Editor’s note: Alison Green, senior marine biologist at The Nature Conservancy, helped conduct an assessment of a proposed marine reserve in Mozambique. In this series of blog posts, she explains why the area is so special and what the Conservancy is doing to help preserve the marine resources here and the livelihoods that depend on them.

Recently I visited the proposed Primeiras and Segundas Reserve in northern Mozambique. This area comprises two archipelagos, each with five coral islands, spread over a distance of approximately 180 kilometres.

The proposed marine reserve encompasses some of the most diverse coral reef communities in Mozambique — possibly all of Africa. It also comprises a large complex of barrier islands, mangroves, coastal forests, seagrass beds and important habitat for dugong, seabirds and turtles.

Unfortunately the marine resources of this area are threatened by unsustainable and destructive fishing practices that decimate fisheries and destroy fragile ecosystems. Of particular concern is illegal fishing by international boats, which impinge on coastal waters that are the basis of local fisheries.

Mozambique is one of the poorest countries in Africa, with many people living in extreme poverty. Approximately 400,000 people live in the coastal communities near the proposed reserve, where they live subsistence lifestyles and rely on marine resources for their livelihoods.

The Conservancy’s Africa Program is partnering with WWF, CARE and local fishing communities to help create a new 4.2-million-acre marine protected area (MPA) in the Primeiras and Segundas Archipelagos that aims to protect biodiversity and improve the livelihoods of local people.

Matt Brown, conservation director for the Conservancy’s Africa Program, says:

“This partnership provides a unique opportunity to demonstrate how improved resource management can contribute to poverty alleviation in Africa. The Conservancy’s role is to provide technical expertise for this program.”

A couple of weeks ago, I visited the area with Matt and two other Conservancy scientists — Rod Salm, director of tropical marine conservation in Asia Pacific, and Mauricio Castro Schmitz, conservation science learning advisor – as the first step in providing technical assistance for this program.

Rod and I conducted a rapid ecological assessment of several islands in the Segundas Archipelago, and two training workshops regarding how to design resilient networks of marine protected areas. While Mauricio and Matt provided practical training in strategy effectiveness measures based on three of the project’s strategies: fisheries management, fisheries enforcement and agriculture-livelihoods. Our partners have embraced these ideas, and plan to incorporate them in the project in future.

We also witnessed a major bleaching event, but more about that later!

Read all posts from Alison Green’s Expedition to Mozambique.

(Image 1: Subsistence fisherman. Source: Alison Green/TNC. Image 2: Mafamede Island and reef, Segundas Archipelago. Source: Matt Brown/TNC.)

Posted: May 21st, 2009 under Africa, Coral Reefs, Fish, Oceans & Coasts, Protected Areas, Sustainable Livelihoods, The Nature Conservancy.
Tags: archipelago, CARE, illegal fishing, marine protected area, Mozambique, Mozambique expedition, wwf

Comments

Comment from John Pelley
Time May 21, 2009 at 6:41 pm

Thank you Nature Conservancy for all of the work you do. I am happy that you have turned to Africa to help.

Comment from Ben Marjam
Time May 21, 2009 at 7:39 pm

No coral = no fish. Thanks to the Nature Conservancy for helping protect such an important part of the Earth.

Comment from Brunson
Time August 26, 2009 at 1:55 pm

It is sad to hear that some of the poorest people on earth get their natural resources depleted by foreigners. Let us hope that your good work help these resources grow to a more critical level.

Comment from Ocala Florida Web Design
Time August 26, 2009 at 8:11 pm

Thanks for stepping up and helping these people in time of such need. Such a resourcefully rich area and such high poverty rates. Theres got to be a way to help stabilize this continent.

Comment from Susan
Time November 18, 2009 at 3:16 am

It is sad to know that with such great bio-diversity and natural resources, people in the region find it hard to make ends meet. Adding insult to the injury are the people destroying these natural resources. Corals are shrinking all over the world and something needs to be done to check this, and fast! If corals are destroyed, it spoils the natural livelihood of the marine animals and it will in turn lead to imbalance all over.