WWF Travel Blog

Local fishermen on Ibo Island, one of 27 small islands in Quirimbas Archipelago. Quirimbas National Park helps protect one of the richest areas of coral reef in the world. © Lyn Treloar / WWF

WWF considers Coastal East Africa one of its priority places for protection. The area is threatened by overfishing, unregulated and unsustainable timber harvesting and wildlife trade. For more than 45 years WWF has addressed the problems facing East Africa by working to establish new national parks, empower communities to manage their own natural resources and educate children and others about the important of conservation. Among our projects:

Ending the ivory trade
There are 550,000 elephants in Africa today, however, their survival is threatened as a result of a new demand for ivory in Asia. TRAFFIC, the world’s largest wildlife trade monitoring network that WWF co-runs, is studying the flow of ivory in Africa, which is the first step in halting the illegal trade. Next steps are establishing what to do with the illegal ivory that is discovered and developing a training program for port authorities, law enforcement and others who may come in contact with illegal ivory.

Empowering local communities
WWF works with local communities, governments and companies to increase awareness of the delicate relationship between ecosystems and people. We assist members of local communities in securing management rights of the wildlife on their land and fisheries along their coasts. WWF staff also teaches these communities how to use these natural resources in a sustainable manner to create an incentive for conservation and to generate income.

Creating sustainable fisheries
WWF works to halt illegal commercial fishing in the Indian Ocean. We partner with Mozambique’s naval forces to improve enforcement, collaborate with governments to facilitate fair-fishing access agreements, and partner with companies to implement sustainable fishing practices. WWF helped establish Quirimbas National Park in Mozambique—the largest marine protected area in Africa—through a community-driven process.

Protecting coastal forests
Illegal logging is destroying important coastal forests. WWF is collaborating with authorities in conducting an investigation of illegal practices to create new policies and standards that require sustainable forest management and trade. WWF is also assisting local communities in the protection and management of sacred forests, which have an important cultural value to rural people.

• Visit Coastal East Africa on WWF’s Mozambique Odyssey, March 4 – 21, 2011.