Tanzania: Govt keen on coastal, marine ecosystem management

Published by Daily News

THE government has said more concerted efforts need to be applied in managing and effectively governing the country’s coastal and marine ecosystems for the benefit of not only the nation, but the entire world. Minister of State in the Vice-President’s Office (Environment) Dr Batilda Burian said destruction of coastal and marine ecosystem had a bearing not only to Tanzanians but the entire planet.

Opening the Tanzania Coastal Marine Project (TCMP) meeting in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday (yesterday)the minister noted that the fact that eight million people which is 25 per cent of the total country’s population share the coastal area with some of the most diverse and biologically important species on earth, makes the coast the uniquely productive, but fragile part of the environment. For more, please click here to contact the Tanzania Focal Point.

South Africa: Previous Research Underestimated Effects of Sea Level Rise

Research conducted by the cities of Cape Town and Durban indicates that the consequences of rising sea levels are far greater and far-reaching than was previously believed, and predicts huge knock-on effects and cost.

A prior assessment done by the International Panel for Climate Change(IPCC) concluded South Africa's coastal vulnerability was not significant, but new research points to potentially catastrophic scenarios resulting from temperature changes and the disintegration of ice sheets.For more, please click here to contact the South Africa Focal Point.

Kenya: Fisheries Ministry to Inventory Fish Landing Sites

The ministry of fisheries development will take a fresh inventory of all fish landing sites at the Coast to prevent encroachment on the land by private developers. Those sites that have been grabbed will also be repossessed and put under the management of local fishermen through the beach management units. Coast director of fisheries Mrs Martha Mukira said despite a comprehensive report on the location and status of landing sites in the area most of them are now in private hands denying fishermen access. For more, please click here to contact the Kenya Focal Point.

Kenya: Fish breeding area chokes on litter

When Coast fisherman Juma Kombo found packages of mysterious grey powder washed up on the beach near his village, he thought it was foodstuff and took it home. Not long after, his family developed headaches, started sneezing, and experienced breathing problems. The powder was giving off a strange smell like rat poison, he says, so he threw it down the toilet. But several other members of the remote community found similar packages. About a dozen in all, they say, within a 300-metre radius. Some they buried, but one or two they saved and took to the offices of Community Touch (CommTouch) a community-based organisation of 30 members that is committed to cleaning up the beach and ensuring sustainability for the area’s fishermen. For more, please click here to contact the Kenya Focal Point.

Kenya: Coastal zones crucial in the fight against global warming

Governments along the Indian Ocean have been asked to invest in the maintenance and rehabilitation of key marine ecosystems in order to combat climate change.

A new Rapid Response Report released by the United Nations estimates that carbon emissions equal to half the annual emissions of the global transport sector are being captured and stored by marine ecosystems such as mangroves, salt marshes and sea grasses. “A combination of reducing deforestation on land, allied to restoring the coverage and health of these marine ecosystems could deliver up to 25 percent of the emissions reductions needed to avoid ‘dangerous’ climate change.”

For more, please click here to contact the Kenya Focal Point.

Kenya: Illegal fishing biggest threat to tuna fish

Increased illegal fishing activities in the Indian Ocean are threatening to destock tropical tunas along the Eastern and Southern African coast, says Fisheries Development minister Paul Otuoma.

Dr Otuoma, in a speech read on his behalf by Kenya Marine and Fishery Research Institute (KMFRI) assistant director Martha Mukinda yesterday, called on the 28 member countries of Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) to stamp it out. “Proper use of fisheries resources should take into account the code of conduct for responsible fisheries,” he said. For more, please click here to contact the Kenya Focal Point.

Tanzania joins global campaign to protect coral reefs

THE importance of coral reefs is not well-known to fishers, divers, tourists and even some officials in fisheries and marine resource management sectors. Coral reefs provide protection and shelter to different fish species. It is said that without coral reefs, the fish are left homeless with nowhere to live and no place to breed.

They also produce more living biomass than any other marine ecosystem. Coral reefs provide numerous economic and environmental advantages from fish supplies to tourist products, generation of sand and prevention of beach erosion caused by the waves from the ocean. For more, please click here to contact the Tanzania Focal Point.

Tanzania: The First female genuine Zanzibari Marine scientist

Dr Narriman Jiddawi, one of the first few women PhD holders in Zanzibar, is possibly the busiest female academician in Zanzibar. To her idleness is enemy and therefore always doing something, if not lecturing, she must be attending a meeting or busy in the sea researching or leading poor women in economic income activities.

Although Narriman Jiddawi was trained as a marine biologist, she boasts of to have always moved fluidly between several vastly different worlds in academic cycles and social activities focusing at reducing poverty and employment among women. She has been a pivotal player in successful programs to sustain mariculture, improve economic wellbeing of women, reduce fishing pressure, and train others to extend these successes. For more, please click here to contact the Tanzania Focal Point.

Madagascar NGOs unite against plunder of natural resources

Published by Birdlife International

Asity Madagascar (BirdLife in Madagascar) has joined a group of Malagasy civil society organisations, Voahary Gasy, calling for an end to the plundering of natural resources in the national parks of north-east Madagascar.

Following the change of government in March this year, all but essential humanitarian aid has been withdrawn by the international community, leaving Madagascar's national park and forestry services with little or no funding. Loggers have moved into the protected areas, stripping the forests of valuable hardwoods such as rosewood, ebony and mahogany. They work for influential business people who are in possession of illegal but "official" documentation permitting them to export these hardwoods. More..

Global warming threatens mangroves

Published by Standard Newspaper

A new threat to mangrove forests in Eastern Africa is the projected sea-level rise due to climate change. According to Kenya Forest Service, climate change impacts are associated with increased flooding and sedimentation which increase in sea level that could submerge mangroves.

The Kenya Forest Services (KFS) officer in charge of Lamu District, Mr Joseph Maina, says: "Evidence of death of mangroves due to climate change impacts has been observed in several areas along the coastline such as Gazi Bay, Mwache creek, Ngomeni, Tana River and Dodori creek," he says. Other threats include over-harvesting for firewood, charcoal, building timber, poles and traditional medicines. More..

Coast ‘Mau’ at risk from excess water

Published by Standard Newspaper

While the Mau forest tops the national agenda from the threat of encroachment and deforestation, in the Coast authorities are working to save an important shoreline tree that dies from too much water. Mangrove forests, which cover many stretches of the coastline, do not dry from drought but rot when water levels rise.

To save forests that had extended deep into the water from dying, the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) has had to lift a 1982 ban on logging to allow licenced loggers cut them down for commercial use. Clearing such trees opens up clogged canals in places like Lamu where islands are close together and shores up muddy coastlines, lowering the water level for the survival of remaining trees. More..

The Mangroves an undervalued ecosystem

Published by afrol News

Historically classified "unhealthy wastelands" or "useless swamps" by development-eager authorities and businesses, the mangrove forests actually are one of the most fascinating resources in tropical Africa. The trees manage to live on the edge between flooding rivers, tidal waves intruding with salt water and the drylands, where they create new land and environs rich in fish, birds, wood and other resources. Finally, their value is being discovered.

The mangroves are a characteristic forest biotope in tropical river estuaries and tidal zones. They constitute an incredible adaptation to the environmental conditions of entering salt, sea water and escaping sweet, riverine water. The forests are highly productive areas and in many places an underdeveloped resource. They still are widespread along the West African coast from Senegal to Congo and locally in East Africa.

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Seychelles: Cousin Island: Sailfish found ashore
Published by Nature Seychelles

August is almost here and the howling South East Monsoon winds are upon us. It is nearly time for the popular one day Sailfish tournament which will be hosted by the Seychelles Sports Fishing Club on Saturday 5th September. During this tournament, numerous anglers take to the seas with rod and lure in search of the elusive sailfish, the fastest of all fish and probably the most valued game-fish species after the blue and black marlins - the “Holy Grails” of sport fishing.

But no one has ever forgotten the sight of his or her first sailfish, with its long sharp bill, its magnificent blue and silver body with white underbelly, and the fan of its giant dorsal fin which stretches nearly the entire length of its body. It is these characteristics that make them a spectacular catch and a favorite among trophy fishers. To catch the fastest fish in the ocean, one that also puts up a spirited fight, making incredible jumps and moving in the water at amazingly fast speeds, is every anglers dream.

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Tanzania: Zanzibar pearl-cooperative women visit JA New York Summer Show
Published by Birdlife International

A group of women from Zanzibar who have pulled themselves out of poverty thanks to a fledgling mabe pearl business visited the JA New York Summer Show last week as part of a six-week trip in which they are learning more about the jewelry trade. The Tanzanite Foundation hosted a luncheon for the Zanzibar Woman's Pearl and Shellcraft Cooperative on July 27, where members of the trade and press were invited to stop by to learn about their activities. The women have been creating mabe pearl jewelry using half-pearls they found from oysters along the shore of the Fumba Peninsula on Menai Bay. They have subsequently polished and sold the mabe pearls to local residents and tourists, as well as to professional jewelers, who have set them in striking silver and gold designs. The best-quality pearls sell for about $40 apiece--quite a lot when you consider that the average income in Zanzibar, which is part of Tanzania, is less than $1,000 per year, said Cindy Moreau, from the Coastal Resources Center at the University of Rhode Island in Naragansett, R.I.

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Mozambique embarks on national biodiversity conservation programme
Published by Birdlife International

Following the discovery of what is thought to be the largest extent of medium-altitude moist forest in southern Africa, at Mount Mabu in Mozambique, the Mozambican government is to establish a National Programme for the Conservation of Montane Ecosystems, Coastal Forests and other habitats. Jonathan Timberlake, Scientific Coordinator of the UK government‘s Darwin Initiative-funded South-east Africa Montane Biodiversity project, explained: “The Minister of Science and Technology, Venâncio Massingue, has invited our Mozambican partner in the project, Instituto de Investigação Agrária de Moçambique (IIAM), to develop and lead a conservation strategy for these mountains and the country’s coastal forests, so that they receive greater recognition and protection.”

Other partners in the Darwin project include BirdLife, and the Mount Mulanje Conservation Trust from neighbouring Malawi. A project workshop in Mozambique’s capital, Maputo, hosted by IIAM, and attended by members of the country’s governing Council of Ministers, concluded that conservation policy should be rethought at a national level, to establish a legal basis for recognising areas for biodiversity conservation. However, despite some recent press reports, there was no decision on the formal protection of Mt Mabu. “The legislation that would cover any such decision is still under discussion, and I hope the workshop has contributed significantly to that debate”, Timberlake said.More..

Seychelles: Turtle poachers arrested in Seychelles
Published by Nature Seychelles

Two men have been arrested for possession of turtle meat and spearguns. The taking, selling or buying of turtles is illegal under the Wild Animals and Birds Protection Act. Offences under this law carry a maximum fine of SR500,000.00 (about 36,000.00 USD) or a maximum term of two years imprisonment. Spearguns have been banned in Seychelles since the 70’s under Fisheries legislation and the Penal Code.

The two men are aged 30 and 42 and one is apparently a known poacher whom the police say they have been after for more than a decade. The police seized about 8 kilos of turtle meat and about 13 kilos of fish that had been illegally taken using spearguns. The men are now out on bail. More..

New guidelines bring hope for world's seabirds
Published by Birdlife International

BirdLife has taken a major step towards the identification of Marine Important Bird Areas (mIBAs) for seabirds around the globe. “We now have agreed guidelines which can be used to track seabirds and analyse the data to identify Marine IBAs for any seabird species”, said Ben Lascelles – BirdLife’s Global Marine IBA officer.

The world’s oceans are seriously under-protected. Just 0.65% of the global ocean is within protected area systems, and most of that is within the first miles of the shore. As a result, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the World Summit on Sustainable Development set a target to establish a globally representative network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) by 2012. However, the IUCN estimates that unless progress is accelerated, this goal will not be met until 2060 - half a century late. More..

Mozambique: Training seminar on environmental economics
Published by French Development Agency (AFD)

The French Development Agency (AFD) and Eduardo Mondlane University's (UEM) Centre of Economics and Management Studies (CEEG) co-organized last July, 16th and 17th, in Maputo, a training seminar on environmental economics. The seminar aimed at providing Mozambican economists and specialists' with technical knowledge on environmental economics, in particular on the innovative concept of "genuine saving", nowadays internationally considered as one of the main tool to assess one's country wealth and economic growth's sustainability.

The training session was based on the methodology and results of the "Natural resources, environment and sustainable growth in Mozambique" study undertaken by AFD in close cooperation with the Mozambican Ministry for Coordination of Environmental Affairs (MICOA) and the "Ecole des Mines" of Paris. Following the study's main results' results in a seminar held in Maputo on February, 24th, AFD was asked to provide technical capacity building on the study's methodology.

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Global: Corals raise hopes for survival
Published by Birdlife International

Hope that some of the world’s corals may be able to escape destruction under climate change has emerged from a study by an international team of scientists working in French Polynesia in the Pacific. The researchers found that corals off Moorea, in the central Pacific, have rebounded on five occasions despite sustaining heavy damage from four bleaching events and one cyclone in the past 18 years. “We conclude from this that coral reefs may not completely disappear as a result of climate change – as some people fear they might,” said team member Dr Lucie Penin of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and James Cook University.

In the earth’s past history, corals have become either nearly or totally extinct on five separate occasions, and some researchers warn that conditions under global warming may prove similar to those previous events.

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Seychelles: Hope for Seychelles' last Critically Endangered species
Published by Birdlife International

The first Seychelles Paradise-flycatcher Terpsiphone corvina chicks to fledge successfully outside La Digue Island, Seychelles for over 60 years is flying on Denis Island, a coral island in the inner Seychelles group. The newly-fledged birds are flying well, very noisy, and being fed by their parents –"typical normal and healthy flycatcher chicks", according to Nirmal Shah, Director of BirdLife Partner Nature Seychelles, the Species Guardian for the paradise-flycatcher.

The paradise-flycatcher is the only Seychelles species still listed as Critically Endangered. Formerly Critically Endangered Species including Seychelles Magpie-robin Copsychus sechellarum, Seychelles White-eye Zosterops modestus and Seychelles Scops-owl Otus insularis have all been downlisted as a result of conservation action. The population of the paradise-flycatcher has been steadily increasing in recent years. In 1996 there were 69-83 pairs; this had risen to 104-139 pairs by the last comprehensive survey in 2000.

Seychelles Paradise-flycatchers, probably "overspill" birds from the population on La Digue, are regularly seen on neighbouring islands, but have been unable to establish viable populations. The reintroduction to Denis Island is part of a three-year project, funded by the UK Government's Darwin Initative, and carried out by Nature Seychelles together with the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE) and the collaboration of other organisations and the Seychelles Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources. More..

Global: Report Brings to the Surface the Growing Global Problem of Marine Litter
Published by UNEP News Centre, 8 June 2009

From discarded fishing gear to plastic bags to cigarette butts, a growing tide of marine litter is harming oceans and beaches worldwide, says a new report. The report, the first-ever attempt to take stock of the marine litter situation in the 12 major regional seas around the world, was launched on World Oceans Day by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and Ocean Conservancy.

Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director, said: "Marine litter is symptomatic of a wider malaise: namely the wasteful use and persistent poor management of natural resources. The plastic bags, bottles and other debris piling up in the oceans and seas could be dramatically reduced by improved waste reduction, waste management and recycling initiatives".

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Seychelles: European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries in the Seychelles to discuss fisheries and maritime cooperation
Published by European Commission

He delivered a speech where he acknowledged that ‘Seychelles has the top fisheries port in terms of tuna landings and has one of the largest fisheries grounds in the Indian Ocean’. The EU-Seychelles Fisheries Partnership Agreement is the most important ACP-EU fisheries agreement in the region: its financial contributions represented approximately 5% of the national revenue in 2008; it created 15 million Euros of value-added for Seychelles and provided around 3,200 jobs, including 2,400 in the canning industry. But since fisheries are the country’s “blue gold”, ensuring a sustainable and responsible fisheries policy is essential. Full Speech

UNEP launches new online system to view and study the world's marine protected areas
Published by UNEP News Centre

At a time when the world's oceans are facing unprecedented pressures from human impacts in the marine environment, a new decision-making tool is being launched to provide the most current and relevant information about marine and coastal biodiversity and its protection status.

This marine protected areas tool ( www.wdpa-marine.org), created by the United Nations Environment Programme's World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), is part of the recently redeveloped World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) – the authoritative and most globally comprehensive list of marine and terrestrial protected areas.

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South Africa: Country Marks World Oceans Day
Published by All Africa News

A healthy ocean is vital to a prosperous world as it helps absorb excess carbon dioxide as well as provides jobs and food to people. This is according to Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs Buyelwa Sonjica who was speaking at an event in Gansbaai to mark World Oceans Day.

Themed "One Ocean, One Climate, One Future", the World Oceans Day highlights that the ocean can never be separated from the fight to combat climate change, which is also the focus of National Environment month proceedings. More..

Africa: Coastal populations at risk as climate changes
Published by IRIN News

Several large African cities are at risk from rising sea levels and intense storms, experts warn. Poor neighbourhoods and slums in Bugama and Okrika in Nigeria, Freetown in Sierra Leone, Bathurst in the Gambia and Tanga in Tanzania, are especially vulnerable.

In such low-income urban centres, infrastructure is often non-existent or ill-maintained, according to a World Bank report, Sea level Rise and Storm Surges, while storm-water drainage infrastructure is often outdated and inadequate. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a trend has emerged since the mid-1970s where storms tend to last longer and be more intense, with a strong correlation to the rise in tropical sea surface temperature.

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Kenya: Flip-Flops Transformed Into Toys to Save Turtles
published AllAfrica

Art and fashion, environmental conservation, poverty alleviation and fair trade come together at UniqEco's Marula Studios in an upscale suburb of Nairobi. A visit to its workshop and display centre is a delight to the eyes as well as an occasion to learn about the problem of marine pollution and its eco-friendly, community-based and business-savvy solutions.

A flood of colours strikes you before you start registering the shapes and sizes of the products at display in the studio. Handbags and trinkets, sculptures and toys, a set of juggling balls in a tray and another set of balls stringed together as a very large necklace, turtle key-rings and big inflatable whales...

Every piece in this shop is made from beach waste, mainly plastic flip-flops, collected by members of coastal communities in Lamu in Kenya's poverty-stricken northeast. Since its inception in 2005 this recycling company has reused nearly 60,000 kg, or 175,000 flip-flops, as raw material for a range of awareness-raising products and works of art.

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Kenya: Launch of the National Oceans and Fisheries policy
published Standard

Prime Minister Raila Odinga, launched the National Oceans and Fisheries policy at Mkomani fish landing site in Mombasa on 6 April, 2009.

Kenya’s first ever national fisheries policy could see Kenya get more than Sh10 billion from marine fish annually by the year 2014. According to the Government, marine fish landings (currently at 7,000 tonnes a year) would rise to more than 200,000 tonnes valued at over Sh10 billion annually if the National Oceans and Fisheries Policy is implemented.

The Prime Minister Raila Odinga said the policy, which has been lacking since independence, would create wealth and employment opportunities. Fisheries Development Minister Dr Paul Otuoma said he would fast-track the National Oceans and Fisheries Bill to operationalise the policy approved last December. Dr Otuoma said the policy would make the fisheries vibrant, promote conservation, generate employment opportunities and maximise revenues from fisheries.

The Prime Minister said Lamu would be developed into a fishing port to boost fishing, adding the Government would spend Kshs 4.5 billion to buy equipment to protect fisheries resources. More..