With the continuing growth of coastal human populations, the importance of conserving the integrity, productivity and value of the marine biodiversity on which we all depend is paramount. Marine resources are important globally as well as to local people, so we must all share the responsibility of conserving them. At present we are destroying our marine biodiversity. It is critical that biodiversity be maintained and that the degradation, which began several decades ago, is halted. Failure to achieve this will result in ever diminishing returns from the sea. The four most important reasons for maintaining marine biodiversity are:

1. A diverse and healthy marine ecoregion is more productive and therefore provides more fish, mangrove wood, etc. for the users. Each species has a specialised way of using different resources and adapting to changes (e.g. in water salinity or temperature), thus by having more species the productivity of the habitats and ecosystem is maximised.
2. A diverse and healthy marine ecoregion, through having more species, is also more stable. This helps protect against environmental changes (e.g. sea level rise, flooding, hurricane and cyclone damage) and improves recovery.
3. A diverse and healthy marine ecoregion allows species that depend on different habitats at certain stages of their life cycle (e.g. larval period, growth period, reproduction and nesting) to continue to exist. Keeping only one habitat may not be sufficient to retain all species, but keeping all habitats in a healthy condition again maximises productivity.
4. The quality of life for coastal people, and visitors, relies in part on the marine biodiversity for aesthetic reasons.

Protective status – the beginning

Despite the threats to the marine biodiversity of the eastern African marine ecoregion and the recognition that it is being degraded, there are still many biodiversity-rich areas, some of them in almost pristine condition. However, achieving effective marine conservation is not a simple task. Over 40 years ago many coastal sites were identified as deserving of protective status. Some were subsequently developed into marine parks or reserves. The approach at that time was to designate an area for non-extractive uses. Successful examples from the 1960’s include the marine park of Watamu-Malindi in Kenya and the Inhaca Island Reserve near Maputo in southern Mozambique. These early attempts aimed at protecting the coastal environments, on a site-by-site basis, often encouraging tourism development. More recently, effective marine protected areas (MPAs) have been shown to actually generate greater income from tourism than from the fisheries they displaced. MPAs also help depleted fish stocks recover.

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Numerous other sites have been identified for marine conservation since the 1960’s. However, of the 30 or so currently designated in eastern Africa, sadly, very few can be said to be effectively managed. With our increased understanding of processes and connectivity within marine ecoregions has come the realisation that protected sites can help each other, and thereby add value to existing efforts and achievements. Integration and the development of a network of functional Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) is essential and there is good reason for enthusiasm and positive attitudes towards making the existing sites work.

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)

Marine protected areas are generally designed to accommodate a multitude of marine resource users. The active participation of all the main users is seen as an integral part of the process of deciding what types of management systems are appropriate. By definition, however, the designation of an MPA will restrict some activities, thereby requiring some form of enforcement. A legal framework for the management of the MPA is vital. Current practices recognise that to balance the needs of all users with conservation objectives, a zoningscheme is necessary, whereby clearly defined activities (e.g. fishing, tourism, mariculture, mangrove harvest, and research) are permitted in specific (and possibly overlapping) areas or zones. Core zonestotally protected from all extractive or damaging activities may also be considered, and are known to help considerably with:

• preserving the genetic and ecological basis of the region as a whole;
• providing safe refuges for breeding stocks of fish as well as boosting replenishment, recovery and productivity of neighbouring areas;
• providing a baseline for comparison with other areas, or the future, and;
• attracting environmentally-aware tourists and thus generating alternative incomes and further boosting awareness.

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Creating a baseline

One of the key components of effectively managed MPAs is the creation of a baseline against which we can measure the changing condition of habitats. If the mangrove forests of today had all been harvested at some time in the last forty years, no one would know what their full diversity comprised. Mangrove forests would be seen as muddy expanses with a few stumps of trees and some scattered seedlings supporting a handful of small fish during high tide, i.e. far removed from the towering 20m tall trees and tangles of roots of a truly pristine and well-developed forest, and the mass of fish and other marine life they support.

Poverty driven degradation of natural resources

In many tropical countries poverty is the main driving force behind the degradation of marine and terrestrial resources, although even wealthy countries experience such problems due to over-consumption of resources, ignorance and greed. In the eastern African ecoregion the majority of coastal inhabitants are poor. Driven by the need for income, younger fishermen especially have taken to the use of destructive gears, and discarded the traditional wisdom of their fathers for careful use of the sea and its riches. Many now fish with little or no regard for the future. Given the opportunity, many of the younger generation that use the sea would prefer to undertake a benign marine or land-based activity, but opportunities are few. Unfortunately, without combating poverty and providing alternative income-generating activities, little can be achieved towards long-term conservation.

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