Menai Bay Conservation Area
The Menai Bay Conservation Area (MBCA) is located in Menai Bay, Zanzibar Tanzania. At , it is Zanzibar's largest marine protected area. It was officially established as a conservation area in August 1997 in the traditional fishing area, known as Unguja Island, covering the tropical marine environment comprising extensive coral reefs, tropical fish, sea grasses, and mangrove forests. In addition to controlling illegal fishing, MBCA's alternative initiatives have included bee keeping, mangrove replanting, tree nurseries and tourism. The management of the MBCA falls upon the Fisheries Department and the bay's local villages. It is rated by the IUCN as Category VI Managed Resource Protected Area. The conservation project started operating one year after it was formally established. The project was initiated by WWF and has been fully supported with funds by USAID, the British Government and Switzerland. It is a participatory project with community of 19 villages in the project area actively involved in pursuing the conservation efforts, and to this end they have set up village level Conservation Committees to restrain illegal fishing using circular nets and blasting techniques. Of all the villages, the villagers of Kizimkazi on the eastern part of the project area have been successful in their conservation efforts largely because of good network of paved roads and financial support from WWF. These efforts have attracted 200 bottlenose and humpback dolphins to the shores of their village. The villagers who were earlier killing these animals for food are now deriving economic benefits working with their boats as guides to show the dolphins to visitors. About 20,000 tourists have visited the area in 1998. Legislation Marine Reserves were designated in 1975 but were not legislated. However, as the legislation of the Marine Parks and Reserves Act 1994 came into effect, five marines reserves and two marine parks came to be established. The new marine protected area that came to be established in 1997 was named the Marine Bay Conservation Area. It is situated on the south coast of Zanzibar. It administratively includes the islands of Unguja (also known as Zanzibar Island) and Pemba Island, with operation and management responsibility decreed as a joint effort of the local government and village community. Geography Located in southwest of Unguja Island of the Zanzibar Archipelago, has six islets, a coast line of 61 km and is the largest conservation area in Zanzibar. The average water depth in the bay area is about 10 m during high tide. Initially the reserve area covered 17 villages with a population of about 16,000 people with fishing in the reserve area as their main avocation (other avenues being agriculture, livestock, carpentry and trading). The initial 17 villages covered under the project were Fumba, Bweleo, Dimani, Kombeni, Mtende, Kizimkazi Dimbani, Kizimkazi, Mkunguni, Muyuni A, Muyuni B, Muyuni C, Muungoni, Bungi, Unguja Ukuu, Kaepwani, Unguja Ukuu Kaebona, Kikungwi, Uzi and Ng’amb’wa. By 2003, 19 of the area villages were participating in the conservation work. Traditionally, the Menai Bay area is a heterogeneous habitat of mangrove forest,