Eastern African Marine Ecoregion

Building a Solid Foundation for Long-term Conservation Success

Worldwide, there is a move to scale up conservation efforts in order to more effectively address critical issues at appropriate levels and time frames. This move has been dictated by a realization that “business as usual” is not working. Even where conservation success has been noted, long-term sustainability of results is often not guaranteed. Frequently the ecological processes supporting biodiversity and the causes of degradation extend beyond the range of most site-specific programmes.

For WWF, the entry point to the larger scale is the ecoregion – a geographic area of land or sea that contains a distinct assemblage of natural communities sharing a large majority of species, dynamics and environmental conditions.

WWF’s conservation strategy focuses on a key subset of the worlds’ ecoregions - the ‘Global 200’. Each of the Global 200 ecoregions are outstanding examples of the Earth’s diverse terrestrial, freshwater, and marine habitats – areas where the Earth’s biological wealth is most distinctive or rich, where its loss will be most severely felt, and where we must fight the hardest for conservation. EAME is a ‘Global 200 Ecoregion’ and a top priority for WWF.

WWF Support to the Ecoregion

Within the Eastern African Marine Ecoregion these goals are addressed through a combination of approaches that derive from the prevailing situation and needs of the region. WWF has been working in the Ecoregion for over ten years in partnership with institutions such as government departments, local communities and other non-governmental organizations in each of the nations of EAME: Kenya, Mozambique, Somalia, South Africa, and Tanzania. WWF’s financial support to projects throughout the Ecoregion has grown to over $11 million in cumulative funding since the marine program began here in 1989.

WWF Conservation Strategy

WWF is facilitating the implementation of a large-scale marine and coastal area conservation approach in eastern and southern Africa through the Eastern African Marine Ecoregion (EAME) programme. This larger scale is necessary to address the broader biological and associated systems as well as the social, economic and policy factors that are essential to long-term success.

EAME stretches from southern Somalia to north-eastern South Africa. The participatory planning process began with the collation and analysis of the available biological and socio-economic knowledge. Building on this information, in 2001 WWF facilitated a workshop with representation from the relevant government, academic and NGO communities of all five nations. They worked together to determine biodiversity priorities and set a 50-year Biodiversity Vision that now provides a clear conservation goal for the Ecoregion. This planning process was completed in August 2003 with regional agreement on a Conservation Strategy and near-term Action Plan to guide future conservation efforts.

This participatory process has provided a solid foundation for the future of the Ecoregion. In collaboration with partners throughout EAME, WWF plans to build on this foundation with continued support to the growing network of conservation initiatives so critical to improving the livelihoods of the people who depend on its natural abundance and protecting the biodiversity that makes EAME one of the Earth’s most valued treasures.

Bazaruto Marine National Park

Established in 1971,is Mozambique’s first Marine Park. It was designed to protect species in danger of extinction – dugong and certain marine turtles. In 1989 the National Directorate of Forestry and Wildlife, in collaboration with WWF, initiated a plan for the long-term conservation and development of the archipelago. Today both the boundaries of the park and its objectives have been extended. The larger park now includes involvement of both local resource users and tourism operators in a program of collaborative management of this national treasure.

Mafia Island Marine Park

Mafia Island Marine Park was a concept put forth as early as the 1960s. Two small marine reserves within Mafia were declared under the Fisheries Regulation of 1975: Chole Bay and Kitutia Reefs. In 1991 a steering committee was appointed to oversee the development of the marine park, and WWF was asked to join as a member. In 1992 WWF initiated a programme of support for the development of the Marine Park and in 1996 the government officially gazetted Mafia Island Marine Park. WWF continues to work with local government and community partners to build an effective management approach for the park.

Kiunga Marine National Reserve

Gazetted in 1979 by the Wildlife Authorities of Kenya. Due to its remoteness, limited infrastructure, high management costs, and the general insecurity of the region, the reserve received little management support until 1996 when the Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) requested WWF’s assistance in developing a long-term management strategy for the reserve. Building capacity to now implement the elected integrated conservation and development approach is the focus of WWF’s continued support to the reserve.

Menai Bay Conservation Area

Menai Bay Conservation Area became a focal program in 1994 when the Government of Zanzibar requested WWF to help with the management of the natural resources of Menai Bay. In early 1995 WWF initiated a program that provides technical and financial support to fisher folk and wome n’s’ groups on sustainable fisheries management and the development of economic alternatives.

Quirimbas National Park

Quirimbas National Park in Mozambique was established in 2002. The initiative to protect the Quirimbas area was headed by the Government of Cabo Delgado Province and local NGOs, but grew from the strong support of the local communities, whose principal objectives were to find a means to resolve the growing frequency of often-tragic human/wildlife conflicts and protect the fisheries resources upon which they depend. WWF and local NGO partners facilitated the gazetting process and are now engaged in building park management capacity.