Saving Mozambique’s seagrass

Creating the conditions for sustainable seagrass restoration in Maputo and Inhambane bays  “People can’t think of Inhaca without thinking about seagrass,” says Salamao Bandeira of Maputo’s Eduardo Mondlane University, knee-deep in the shallow waters on the seaward side of Maputo Bay, as he points at the shores of Inhaca Island. Nearby, residents are submerged waist-deep in the sea, taking advantage of the…

Details

Let it flow: improving water quantity and quality in Tanzania’s Rufiji river basin

Water, essential to all life, plays a particularly important role in the lives of Tanzanians living near Mbarali River, part of the larger Rufiji River basin in southern Tanzania. Here, farmers use water from the river to irrigate their crops. Cattle herders guide their animals to its banks to drink and graze.  Fishers make a living catching fish from its waters. Still…

Details

In Tanzania, locals and officials band together to save mangroves

But the mangroves, which are also home to many species, like ray fish, hongwe, migratory birds and sea turtles, are sometimes seen as obstacles to be cut down, occupying land that can be used to grow rice and graze livestock. Such over-dependence on mangroves in the Rufiji Delta, home to 50 per cent of Tanzania’s mangroves, has led to a depletion of these forests, threatening residents’way of life.

Details

Towards a more sustainable fisheries sector in Comoros

Towards a more sustainable fisheries sector in Comoros Located at the northern entrance to the Mozambique Channel, the Comoros archipelago has one of the most productive fishery industries in the Western Indian Ocean region. The Comorian fishery sector currently contributes 24 percent to the nation’s agricultural GDP and 7.5 percent to the national economy overall, according…

Details

Building Back Biodiversity in the Western Indian Ocean: Revision of the Nairobi Convention Protocol

Building Back Biodiversity in the Western Indian Ocean: Revision of the Nairobi Convention Protocol The Western Indian Ocean (WIO) region is home to a staggering degree of marine biodiversity. From the waters of Mauritius (which 1,700 marine species call home), the 156 types of fish in Madagascar (66% of fish of which can be found nowhere else), to South Africa…

Details

Ensuring ‘Blue Growth’ in fisheries communities in the Western Indian Ocean region

Ensuring ‘Blue Growth’ in fisheries communities in the Western Indian Ocean region Small-scale and subsistence fisheries are the backbone of many communities in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) region, providing income, food, and jobs to an estimated one million inhabitants. Yet 40% of the fish stocks targeted by these fisheries are being unsustainably exploited—causing risks…

Details