marine resources. It is absolutely clear that if tourism in coastal areas in the region is to be sustainable over the long-term, maintaining healthy marine ecosystems is critical and a change of mind-set amongst tourism operators and approach towards greater collaboration and sharing of benefits with local residents is essential. Increased responsibility by the tourism industry players through self-regulation and collaboration is key, especially in areas with a weak legal framework, a lack of adequate information for decision-making or weak monitoring and compliance of existing laws.

Figure 6: COAST Project guide training

FURTHER READING

[1] Conservation International. 2008. Economic Values of Coral Reefs, Mangroves, and Seagrasses: A Global Compilation. Center for Applied Biodiversity Science, Conservation International, Arlington, VA, USA.

[2] INE, 2009. National Institute of Statistics. Internet material: Accessed APRIL 2013.

Background

The COAST Project is working to showcase some of the global best practices and technologies that can enhance the growth and development of sustainable tourism in the coastal areas in nine countries in Africa (Cameroon, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Seychelles and Tanzania). In order to provide support to the COAST Project countries by working to domesticate some principles of information technology in Africa, the project executed a web-raising training for representatives from the Watamu Demo Site (Kenya) and Kribi Demo Site (Cameroon). This was done under the project’s Knowledge Management and Communication Strategy.

These two COAST Project countries, Kenya and Cameroon, were selected to benefit from this training after a rapid web audit that identified the two as best placed to benefit and demonstrate to the other project countries how web based applications could be used as a best practice in marketing tourism destinations. The ensuing results, experiences and lessons from this training will be documented and shared with all the COAST Project countries, and particular demonstrable results will be converted into a web raising toolkit that can easily be used by the partner country tourist destination areas that seek to benefit from online marketing presence to enhance their branding.

The COAST Project’s Web-raising Capacity Building Training for Kenya and Cameroon

This three day workshop was organized at the Turtle Bay Beach Club from 20^th to 23^rd March, 2013. The participants from Kenya ranged from private sector representatives, civil society organizations and government stakeholders. These stakeholders play a critical role in the work of the COAST Project at the local level. The Kribi Demo Site was represented by Mr. Santiago Ormeno, the UNIDO Technical Officer supporting COAST Project activities at the Demo Site in Cameroon. Mr. Ormeno will execute a number of follow up web-raising training activities at the Kribi Demo Site to enhance the online presence of eco-tourism in Kribi and build capacities of the local tourism sector in online marketing tools.

Figure : Participants to the web-raising training undertaking a field visit to the Dabaso boardwalk, a COAST Project supported activity in Watamu Demo Site (Photo: COAST Project)

What is web-raising and how does it apply to a tourism destination?

Prof. Simon Milne, Professor of Tourism and the Associate Head of School at the New Zealand Tourism Research Institute (NZTRI), contends that web-raising is touted as a “best practice in enhancing the work of communities in the tourism industry”. Prof. Milne has led numerous researches in this subject in New Zealand and the wider Pacific Islands. From his work, he demonstrates convincingly how Information Technology (IT) and access to the internet can significantly improve tourists’ experiences by exposing to them hitherto unknown authentic attraction sites in a given locality. In addition, through web-raising, it is possible for local communities and service providers to be more engaged in the tourism industry and therefore stand a chance to benefit from direct revenues that flow into these communities. To help the COAST Project execute this training workshop, Prof. Simon Milne was invited to provide his technical expertise to help the project review the web presence of the two sites and recommend strategies for building their web presence in ensuing months.

How does Web-raising apply to Marketing a Tourist Destination?

The concept of web-raising integrates Information Technology (IT) and access to the web to ensure improved branding and marketing of tourist destinations. The NZTRI view’s web-raising as a process that can enable communities and related stakeholders to use the internet to maximize the potential of tourism to be a tool for sustainable economic development. A key focus is on how to use the internet to enhance the economic linkages between tourism and the surrounding economy while also lessening negative impacts on community quality of life and the broader ecosystem. According to Prof. Milne, web-raising is not an end in itself, but rather a process that evolves over a number of stages and can be customized to meet different cultural, environmental and economic realities.

This concept has been successfully implemented in some parts of the globe, and particularly in New Zealand, Tonga and Eua Islands (Islands in South Pacific) to significantly improve both, the visitor experience as well local business and service provision opportunities for these local communities. Resulting from such web-raising examples, local businesses and local community have combined resources to provide deeper insights into the experiences that await the visitor. In the end, communities that had been previously poorly linked into the domestic and international tourism market, and have been perpetually ‘bypassed’ in terms of tourism spend and visitor engagement opportunities, find real niches to work and support touristic practices that also benefits them. It is also provides a good opportunity to integrate environmental sustainability principles within the tourism industry.

The COAST Project: Results from the Web-Audit for Watamu and Kribi Demo Site

It is important to realize that most tourists’ first point of call for information on any given tourist destination they plan to visit is through the internet. The search engines that are mostly used include Google, Yahoo, Bing, Ask and AOL. For tourists, a number of traveler rating sites, with interactive feedback mechanisms that allow travelers to post their reviews are rising in popularity. They include TripAdvisor; Lonely Planet and Wiki pages. Hence, during this internet search, a tourist would wish to see a positive branding and more information on attraction sites to visit even before leaving their home countries. In a way, the tourists would wish to experience the real visit, even before setting off for the journey. In realization of this fact, a team of researchers from the NZTRI conducted a web audit of the Watamu and Kribi Demo Sites before the training. The audit comprised of a comprehensive review of all the key on-line resources that a prospective visitor would check for Kribi and Watamu Demo Sites.

So, the question is, what do tourists who want to visit Watamu and Kribi see on the internet, before setting off for their holidays? Below is a summary of the key findings:

Conclusion

From this training, a number of key issues were agreed upon, with an action plan being adopted to support the efforts by the DMSC’s in Watamu to enhance the web presence of the COAST Project Demo Site. For Kribi, an action plan that involves further trainings has been developed to support the local stakeholders become familiar with the opportunities presented by the Internet for promotion of their tourism products, to build the loyalty of regular tourists and to conceive new destination marketing tools. By and large, it is important to note that if fully integrated within the tourism industry, web-raising can contribute to building new tourism brands in areas that are not necessarily known as tourism destinations, and promote a positive perception by potential tourists and investors. It can also enhance the search-ability and marketability of a tourist area that doesn’t fit the conventional definition, as many other destinations in Sub Saharan Africa, that remain off-the-beaten-paths of mainstream tourism.

Websites such as AirBnB (stays at local houses), Trip Advisor (information about tourism sites and hotels), and Google Places (geo-location of small business) serve as a new direct channels for community based tourism and eco-tourism. Web-raising therefore has the potential of ensuring that more tourism income is directly being infused within the local communities, hence accruing more direct benefits to a given society.  Since the subject of green consumerism and responsible tourism is on the rise in recent years, this concept can be effectively used to market destinations that pay particular emphasis on sustainability issues. Therefore, lessons and experiences that will emerge from the COAST Project’s application of the web-raising concept in Kenya and Cameroon will be shared to ensure broader uptake in the next course of project implementation.

Tourism is one the main pillars of the Seychelles economy.  The sector contributes at least 25% to the Gross Domestic Product and provides approximately 15% of direct employment[1].  During the past decade, the industry has grown substantially with new tourism products coming online and achieving record numbers in terms of tourist arrivals.  Over the recent years, the sector has increasingly recorded the highest number of visitors. For instance, statistics for 2012 shows a record with just over 208,000 visitors, the majority from France, Germany, Italy and Russia which account for 60% of the total visitors to the country.

Balancing Seychelles’ Tourism Growth and Preserving its Fragile Biodiversity

The growth in tourism during the past ten years has also resulted in more pressure on the local resources of the country.  As a result of this, the Seychelles Government has had to balance between needs of economic development and the ever rising need to lessen and mitigate the negative impacts of such developments on the environment and its natural resources. This has led the country to shift its focus to market Seychelles as an eco-tourism destination. As a result of this initiative, the tourism industry in Seychelles has become more conscious of sustainability principles and practices resulting in the discovery of more nature-based attractions, products and services within the tourism attractions.

As a fragile ecosystem, the Seychelles archipelago belongs to one of the major biodiversity hotspots in the world. Approximately 47% of the country’s landmass, and some 228km2 of its ocean territory, are under some form of protected status. However, Seychelles’ biodiversity remains at risk from a variety of human induced pressures; making the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity to be of vital importance for the country’s sustainable development. In this regard, the Seychelles Government’s decision to adopt the Seychelles Sustainable Tourism Label (SSTL) sought to ensure continuous sustainability of the country’s most vital sectors; tourism and the natural resources it depends on, the environment.

The Use of SSTL Label to Support a Shift to Sustainability in the Tourism Industry in Seychelles

So far, five hotels have been certified with the SSTL label, they are the Constance Ephelia Resort and Spa; the Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay Resort and Casino; the Hanneman Holliday Apartment. Two other hotels, the Kempinski Seychelles Resort and the Banyan Tree Seychelles successfully assessed and received their certification on 21^st September, 2013.  There are also a number of hotels that have expressed interest in the label and are at various stages of preparation of accessing the label. Getting hotels to apply for the label involves various correspondence, meetings, and explaining the criteria and their benefits.  As a form of encouragement, the smaller establishments are provided with free technical assistance by the Government.

The concept behind the development of the Seychelles Sustainable Tourism Label (SSTL) originated from the Tourism Department, Ministry of Tourism and Transport work in the preparation of Vision 21, a national blueprint, which entailed a comprehensive Tourism Master Plan 2001-2010 and the Seychelles Eco-Tourism Strategy for the 21^st Century (SETS-21). The Seychelles Ministry of Tourism and Transport adopted the SSTL project in 2004 (and later the Seychelles Tourism Board in 2007) and conducted preparatory research on sustainable tourism Labels.  As a follow up, a committee of key stakeholders was established and a set of preliminary criteria developed. The draft criteria were piloted by the STB but the SSTL award scheme could not be implemented due to lack of financial resources. After some 5 year lull, the SSTL project gathered steam towards the end of 2009 through a UNDP-GEF supported initiative to mainstream biodiversity management into production sector activities.

The Seychelles Sustainable Tourism Label – How It Works

Incentivizing Sustainability in Tourism:  Lessons from the Seychelles on the SSTL Scheme

Clearly, adopting a green label is not without its challenges. Although the Government of Seychelles is even offering financial concession by waiving taxes on the importation of energy efficient appliances for instance, this is still not a significant enough as an incentive to encourage all the hotels to work to get certification under the label. Some of the smaller hotel operators still feel that they should not have to pay an application fee to participate in the scheme, and need more concessions from the Government.

In addition, for such sustainability schemes to succeed, it is important for the country to lay in place proper supporting policies, facilities and infrastructure, in line with the requirements of such a label. A good example on this issue is the requirement by the SSTL that all participating hotels should separate their waste into various components (organic and inorganic). This criterion is proving to be a problem to execute since the country lacks adequate waste recycling facilities locally which would have benefited immensely from the readily sorted raw materials. However, the government is aware of this and is working to address it.

Finally, to ensure the effectiveness of such a label, various things have to be taken into consideration. Like the SSTL, which was developed in line with the Global Sustainable Tourism Council criteria, the label should be aligned to such a widely recognized and respected framework, making it easier for such a label to be recognized and adding to its global credibility.  It is important to also set in place an independent Awards Panel to endorse the certifications and to assure transparency for the programme. The label also requires a strong awareness creation and capacity building programme at the initial stage of the project to generate more interest and buy-in The COAST Project is indeed proud to be associated with the Seychelles Sustainable Tourism Label, and acknowledges the label as a useful Best Available Practice that can be easily replicated within tourist destinations in Africa and beyond.

Further Reading

[1]Seychelles Tourism  Board

This year’s GEF International Waters (IW) Conference was held in Barbados from 28^th – 31^st October 2013. These annual IW conferences are aimed at facilitating cross-sectoral and portfolio-wide learning and experience sharing, targeting transboundary water systems, such as shared river basins, lakes, groundwater and large marine ecosystems. With a portfolio comprising of 242 projects to date and some US$1.4 billion of GEF grants invested in 149 different countries, this thematic area is of critical importance to the subject of sustainable development. It is important to note here that since the inception of the GEF in 1991, the IW portfolio continues to deliver substantive results and replicable experiences to be scaled up and mainstreamed globally.

The IWC7 conference brought together approximately 215 participants, including GEF IW project managers, representatives of beneficiary countries, non-governmental organizations, transboundary management institutions, UN Agencies, and the private sector to deliberate on this year’s theme of “Economic Valuation as a Tool to Bridge the Science-Policy Gap”. Mr. Ludovic Bernaudat, the Project Manager, represented the COAST Project during this important fete in the calendar of the IW thematic area.

Figure 1: Participants at the IW7 Conference in Barbados pose for a photo during the workshop

The COAST Project at the GEF IW7 Conference

During this year’s GEF IW7 Conference, the COAST Project showcased a number of materials and informational products to sensitize the participants on the various project outputs and deliveries. The project displayed banners showcasing project activities at the regional level and in Tanzania and Senegal. Project brochures displaying a summary on the activities at the country level, lanyards and COAST Project branded USB sticks were also distributed to the IW7 conference participants. In addition to these promotional materials, the project also displayed actual eco-tourism products generated by various beneficiaries. Of particular note here are soaps developed by Bagamoyo beneficiaries in Tanzania and crafts from recycled wastes from the ALMA Association in our Inhambane demo Site.  All these were aimed at enhancing the visibility of the COAST Project among the participating delegates (To see a list of all posters, banners and brochures produced by the COAST Project check here).

Figure 2: A section of participants at the IW7 Conference pose for a photo during the workshop

In addition to the above, our COAST Project website (http://coast.iwlearn.org/en;) was nominated among 10 other IW: LEARN supported websites to compete for the IW Wonderful Outstanding Web (WOW) Award Competition. (To see the full list of nominated websites http://iwlearn.net/websitetoolkit/wow/iw-wow-2013;).  Resulting from the competition which saw accepted entries participate in a blitz of online sensitization campaigns aimed at soliciting for votes, a group of judges, consisting of five experts (on transboundary management and ICT) rated the finalists based on the criteria of content, technical component, timeliness and visual appearance. The Top 5 websites were then announced on the opening day of the IWC7 at the further judged by the IWC7 participants during the conference. Our COAST Project Website was ranked 4^th, after this rigorous competition and received positive reviews from the hundred voters and panel of IW: LEARN judges. The eventual winner for this competition was the Coral Triangle Knowledge Network (CTKN), a knowledge and social network facility supported by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) (to see the winning website, check here http://www.ctknetwork.org/).

Figure 3: The IW7 Conference in Plenary

Conclusion and Way forward from the IW7

From the foregoing, it is important to note that the COAST Project had a good showing at this year’s IW7 Conference. The conference was also useful in helping the participants discuss and agree on best practices in economic valuation for ecosystem services. The conference provided a sound framework to comprehensively evaluate natural and environmental resources, presented various methods to assess the value of ecosystem to human well-beings as well as examples from marine and freshwater ecosystems to illustrate the different concepts and methods. The closing plenary of the IW7 featured reflections on the IWC7 and the key take-home messages from each of the principal sessions.

The next IW conference, IW8, will be hosted by the East Asian Seas region in 2014.

To Read more on the IW7 Conference, see here http://iwlearn.net/abt_iwlearn/events/conferences/iwc7-2013/index_html;

GEF Objective:

To demonstrate and support adoption of best practice approaches for sustainable tourism that reduce the degradation of marine and coastal environments of trans-boundary significance

• Outcome 1: Sustainable tourism approaches for reducing pollution, contamination and environmental degradation from coastal tourism demonstrated in the sub-Saharan African context
• Outcome 2: National and local mechanisms supporting sustainable tourism governance and management identified and enhanced to facilitate uptake of BAP/BATs.

2. Increase in partnerships and involvement in a regional and national level between interministerial and cross-sectoral government bodies, private sector and civic society in adopting localized BAP/BAT for Ecotourism, EMS and R&MRM

For a copy of the COAST Project Monitoring and Evaluation Strategy here

By Ulrike Kloiber and Sibylle Riedmiller, Chumbe Island Coral Park

“……..A notable example of payments for ecosystem services within the context of coral-reefs habitat is provided by the private and non-profit Chumbe Island Coral Park in the United Republic of Tanzania… local fishermen benefit from the Reef Sanctuary, as research findings confirmed that fish inside the protected no-take zone travel out and increase their yields in the vicinity”..

UN Secretary General’s report to the General Assembly on Protection of Coral Reefs for Sustainable Livelihoods and Development (2011)

1. Background

From aid project manager to social entrepreneur, founder and director of Chumbe Island Coral Park (CHICOP), Ms. Sibylle Riedmiller, followed her passion for the underwater world when she began efforts in 1992 to create the world’s first privately-managed marine protected area at Chumbe Island in Zanzibar, United Republic of Tanzania. This hitherto uninhabited small coral island 12 kilometers southwest of Zanzibar town is now a fully managed nature reserve that protects a 30-hectare no-take coral reef sanctuary, where fish and corals thrive, and a coral-rag forest reserve covering most of the island's 22 hectares that harbors rare and endangered animals.

Over the last two decades, CHICOP has created a model of financially, ecologically and socially sustainable Marine Park management, where a collaboration of actions for sustainable coastal tourism supports employment, conservation, research and environmental education for local people. Currently top ranking on TripAdvisor.com (a traveler information and feedback website portal) gives evidence that Chumbe Park has also become a successful sustainable tourism destination, where income from visitors is channeled back into preserving this little stretch of paradise for future generations.

Maintaining the integrity of the island's pristine ecosystems for posterity is CHICOP's mission. In this regard, not a single tree was cut and only empty clearings left by nature were used when the Visitors' centre and seven eco-bungalows were built. Combining traditional building styles and materials with modern eco-architecture, the technologies for water and energy provision and waste avoidance and recycling of the eco-lodge took full advantage of sunlight, natural ventilation and rainwater, with rainwater catchment, vegetative gray water filtration, composting toilets, solar water heating and photovoltaic power generation.

The Chumbe model of sustainable tourism that develops and funds a marine park and provides benefits to local people has generated major interest among international conservation organizations and has won CHICOP numerous prestigious awards and global recognition.[1]

Figure : A bird’s eye view of the eco-lodges on Chumbe Island (Photo courtesy CHICOP)

Joining the ZEITZ Long Run Initiative

In the year 2008, CHICOP became a founding member of the flagship program of the Jochen Zeitz Foundation, the “Long Run Initiative[i]". This initiative promotes and certifies tourism enterprises, which directly manage, or significantly contribute to the management of a natural area of conservation value and demonstrate their commitment to sustainability through the 4Cs: Conservation, Community, Culture and Commerce. Performance and processes across the 4Cs are assessed through a certification scheme that awards destinations with the Global Ecosphere Retreat (GER) distinction for the highest level of sustainability.

In working towards this certification, CHICOP shared and discussed achievements in a challenging environment and lessons learned in the two decades of Chumbe history. After going through a rigorous assessment process by external experts,  CHICOP become the first GER certified Long Run Destination in 2011, in recognition of promoting marine conservation in Tanzania and setting an example for genuine sustainable tourism and environmental education and awareness creation.

1. Sustainable Tourism at CHICOP and how it benefits local communities

Chumbe Island Coral Park is a private investment into marine and forest conservation with a commercial component, the eco-lodge, which generates the income needed to run the park. Therefore, revenue generated from tourism is reinvested in supporting park management and environmental education programs. This includes various economic incentives for local communities since the lodge opened in 1998.

Minimizing environmental impacts – water, energy and waste management

One of CHICOP’s main objectives is to manage the eco-lodge as a model for sustainable tourism development, providing high-quality services to visitors while promoting environmental awareness through education programs for the local community and all island visitors. Like many developing countries, Zanzibar does not have an effective/efficient solid waste management system in place. Due to lack of infrastructure and public services, waste is burned in the streets or dumped in illegal sites, creating major public health concerns and environmental hazards. To minimize environmental impacts, CHICOP restricts the number of visitors to the island and avoids the purchase of non-biodegradable products. Where possible, goods are sourced locally and transported in locally made, biodegradable baskets. Non-cooked fruit and vegetable waste is collected, composted and used for the composting toilets on the island, while non-biodegradable waste is removed from the island and, where possible, recycled. Only biodegradable detergents and soaps are used and laundry is washed off the island.

During the year 2012, CHICOP also conducted waste recycling workshops with the help of volunteers, who for example taught local staff how to turn candle stubs from guest dinners into recycled coconut candles. Workshops were held to create hands-on learning tools for visiting students using only recycled materials to illustrate how trash can have a ‘second life’. Such activities illustrate CHICOP’s commitment to environmental sustainability and the commitment to share knowledge and the importance of waste management through practical learning experiences.

Figure : CHICOP employs the exclusive use of renewable energy with these solar panels powering the facility (Photo courtesy CHICOP)

1. Communication & Environmental Awareness Activities & Engagement of Partners

While coastal communities depend on fishing for their survival in mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar, there is little evidence of traditional reef management or sensitization about the limitations of this fragile resource. By and large, Government policies, legislation and management capacity fall short in meeting the challenges of rapid environmental degradation and tend to favor investments into unsustainable development and environmentally destructive products and practices.

Figure 19: CHICOP's environmental Educator demonstrates snorkeling techniques to a group of Zanzibar girls on an education tour (Photo: CHICOP)

Therefore, public communication, education and awareness-raising on the vulnerability of the marine and forest ecosystems and the importance of sustainable tourism are key pillars of CHICOP’s Environmental Education (EE) programs, which are regularly conducted on Chumbe Island and in Zanzibar. The programs offer free island excursions, training workshops and peer education sessions for students, teachers and community members. Based on the approach of ‘Education for Sustainable Development[2]’, these programs help to close the gap between theoretical knowledge and practice, involve different level of learners and seek solutions to environmental concerns that build on indigenous knowledge, culture and traditions. By the year 2012, over 6000 school children and 900 teachers had visited the island to experience the natural environment with its diverse ecosystems.

The experiential hands-on activities for schoolchildren and all visitors include guided snorkeling in the reef and walking along the forest trails using all senses such as sight, touch, hearing, taste and smell while ensuring that the teaching contents link up with the national school curricula. CHICOP also supports schools through environmental talks/seminars and helps organize environmental clubs, which are much encouraged by a popular competition for a sustainable future for schools, i.e. the Chumbe Challenge Environmental Award.

The role of research and education: CHICOP started operations in 1991 by conducting baseline surveys of the ecosystems and marine and forest flora and fauna of the island. This was meant to establish the conservation value of the Chumbe reef and coral-rag forest and to convince the Government of Zanzibar that the island should indeed be protected. However, it was clear that the park could not be developed without co-operation of local communities as well. Research and training on marine and forest conservation and sustainable tourism development for income generation was therefore at the center of project implementation. Enforcement of no-take marine parks is challenging around the world, especially when local communities rely on fishing for their livelihood. On the other hand, after a few years of effective closure, the local fishermen benefit from marine parks, as these create breeding sanctuaries for fish and other marine organisms, which restock adjacent and upstream overfished areas, the famous 'spill-over effect'. This was discussed by the CHICOP management in village meetings in the early nineties to win co-operation, and it was agreed that fishermen should be employed and trained as Park Rangers to educate their fellow fishermen about the purpose and benefits of the closure. This approach worked very well. As soon as the spill-over effect became noticeable in the mid nineties, enforcement was no problem anymore, and local fishermen now respected the park boundaries and reported that the catch outside of the boundaries had increased since the establishment of the park.

Some of the fishermen were trained in data collection for research, park management and monitoring techniques for the reef and the forest to become park rangers.  They also learnt the English language and guidance skills required for island visitors, including environmental education for local schoolchildren. All other island staff, such as cooks, cleaners & waiters are also trained periodically to acquire the basics of reef ecology, forest ecology, English language skills, eco-tourism and eco-technology.

Capacity building of government staff: CHICOP has also helped to raise conservation awareness and understanding of the legal and institutional requirements among government officials. The very innovative and unusual investment proposal of a privately established and managed Marine and Forest reserve required the involvement and approval of altogether seven Government departments. This took over four years to negotiate, followed by intense discussions on the Management Plans 1995 - 2016, which were developed by CHICOP consultants with wide stakeholder participation. This lengthy process has gained CHICOP political support and prepared the ground for improvements in the legal framework for marine conservation, environmental protection and management. Furthermore, an Advisory Committee that was established in the year 1995 includes village leaders, government officials, local academics and the CHICOP management, and meets at least twice per year for discussions about achievements and challenges.

1. Conclusion on Results, Experiences from Chumbe Island

From our work in Chumbe, through lessons accumulated over a period of 2 decades, we have established that private management of marine protected areas can be effective and economically viable, even in a challenging political environment. Investment in conservation and in environmentally sound technologies, as well as the employment of additional staff for park management and environmental education programs, raises costs considerably, making it difficult to compete with other tourism enterprises. Favorable conservation and investment policies and taxation would encourage such initiatives, but are not currently available in Tanzania. Close cooperation with government agencies in establishing and protecting this reserve has enhanced the understanding of environmental issues among local and national authorities. In addition, the establishment of the Chumbe nature reserve has benefited local communities by generating income, employment, market for local produce, developing new work skills, and restocking commercial fish species in adjacent marine areas (spill-over). To avoid user conflicts, it is easier to preserve an area that is not used intensively for subsistence or other economic endeavors by local communities.

With the threats of climate change, marine conservation needs more political support from governments and the international conservation community, as well as recognition of the contributions that the private sector can make to both, effective conservation area management and livelihoods of local people on the ground. Long-term security of tenure and contracts, together with a favorable political, legal and institutional environment are needed to attract more private and community investment in marine conservation particularly in the developing world. The Chumbe Island Coral Park project looks forward to sustain these in the months and years to come.

[1] Some of the most prestigious of the approximate 20 of international awards won by CHICOP from 1999 to date include: 1999 British Airways Tourism For Tomorrow Award - Global Winner; 2000 Global 500 UNEP Outstanding Environmental Achievement Award – Winner; 2001 Ecotourism Destination Award - World Winner; National Geographic Society’s Center for Sustainable Destinations (CSD), 2012 Sustainia Award; among others.

[2] The Education for Sustainable Development toolkit is available at http://www.esdtoolkit.org/esd_toolkit_v2.pdf;

[i] Website (www.thelongrun.com; and www.zeitzfoundation.org; )