A guide for planners and managers - IUCN

348 MARINE AND COASTAL
PROTECTED AREAS
24. Tanga, Tanzania: Collaborative Fisheries
and Coral Reef Management
Introduction
Over the last decade there have been major changes in the way MPAs are created and
managed. This has been driven by an increasing recognition that for management
to be sustainable it has to have the support of communities impacted by MPAs. The
development of collaborative management systems as opposed to the more traditional
public sector (e.g., government) management regimes has been a direct response to
the need for more community support. This in turn has led to the development of
participatory approaches to involve all stakeholders from the public and private
sectors (including local communities) in the creation and development of MPAs.
This case describes the processes used during the creation and management of a series
of small MPAs in Tanga Region, Tanzania along with; key lessons learned and how
a similar initiative could be conceived in light of those lessons. The Programme was
supported by Irish AID and IUCN.
Background
The Tanga Coastal Zone Conservation and Development Programme was initiated in
July 1994 with the overall goal of achieving sustainable development and use of
coastal resources in the Tanga Region. Tanga Region is the northern coastal
administrative region of Tanzania and extends 180 km. south from the Kenya-
Tanzania border. The coast is characterized by 96 fringing and patch coral reefs, seven
medium sized mangrove forests, numerous seagrass beds, and several estuaries and
bays. Administratively, the region is sub-divided into three coastal administrative
Districts, Muheza, Pangani and Tanga. The population of approximately 379,000
live in two towns (Tanga, 223,000; Pangani, 6,000) and 42 coastal villages (150,000).
The economy of most coastal households depends on a combination of activities that
in the rural areas invariably involve fishing and farming. Many of the issues that the
Tanga Programme was designed to address also face many other coastal communities
and governments throughout the developing tropical world. These included declining
fish catches; deteriorating status of coral reefs and mangroves; poor governance with
low levels of accountability and lack of transparency in decision making, co-ordination
of sectoral management, and participation of key stakeholders.