The Pwani project of the Tanzania Coastal Management Partnership (TCMP-Pwani) is joining other partners in the commemoration of this year’s World Environment Day which outline the need to protect coastal environment through the promotion of green economy.
The Partnership approach to promote green economy is very clear. It is done through its three project components – protect critical coastal forests, wildlife, and freshwater resources, protect critical marine ecosystems and endangered species and also to address the human dimensions of the coastal ecosystem.
Under the component of protecting critical forests, wildlife, and fresh water resources, TCMP’s major roles is to protect terrestrial resources linked to coastal and estuarine ecosystems in Tanzania. The geographic focus of the activities is the marine and coastal areas of Pangani and Bagamoyo Districts, including the Saadani National Park. The project is designed to address threats related to land clearing for agro-industries, tourism, and energy production to biodiversity assets such as coastal forests and habitat, terrestrial wildlife such as elephant migration corridor, and the Wami and Ruvu River estuaries.
The component to protect critical marine ecosystems and endangered species targets specific problems and opportunities critical to reserving current trends of marine ecosystem misuse and over-use in Bagamoyo, Pangani and Menai Bay Seascape. This means protecting marine biodiversity assets such as fish stocks, coral reefs, intertidal resources, and sea turtles by investing in activities related to marine protected area management.
TCMP-Pwani concentrates on three aspects of the human dimensions of coastal ecosystems: climate change adaptation, economic growth, and HIV/AIDS mitigation and prevention activities with the main to create wealthier and more empowered communities.
TCMP-Pwani is convinced that the wealthier communities are created not by simply increasing people’s economic health and standing, but improving as well other factors that contribute to quality of life – factors such as increasing people’s resilience to the impact of climate change stressors can contribute to the improvement of quality of life.
TCMP-Pwani also believes that the wealthier communities that can effectively participate in environmental management activities can also be created by improving their access to health services that shape their overall physical well-being. These include reducing their vulnerability to diseases such as HIV/AIDS.
In order to promote further green economy at the grass root level, the TCMP-Pwani helps coastal entrepreneurs move up the value chain by diversifying and improving production and marketing of goods and services for local and international trade of natural, non-traditional marine fisheries and coastal ecosystem assets; helping provide access to capital; and improving connections between industry groups and improving the investment and market climate.
Lastly, understanding and addressing societal structures and patterns that perpetuate inequalities is a critical part of ecosystem-based management. TCMP-Pwani considers gender in all aspects of its work, with the goal of helping women and men get to the point where they are able to participate as equals in the project. The TCMP-Pwani’s gender mainstreaming plan includes involving women in managing intertidal areas and climate change adaptation activities; targeting women for microcredit and providing leadership training to both men and women villagers with the goal of transforming women’s role in decision-making. It also includes identifying and collecting data on measurable gender related targets; involving women in natural-resource management decisions; and encouraging female scientists to participate in project work.
From this background, therefore, TCMP-Pwani feels that this year’s World Environment Day theme is timely as it has come when the need to promote greener economic opportunities along the coastline of Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar is of the critical importance. As we celebrate the Day, the Partnership calls all like-minded people to join together to protect our coast for the sustainable development.
Save our coasts save our seas for our sustainable development
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