Seascape Management Plan for the Gulf of Tadjourah and Ghoubet-el-Kharab in the Republic of Djibouti Seascape Management Plan for the Gulf of Tadjourah and Ghoubet-el-Kharab in the Republic of Djibouti November 2016 The lead organisations involved in developing this plan include: CORDIO East Africa, Cousteau Society and the International Union for Conservation of Nature Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office (IUCN-ESARO). The following authors are acknowledged: Melita Samoilys, Rebecca Klaus, David Obura, Tarik Chekchak, Leo Niskanen, Houssein Rayaleh, Kennedy Osuka and Benjamin Cowburn. Citation: IUCN 2016. Seascape Management Plan for the Gulf of Tadjourah and Ghoubet-el- Kharab in the Republic of Djibouti. IGAD/IUCN-ESARO, Nairobi, Kenya. pp… Acknowledgements This Seascape Management Plan was developed under the “Lower Awash-Lake Abbé Land and Seascape - Enhancing biodiversity conservation in transboundary ecosystems and seascapes” (IGAD Project ID: 77711-000; 2013 - 2017) implemented by IUCN-ESARO and funded by the European Union. This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of IUCN and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union. iii Table of Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................................... vi 1 Scope of planning ................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Introduction and seascape planning framework ......................................................... 1 1.2 Geographic scope of the Seascape Plan ...................................................................... 5 1.3 Data collected and compiled ....................................................................................... 6 1.3.1 Physical and chemical characteristics of the Seascape ......................................... 6 1.3.2 Coral reef surveys and mapping ........................................................................... 7 1.3.3 Coastal mapping of shoreline ............................................................................... 8 1.3.4 Informant Interviews ............................................................................................ 9 1.3.5 Participatory Mapping .......................................................................................... 9 1.3.6 Secondary data sources ........................................................................................ 9 2. Stakeholder participation ................................................................................................ 10 3 Inventory and analysis of current conditions ................................................................... 10 3.1 Status of the Seascape - marine resources ................................................................ 10 3.1.1 - Corals, benthos and reef structure ...................................................................... 11 3.1.2 Fish diversity and population abundance .............................................................. 15 3.1.3 Coastal surveys .................................................................................................... 17 3.1.4 Human use activities ........................................................................................... 17 3.2 Systematic Conservation Planning - Preparation ....................................................... 19 3.2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 19 3.2.2 Definition of the Planning Domain ...................................................................... 21 3.2.3 Data Sourcing ...................................................................................................... 22 3.2.4 Data Review and Cataloguing ............................................................................. 23 3.2.5 Preparation of Derived Layers ............................................................................ 23 3.3 Systematic Conservation Planning - Analyses ............................................................ 35 3.3.1 Assessment 1: Protection.................................................................................... 36 3.3.2 Assessment 2: Threat .......................................................................................... 37 3.3.3 Assessment 3: Spatial Prioritisation .................................................................... 37 3.3.4 Results ................................................................................................................. 38 4. Draft Seascape Plan ......................................................................................................... 43 4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 43 4.2 Marine Spatial Planning Principles and process ............................................................ 43 4.3 Visioning and Developing a Zoning Design ................................................................ 45 4.4 Participatory Mapping and Compatibility Matrix .......................................................... 47 4.5 Governance framework ............................................................................................. 48 iv 4.6 Draft Zoning Plan for Djibouti .................................................................................... 50 5 Negotiation and refinement of Seascape Plan ..................................................................... 58 6 References ........................................................................................................................... 59 Appendix 1. Stakeholders who participated during consultation workshops, Djibouti, ......... 61 18-19 June 2014 and 14-15 October 2015. ............................................................................. 61 a) Government institutions and their representatives ....................................................... 61 b) Local Non Government Organisations (NGOs) ................................................................ 63 c) Regional and International Organisations and technical partners .................................. 64 d)Military ............................................................................................................................. 64 e) Ports Authority ................................................................................................................ 65 f) Tourism and dive operators in Djibouti ........................................................................... 65 g) Hotels and accommodation ............................................................................................ 65 Appendix 2. Primary coral reef benthic data and fish data and analyses from coral reef survey in 2014. ........................................................................................................................ 67 a) Coral reef survey sites assigned to benthic cover categories ......................................... 67 b) Non-parametric Multi-Dimensional Scaling (nMDS) plot of sites by coral genus relative abundance (Bray-Curtis similarity). Labels illustrate the four main outlier groups of sites. ............................................................................................................................................. 67 c) Cluster dendrogram and MDS plot of log (x+1) mean densities of fish species at 14 reef sites in Djibouti. The colour coded regions are Green (MM) = Musha-Maskhali Islands, Light Blue (TS) = Tadjourah South, Dark Blue (TN) = Tadjourah North, Red (OB) = Obock, and Purple (GH) = Ghoubet. ................................................................................................ 68 d) Cluster dendrogram and MDS plot of log (x+1) mean biomass of fish species at 14 reef sites in Djibouti. Symbols as per b) above. .......................................................................... 68 Appendix 3. Benthic variables used in mapping of priority sites ............................................ 69 Appendix 4: Fish population indices for prioritising sites in the Seascape ............................. 71 Appendix 5. Bio-physical variables in marine spatial planning using MARXAN for developing the Seascape base maps .......................................................................................................... 72 Appendix 6. Participatory mapping results from stakeholder consultation (October 2015) .. 77 Appendix 7. Compatibility Matrix used to design zones ......................................................... 79 v Executive Summary This document is the first version of the Seascape Management Plan for the Gulf of Tadjourah and Ghoubet-el-Kharab in the Republic of Djibouti. This Seascape Plan is a key deliverable of the Lower Awash-Lake Abbé Land and Seascape: enhancing biodiversity conservation in transboundary ecosystems and seascapes-Djibouti/Ethiopia project implemented by IUCN and its partners as a component of the IGAD Biodiversity Management Programme in the Horn of Africa, funded by the 10th Environment and Development Fund of the European Union (2013-2018). The primary goal for this Seascape Plan was to establish a spatial plan for the marine and coastal waters of the Gulf of Tadjourah and Ghoubet-el-Kharab, an area