Region: Sub-Saharan Africa
Country: Tanzania
Keywords: Commercial Value Capture (CVC)
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Document Summary:
Chumbe Island is a successful self-sustaining marine park and forest reserve off the coast of East Africa. The 55-acre island is covered by a coral rag forest, where vegetation grows without groundwater in a bed of recent coral deposits, and is bordered by a fringing coral reef (a type of reef that is directly attached to a shore). The coral reef is home to over 420 fish species and 200 stone coral species. Following successful rat eradication, the island has become a sanctuary for many endangered and rare species, such as Ader’s Duikers, Coconut Crabs, and Roseate Terns. Throughout the world, animal and plant populations are being negatively impacted by human actions. Overfishing, overharvesting and the degrading of ecosystems are some of the factors contributing to the decline of marine area ecosystems. The coral reef at the uninhabited Chumbe Island was threatened with a similar fate until a nature conservationist decided to try to change it. Disillusioned with the limited success seen by some donor aid projects and the lack of commitment to conservation by the government, this individual formed a private company, Chumbe Island Coral Park Ltd (CICP), to manage and operate a marine and forest sanctuary on Chumbe Island. By creating a partnership with the government, the project was able not only to create a marine sanctuary, but to educate the public about conservation to generate broad support for the sanctuary
Document Details:
Project Objectives:
The first objective of CICP was to create a reef sanctuary and forest preserve. In this way, Chumbe Island would become one of the last undisturbed “coral rag’ forests in the world. CICP wanted to maintain and foster greater biodiversity around the coral reel and in the forest preserve.
A second objective was to apply business management skills to create and follow a model of sustainable conservation management, which would be supported by ecotourism. Operational expenses would be covered by revenues from ecotourism. Sustainable management also included building and maintaining environmentally friendly buildings. All the buildings on the island—a visitor center and bungalows for overnight stays—would be designed and built with the up-to-date eco-technology, using local materials, and would be self-sustaining. Revenue from ecotourism would be used to manage the coral park and support environmental education for local students.
A third major objective that helped make the first two objectives possible was to educate the public about the need for conservation. Local residents believed corals were just rocks and so fishermen overfished and practiced destructive fishing techniques, which were decimating the coral reefs. The local language Kiswahili has no word for corals and despite a number of coral reefs in Tanzania; school curricula did not cover coral reef ecology. Educating not just fishermen, but school children and communities about the need for conservation, helps ensure these areas remain protected. A goal was to increase the general public’s awareness of the importance of the coral reefs.
Updated: January 6, 2024