A five-year conservation programme worth €4,000,000 (about 10.1bn/-) to upgrade Rufiji-Mafia-Kilwa Seascape into a Man and Biosphere (MAB) Reserve has been launched.A high profiled conservation stage will put people at the centre to improve its ecological value and their livelihoods.
Programme Coordinator, Dr Modesta Medard, of the World Wild Fund for Nature (WWF) Tanzania Country Office, told ‘Daily News’ that €3,400,000 had been provided by Blue Action Fund (German government) and WWF Germany, €100,000 by WWF UK and €500,000 has been contributed by Wetlands International.
“This programme’s main goal is supporting the longterm conservation of ecological integrity, resilience and biological productivity of the Kibiti, Mafia, Kilwa seascape as an internationally important biodiversity hotspot,” she explained.
According to Dr Medard, project components include supporting management effectiveness of Mafia Island Marine Park and strengthening collaborative fisheries management areas (CFMAs).
Others are supporting management and restoration of Rufiji Delta Mangrove Forest Reserve, livelihood and enterprise development as well as designation of Rufiji- Mafia-Kilwa Seascape to a man and biosphere reserve.
On the other hand, expected outcomes of the programme include improved management effectiveness of Mafia Island Marine Park and improved management of Rufiji Mangrove Forest Reserve.
She noted that the Designation of Man and Biosphere Reserve for the Rufiji-Mafia- Kilwa Seascape area done by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), a UN agency responsible for the initiative whereby the National Environmental Management Council (NEMC) is the focal institution for this process.
Dr Medard named other key partners of the programme as the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries (MLF), Fisheries Division (FD), Marine Park Reserve Unit (MPRU) and the President’s Office (Regional Administration and Local Government).
Others are district authorities, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Tanzania Forest Services (TFS), the Vice-President’s Office (Department of Environment), NEMC and some civil society organisations (CBOs) working in project sites.
