|
 From
exotic Zanzibar to Chumbe Island Marine Park:
Hidden
jewel of Tanzania's Swahili Coast
Photos
and item by Muguette Goufrani
 We
were so impressed by our trip to Chumbe Island
during our symposium in Zanzibar, we swore to tell
you all about this hidden jewel of the Indian Ocean
a few miles from Tanzania's
Swahili
Coast. The trip takes a half hour
by
motor launch
from a beach at the Protea Lodge in Zanzibar. While
on the island for several hours, we were
shown
one of the most eco-friendly lodges one could
imagine. From the water supply and insect control,
to the convenient compost toilets - the designers
and builders at Chumbe thought of everything. On
the way to the lodge, I must have taken a roll of
pictures of the stately lighthouse as it stood like
a sentinel, so prominently among the tall, waving
palms. And what a beautiful little cove by the boat
landing where we took a refreshing dip in the warm
tropical waters. For more about this charming
retreat, here's a short item and a newsletter that
arrived recently. We will have more comments and
photos later.
\CHUMBE
ISLAND…
Chumbe Island is
situated 8 miles off the coast of Zanzibar Island,
Tanzania. It is a small uninhabited island
dominated by coral rag forest and bordered, on its
western shore, by a fringing coral reef of
exceptional bio-diversity and beauty. This west
coast reef of Chumbe Island was gazetted as a Reef
Sanctuary, and the forest on the island was
declared a Closed Forest by the Government of
Zanzibar in 1994
This park is
unique in that it is the only privately managed
Marine Protected Area (MPA) in the world. As a
privately managed Project, Chumbe receives no
financial support for operations from government or
donor agencies and relies solely on revenue
generated through small-scale eco-tourism to run
the project. As a non-profit organisation, all
revenue generated is ploughed back into the project
to fund the running costs of the MPA, various
research projects, conservation and education
programmes. The island is managed by rangers who
were former fishermen from neighbouring
communities. These rangers play a key role in
teaching fellow fishermen of the importance of
Chumbe as a protected area. With the pristine
Chumbe reef based upstream from the major fisheries
areas of the West Zanzibar coast, Chumbe is a vital
fish nursery that continues to replenish the
exploited resources of the fisheries eco-system
around Zanzibar. In this way anti-poaching tactics
rely on education and awareness rising in the local
communities and has proved immensely successful as
a unique approach to MPA management in the region.
All employment on
the island is targeted at the neighbouring fishing
communities, which promotes awareness raising at
all levels and empowers the local Zanzibari
community to feel committed towards the
preservation of their natural heritage.
Eco-tourism, as
the revenue generating component of the project, is
closely managed, with a maximum of 15 guests
allowed on the island at any one time, and
accommodation is provided in specialised
eco-banda's unrivalled in the world of
eco-construction (with solar electricity, rainwater
catchment systems, grey-water recycling through
filtration irrigation and composting toilets).
This unique
project has gained much Regional, National and
International attention. Chumbe is on the UN list
of Protected Areas; the project was chosen to
represent Tanzania at the EXPO2000 Hannover,
Germany; Chumbe was the 1999 Global Winner of the
British Airways Tourism for Tomorrow Award; In 2000
Chumbe was declared a laureate of the UNEP Global
500 Forum.
Greetings to
you all from Chumbe!!!
It has been all
change within the Chumbe team, with Eleanor's
departure to study in England. There have been more
staff changes, lots of activity in the education
program, interesting conservation initiatives and
Chumbe Island was the star of the African Travel
Association Symposium, during which it was praised
in no uncertain terms by the President of
Zanzibar.
Staff
Changes
The all-important team, which makes up the
heart and soul of the Chumbe Island experience, has
been in flux since Eleanor left:
Omari Mussa, who
was Head Ranger, is now training rangers in the
north of Zanzibar, with his extensive knowledge he
has become a valued asset at Mnarani Beach
Cottages, in Nungwi. His replacement, by a quirk of
fate, is the original and longest serving ranger,
Omari Nyange. He is absolutely delighted to be back
and has been spending lots of time guiding guests,
visiting and sensitizing fishing villages and is
now working closely with Carol Daniels, our new
conservation coordinator.
 Hija
Simai, one of our patrol rangers, has recently
retired and is replaced by the skilled boat handler
and mechanic Ussi Mchumi. Chumbe's new accountant,
Adisai, left us suddenly in September to study an
MBA on the Tanzanian mainland, we wish him all
success in his studies. He is replaced by Esther, a
much traveled and well experienced Tanzanian
national, who we hope will stay with us for a long
time.
Francesca - you
will all be sad to hear ñ has decided to
move on to pastures new. Fran has worked with
Chumbe since September 1999 and has done a sterling
job of instigating guest booking and marketing
systems. Her good humor when dealing with guests
and agents and attention to detail were a huge
asset to the project. She is currently training her
Zanzibari replacement Monalisa William.
Fran will leave in
February but we all hope that her next career move
will be in Tanzania and that she will visit us all
at Chumbe frequently.
Education
Program
The Island has seen more children in the last
year than during the previous two put together.
Almost 800 students have been delighted by the
treasures hidden below the water of the Chumbe
reef. The children have enjoyed, some for the first
time, snorkeling and inter-tidal walks. These are
joined with practical lessons with Assistant Head
Ranger, Khamis Khalfan, who makes marine biology,
conservation and environmental protection relevant
to the children's lives.
Lisa, our
education coordinator, has been busy organizing
teacher training workshops, where the teachers are
sensitized to field based learning, and linking in
the Chumbe education program with the national
curriculum. She is also currently developing
individual programs for each school year consisting
of lesson plans that incorporate all relevant parts
of the curriculum to the current education program.
As part of the new program there are pre-visit and
post-visit questionnaires for the students to
complete which are used to help the education team
to monitor their progress. Feedback so far
indicates that the students have a greater
understanding of the importance of protecting coral
reefs and schools have responded enthusiastically
about the project.
In 2004, we are
planning many more visits for students, teachers
and trainee teachers. Additional teacher training
and evaluation workshops are being organized in
close collaboration with the Ministry of Education.
Also, we aim to help set up environmental clubs in
four of the local coastal schools.
Plans are being
made to extend the education program to include
more outreach work based in the students villages.
We would like to set up and monitor a new program
of follow up activities in schools. We are also
hoping to research how much knowledge gained by the
students is passed on to their families and village
peers, and how much of an impact this new
understanding has on daily lives and
activities.
Conservation and
Research Program.
Carol has been
extremely busy from the beginning with further
training for the rangers; organizing, together with
the rangers, international schools visits (Earlham
College, International Honors Program and the
School for International Training, all from
America) and supervising national and international
researchers, among many other
activities.
Researchersí
in the last six months have included surveys of the
reef, with some of the key project titles as
follows:
Inter linkages of
fish communities on adjacent coral reefs and
seagrass beds
Factors
influencing fish movement between marine reserves
and non-protected areas in Tanzania
An investigation
of the effectiveness of marine protected areas with
respect to fish and coral abundance and diversity,
as well as macro-algal cover ñ a case study
in Zanzibar, Tanzania
Assessments of
abundance and species of sea urchins and migratory
birds on Chumbe Island.
The Coconut Crabs
on the island have been busy in their burrows over
the last few months, and many baby crabs have been
seen at dusk actively running around. They are soon
to become the stars of the BBC Really Wild Show ,
UK, who will come and film them in February along
with many of the species found on Chumbe's coral
reef.
The Aderís
duikers have recently been very quiet so we
organized trackers from the southeast of Zanzibar
Island to make a survey with the assistance of
Chumbe staff. After a lot of planning and strategic
discussions with the trackers and the Department of
Commercial Crops, Fruits and Forestry, the duikers
were quietly tracked and counted. The surveys
resulted in sightings over a three-day period of
three different duikers; two male and one female.
There are various suggestions as to whether this is
the whole of Chumbe's population but it seems that
those observed were of a new generation. This is
great news as it indicates that there has been
successful breeding on the island. Further surveys
and investigations with the help of the infrared
and heat-sensitive cameras strategically placed in
the heart of the forest will continue.
There will be an
international conference hosted by Zanzibar on
duiker and dwarf antelopes in Africa. This will be
held in February 2004, with a trip by the delegates
to Chumbe island to learn about the translocation
program and progress of this population.
Events
Eleanor's leaving
party was a very grand affair, with the
presentation of many farewell gifts and speeches
from the Chumbe staff, old and new, and invited
guests. Everyone enjoyed a feast of pilau and
biryani, and the day ended with Eleanor's last
snorkel on Chumbe as manager and lots of
traditional dancing.
It was an
emotional time as six years of devoting her life to
the success of Chumbe came to an end. Eleanor is
now studying a Masters in Environment and
Development at Darwin College, Cambridge
University. I am sure that she will involve Chumbe
in the core of her dissertation and promote the
cause with all the new people she meets.
Another major
event was the involvement of some of the Chumbe
Island personnel, invited by the Commission of
Tourism, in the organization of the conference of
the celebrated African and Tourism Association
(ATA) based in the USA.
The seventh
Symposium on Cultural and Ecotourism, held on
December 2nd-7th, was a major showcase for Zanzibar
tourism, under the auspices of the Ministry of
Trade, Industry, Marketing and Tourism. On 3rd
December HE the President, in his opening speech,
said:
"we are very
fortunate to possess one of the world's famously
recognized tourist attraction of value in
eco-tourism. I am of course referring to the Chumbe
Island Coral Park which won the Global British
Airways Tourism for Tomorrow Award in
1999."
The Symposium was
a huge success and we presented a paper on ë
The Fes declaration for Responsible Travel in
relation to Chumbe Island, Zanzibar, as a case
study"
Chumbe also
recently received an accolade as one of the Top
Eco-Tourism Destinations in the World in the
international Harpers and Queen magazine travel
supplement. The November edition heralded Chumbe
Island as the most romantic eco-lodge in the
world.
And on that
romantic note I will finish.
Best
wishes,
Helen
Peeks
Project
Manager
Photos on this
page by Muguette
Goufrani,
Africa Travel Magazine
Chumbe Island,
Zanzibar
Washington, DC:
Chumbe Island, Zanzibar, was selected as a finalist
in the 2004 World Legacy Awards, which recognize
excellence in environmental, social and cultural
travel. Sponsored by Conservation International
(CI) and National Geographic Traveler, at a dinner
onJune 8 at the National Geographic Society
in Washington, D.C.
"Tourism is the
largest industry on our planet. It can be both an
opportunity or a threat to
protecting the
Earth's natural heritage and cultural diversity,"
said Costas Christ, CI's
Senior Director
for Ecotourism. "With the World Legacy Awards we
are pinpointing and
highlighting
those organizations that are true models of
socially and environmentally
responsible
tourism. That's why we send on-site inspectors to
every finalist's location,
so
visitors are
guaranteed that their tourism dollars are truly
going toward organizations
that
are making
valuable contributions toward protecting our
natural and cultural heritage."
"Great travel
experiences depend on keeping destinations
distinctive and unspoiled,"
said
Keith Bellows,
editor of National Geographic Traveler. "These
finalists understand that
The people who
live in a place must benefit from tourism that
takes place there. That way,
residents will
seek to protect what tourists are coming for. We
want today's tourism to
leave a proud
legacy for future generations: a world full of
destinations that are still
worth
visiting."
Chumbe Island
Coral Park was a finalist in the Nature Travel
Category and recognized for "for positive
contributions to the conservation of natural areas
and
Biodiversity."
Helen Peeks represented Chumbe Island at the Award
presentations.
|
.
.
...