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Blue Ventures is a UK registered charity that works with coastal communities in Madagascar and Belize to help them build the skills and knowledge they need to protect the marine environments on which their livelihoods depend. Their programmes encompass a number of interlinked themes including marine and fisheries research, sustainable aquaculture, family planning, environmental education, fisheries management and protected area development.

TWF is supporting Blue Ventures’ Blue Forests and coastal communities in Madagascar over a three year period. The programme aims to use a Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) scheme to finance the conservation of mangrove habitats in Madagascar. In the PES scheme local communities – as sellers of ecosystem services – will be paid for their effective management of mangrove habitats by existing ecosystem service buyers. In particular, the project aims to capitalise on two important ecosystem services that mangroves provide, namely: CO2 sequestration; and the support of commercially-valuable crab and shrimp stocks. This market-based mechanism will give local communities economic incentives to conserve ecosystems that underpin their livelihoods and support biodiversity, as well as improving their wellbeing.

This programme will aim to protect 43,000 ha of mangroves, at an initial investment cost of £8.60 per hectare (equivalent to approximately £0.30/ ha over a 30 year period) - providing numerous environmental benefits including carbon sequestration and storage, habitat and biodiversity protection, conservation of fish spawning grounds, erosion and storm protection.

As well as the environmental benefits, the project will also work with 8350 beneficiaries and will create long term, sustainable sources of incomes through the PES as well as the management of fishing and timber resources.

www.blueventures.org

Fauna & Flora International (FFI) protects threatened species and ecosystems worldwide, choosing solutions that are sustainable, based on sound science and take account of human needs. Operating in more than 40 countries worldwide – mainly in the developing world – FFI saves species from extinction and habitats from destruction, while improving the livelihoods of local people. Founded in 1903, it is the world’s longest established international conservation body and a registered charity.

One of FFI’s key partners in Kenya is the East African Wild Life Society (EAWLS), a regional NGO with wide experience in community-managed conservation projects; for the past forty years EAWLS has been at the forefront of efforts to protect the region's endangered species and habitats.

Together, FFI and EAWLS are working on a marine and coastal resources project in Kenya, which aims to improve local livelihoods and strengthen the conservation of these resources through sustainable management.

The project has been running since 2004 and initially supported community-led action on the north coast of Kenya to establish a 4 km² 'no fishing zone', managed by a local conservation and welfare association. Surveys and reports from fishermen indicate an increase in fish numbers and the return to a more sustainable fish harvest in areas adjoining the agreed exclusion zone. 

TWF has awarded funding to the FFI-EAWLS partnership to replicate this model in 7 sites along the southern coast of Kenya (Shimoni - Vanga). These areas will be defined, established and supported by Community Based Organisations, Beach Management Units and Community Forest Associations.

Specifically, the project will promote and support sustainable fisheries in 7 Community Conserved Areas, and identify sustainable livelihood options. This approach will contribute to enhanced awareness of sustainable fisheries management, improved capacity of Beach Management Units to sustainably manage fisheries, reduced pressure on marine and coastal resources in the project sites, and improved local community livelihoods.

www.fauna-flora.org