THE WIOMSA MAGAZINE www.wiomsa.org ISSUE NO.11 | SEPTEMBER 2020 inside... Issue 11 is inspired by the 2021-2030 UN decade N INDIAN ER O T C S E of Ecosystem Restoration to support and E A W N scale up efforts to prevent, halt and reverse N O I the degradation of ecosystems worldwide T A I M C Coasts Ocean and People O and raise awareness of the importance of A S R S I A N E successful ecosystem restoration. E SCIENC 18 6 14 50 34 34 42 38 2 | PEOPLE AND THE ENVIRONMENT N INDIAN ER O T C S E E A W N N O I T A I M C Coasts Ocean and People O A S R S I A N E E SCIENC Pg 5 EDITORIAL. By Dr. Jared Bosire pg 6 REEF RESCUERS: A DECADE OF CORAL REEF RESTORATION IN SEYCHELLES. By Liz Mwambui pg 10 LOW-TECH METHODS AND COMMUNITY SUPPORT SECURE CORAL REWARDS AT WASINI ISLAND. By Jelvas Mwaura, Dishon Murage, Jacqueline Uku, Steven Mwangi, Ahmed Abubakar pg 14 CORALS OF OPPORTUNITY. REFORESTATION OF DAMAGED CORAL REEFS ON UNGUJA, ZANZIBAR. By Christian Vaterlaus and Fabian Bumbak pg 18 LEARNING FROM FAILURE. By the KMFRI Seagrass team Contents pg 20 COMMUNITY AND GOVERNANCE CONSIDERATIONS PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE RESTORATION OF ESTUARIES AND BLUE CARBON HABITATS. By Janine B. Adams, Vusumzi Tsipa and Johan Wasserman pg 22 DUNE REHABILITATION AND RESTORATION. MORE THAN PLANTING VEGETATION. By Simon Bundy pg 24 TIDAL INUNDATION CAN BOOST MANGROVE RESTORATION. By Henriques Balidy and Salomão Bandeira pg 26 TO PLANT OR NOT TO PLANT? INSIGHTS FROM MANGROVE RESTORATION IN RUFIJI DELTA, TANZANIA. By Menno de Boer, Lilian Nyaega, Elizabeth Wamba and Emmanuel Japhet pg 28 PIONEERING MANGROVE RESTORATION PROJECT IN WIO REGION. By James Kairo and Abel Kiprono pg 30 UNLEASHING Madagascar’s community-lED MANGROVE RESTORATION MOVEMENT. By Lalao Aigrette pg 32 RESTORING AND PROTECTING MANGROVES THROUGH CARBON FINANCING. By James Kairo, Ann Wanjiru and Mwanarusi Mwafirika pg 34 NEW GUIDELINES TO STRENGTHEN EFFORTS TO PROTECT AND RESTORE MANGROVE ECOSYSTEMS. By James Kairo, Jared Bosire and Angela Patnode PEOPLE AND THE ENVIRONMENT | 3 ISSUE 11, AUGUST 2020 Published by: Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association GUEST EDITOR: Jared Bosire, Programme Manager, WIO-SAP Project, Nairobi Convention Secretariat, UN Environment Programme Editing and production: Claire Attwood and Lilian Omolo. Restoring damaged WIO Contributors: Coastal Ecosystems: Liz Mwambui, Nature Seychelles, Seychelles. The restoration of coastal Jelvas Mwaura (Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research ecosystems is regarded Institute- KMFRI), Dishon Murage (Seacology as a viable nature-based Foundation), Jacqueline Uku (KMFRI), Steven Mwangi (KMFRI), Ahmed Abubakar (Wasini Beach solution in achieving Management Unit), Kenya. a wide range of global Christian Vaterlaus and Fabian Bumbak, development goals. Indeed, marinecultures.org, Zanzibar, Tanzania. the United Nations has Jacqueline Uku, Lillian Daudi, Charles Muthama, proclaimed 2021–2030 as Victor Alati, Alex Kimathi, Samuel Ndirangu, Susana Kihia and Paul Kimanzi, KMFRI, Kenya. the decade of Ecosystem Janine B. Adams, Vusumzi Tsipa and Johan Restoration, to support and Wasserman, Institute for Coastal & Marine scale up efforts to prevent, halt Research & Department of Botany, Nelson and reverse the degradation of ecosystems worldwide Mandela University, South Africa and raise awareness of the importance of successful Simon Bundy, SDP Ecological and Environmental Services, South Africa ecosystem restoration. Over the years, restoration of Henriques Balidy (Ministry for Land and Environment, critical coastal habitats such as mangroves, seagrasses, National Agency for the Environmental Quality estuaries, dunes and coral reefs has been undertaken in Control, Delegation of Gaza, Xai-Xai) and Salomão Bandeira (Eduardo Mondlane University, Department the WIO region with some restoration initiatives remaining of Biological Sciences), Mozambique at an experimental level while others have gone on to Menno de Boer, Lilian Nyaega, Elizabeth Wamba be implemented at a large scale. In the process, a wealth and Emmanuel Japhet, Wetlands International, of experience has been accumulated from different Kenya and Tanzania restoration processes. The dissemination of the lessons James Kairo and Abel Kiprono, KMFRI, Kenya learnt from these initiatives provides a great opportunity Lalao Aigrette, Blue Ventures, Madagascar for shared learning across the region. WIOMSA and the James Kairo, Ann Wanjiru and Mwanarusi Mwafirika, KMFRI, Kenya “Implementation of the Strategic Action Programme James Kairo (KMFRI), Jared Bosire (Nairobi for the protection of the Western Indian Ocean Convention), Angela Patnode (Nairobi Convention) from land-based sources and activities” (WIOSAP) Cover photo: Coral farmer cleaning “baby corals”, Project of the Nairobi Convention have jointly © marinecultures.org and Adobe Stock, James White/ produced two issues of the WIOMSA Magazine Danita Delimont. focusing on restoring damaged coastal ecosystems. Back photo: Reef rescuer Athina Antoine cleaning corals at a nursery, © Camila Marino The first part of this series features stories from projects Design and layout: Cohoots in Design, implemented in the Seychelles, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa South Africa, Tanzania and Madagascar. The stories focus Printers: Jamana Printers on successes, failures, challenges, lessons learnt and Content Disclaimer: WIOMSA has made a constant care to make sure also outline the opportunities that exist in ecosystem that content is accurate on the date of publication. The views expressed in the articles reflect the author(s) opinions and do not necessarily are restoration. They highlight community participation in the views of the publisher and editor. The published material, adverts, editorials and all other content is published in a good faith. WIOMSA restoration efforts, how restoration fits within the wider cannot guarantee and accepts no liability for any loss or damage of any kind caused by this publication. All rights reserved and nothing can be ecosystem management realm, the costs and economics partially or in whole be reprinted or reproduced without a written consent. of restoration activities and compare different restoration Want to be featured in the WIOMSA Magazine? techniques. Email: [email protected] 4 |4 PEOPLE| PEOPLE AND AND THE THE ENVIRONMENT ENVIRONMENT Editorial implementing measures that restore A unique opportunity to hydrology, sediment dynamics and soil conditions. The role of local communities “build back better” in most of these restoration projects has been remarkable because it has blended traditional and scientific knowledge for BY JAReD BOsIRe better outcomes, including sustainability. hat a remarkable moment some of the benefits of the to have an issue of the restoration projects are very WIOMsA magazine inspiring and include: an increase wdedicated to the restoration of in fish abundance and the income ecosystems across the Western of people living in a village in Kenya; Indian Ocean (WIO) region. Firstly, an increase in tourist numbers at a we have all experienced the impacts restored coral lagoon in Zanzibar; and of Covid-19, an unprecedented global carbon credits that generate a combined pandemic which has disrupted life as income of USD 45 000 per year for we have known it, and the concept of communities involved in the world restoration will definitely be one of the Jared Bosire at a restored mangrove pioneering Mikoko Pamoja mangrove stand at Gazi Bay, Kenya. approaches by which we may address project on the southern coast of Kenya. the global clarion call to “build back These outcomes and more underscore better”. Secondly, the publication of this intense pressure. Inevitably, this has led the importance of successful initiatives issue of the magazine in 2020 is quite to widespread resource degradation in restoring environmental benefits, but timely, coming on the eve of the start of which requires restoration to bring back more significantly, community livelihoods the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration lost ecosystem goods and services. and local economies. This has huge for which the United Nations has potential to enhance the resilience unequivocally reaffirmed that Reading through the various of local communities in building back case studies documented in this better after disruptions precipitated by restoring damaged magazine, it is amazing to learn natural catastrophies like the cyclones ecosystems is an efficient how much restoration work has in Mozambique and the COVID-19 and cost-effective way been undertaken across the region pandemic. in both the mainland and island states. people can work with Restoration activities cover a diversity of Recently, the uNeP-Nairobi nature to address the ecosystems, ranging from sand-dunes Convention, WIOMsA, usAID and the most pressing challenges and coral reefs to mangroves and WIO Mangrove Network launched Guidelines on Mangrove Restoration humanity is facing today, saltmarshes. From many of these case studies, bold lessons have been learnt for the WIO region which provide a step- i.e. the Coronavirus for sharing within and even outside by-step guide to successful mangrove disease 2019 (COVID-19) the region. These lessons include the restoration and help to address some global pandemic, adoption of innovative technologies. of the pitfalls that may impede positive outcomes. Guidelines on Seagrass especially in the context For example, in Seychelles the coral gardening technique is being applied at Restoration, soon to be launched by of the build back better