Travel talk
THE ISLAND
of the future
How do you build back better when it comes to tourism? Mark Bibby Jackson reckons that Chumbe Island in Tanzania has got the right idea In 1995 Chumbe Island off Zanzibar became the first privately created and managed Marine Protected Area in the world. Today, ecotourism on the island not only supports conservation efforts, but also comprehensive education programmes. Sibylle Riedmiller, Director at Chumbe Island, says that “education is the backbone of the project.” Since 1996, some 11,000 Zanzibar children, teachers and community members have benefited from the Environmental Education Schools Programme, in which they learn about marine and forest ecology, amongst other things. This pristine oasis has scooped several awards, including the Oscar for marine conservation, the Blue Parks Award. The island comprises a semi-arid coral rag Forest Reserve which covers around 90% of the land (some 22 hectares) and has been protected by Chumbe Island Coral Park Ltd (CHIOP) since 1994.
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Within it you can find at least 124 rainwater catchment, solar energy, different plant species, as well as vegetative greywater filtration for birds, animals, crustaceans, nonthe waste water and compositing poisonous snakes and lizards. These toilets. This ensures that visitors’ include the critically endangered waste never harms the island. mini-antelope, Ader’s Duiker, and a Riedmiller is optimistic about the large population of coconut crabs, future of Chumbe Island. Over the the largest land crabs in the world. last year she was able to pay staff The area is protected by a team wages, including Head Ranger Omar of rangers, paid for by CHIOP, AmeNyange and his team, through but guests to the eco-lodge are crowd funding and a small grant permitted to go on nature walks. from German aid. However, it is off shore that She has also started a fundraising Chumbe’s real treasure awaits. The initiative (gofundme.com/f/helpCoral Reef Sanctuary is a 55-hectare protect-chumbe-reef) so that people area where fishing is banned. It can fund their efforts until tourism contains 90% of East Africa’s returns. The Chumbe team hard coral species, more hopes that the United than 500 fish species, Nation’s Decade of endangered green and Ocean Science and Featuring great travel hawksbill turtles and the public’s growing writing aimed purely at blacktip reef sharks. awareness of how independent-minded The seven-bungalow important coral reefs travellers over the age of resort has also been are will also help. 40. charitable.travel/ designed to have a travel-beginsat-40 zero impact upon the environment. It employs
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