Unguja currently has 4 Marine Conservation Areas. We are active in Menai Bay MCA, Mnemba Island MCA and Tumbatu MCA, working with a total of 19 Shehia village wards.
Pemba currently has 1 Marine Conservation Area PECCA. We are working with 19 Shehia village wards.
Tanga District has one Marine Park Tanga Coelacanth Marine Park (TACMP) as well as Tanga Marine Reserves. Mwambao works with 5 Village Liaison Committees within TACMP and 17 Beach Management Units in Mkinga and Tanga City, as well as 9 Beach Management Units within Pangani District.
Tanzania has a coastline of 1,424 km from the northern border with Kenya to the southern border with Mozambique. These extensive coastal areas are rich in diversity, and include some of the Western Indian Ocean’s most intact coral reefs.
The coastal population of Tanzania is about 23 percent of the national population and is mostly concentrated in the urban areas of Tanga, Zanzibar, Dar es Salaam and Mtwara. Rapid population growth combined with poor management of the coastal area has led to the rapid and extreme degradation of coral reefs, shoreline change, and deforestation. The large urban demand for resources also exerts pressure on the coastal environment e.g. timber for building and charcoal, ornamental shells, crustaceans and all types of fish products, is a driving force of growing resource exploitation.