Surprises in Zanzibar

During high tide, when the azure waters of the Western Indian Ocean steal closer to the beaches of Zanzibar, thousands of seaweed farms take flight. Ropes hung with frilly pompoms rise and sway above constellations of starfish on the white sand below. The wild ocean lays claim. Green sea turtles arrive, rowing their stubby flippers in slow motion. Blue rabbitfish with gold coin eyes slip out of seagrass meadows. When the tide goes out, farmers wade in among the bobbing pompoms, plucking ready branches from main stems.

But today, pollution and warming water due to climate change are reducing yields and harming marine life. Some traditional farming methods compound these problems. Mangroves are sometimes used for stakes to keep seaweed lines from floating out to sea, and farms are frequently sited too close to seagrass meadows.

The Nature Conservancy in Africa is working with local partner Mwambao Coastal Community Network Tanzania on a pilot project to train farmers in the archipelago on how best to site, design, and manage their farms to reduce impacts. One strategy, the use of “double-made loops”, has been demonstrated elsewhere in the world to double harvest without using additional lines or farming area. So far, 383 farmers have been trained.

Champion seaweed farmer Sada Hemedi Suleiman examines seaweed progress with former The Nature Conservancy seaweed trainer Mondy Muhando.

Early results are mixed—some promising, some confounding. As part of our rigorous monitoring protocols, the team has conducted follow-up surveys with pilot farmers.

Encouraging numbers include:

? The number of farmers cutting mangroves for stakes reduced by 20%.

? The survey found a 44% reduction in farmers disposing plastic ropes at sea.

Sada Hemedi Suleiman hauls her seaweed harvest to waiting boats.

Challenging findings include:

? More participants report that their farms are sited near coral reefs and seagrass than when the pilot began—but this could be the result of increased awareness of these important habitats among the farmers, as information about these habitats was included in the training curriculum.

? Some farmers reported that creating double-made loops can be too time-consuming.

The team is tackling these conundrums and strategizing solutions. It’s still early days, and this is, after all, the point of pilot projects: Partner with local people to try new things based on what’s worked elsewhere, rigorously track impacts, learn, refine the approach, and scale it up.

“The good news is that 95% of participating farmers reported being very happy with the training,” says Ayubu Singoye, project lead. “This means we have buy- in to keep learning and get it right. By really listening to farmers, we’ll find solutions that work for them and for conservation.”