Tanzania - ICM Country Profile

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Contacts
Basic Data
CSD Data
Ocean and Coastal Zone

J.M. Daffa
Tanzania Coastal Management Partnership
P.O. Box 71686, Dar el Saalam
Tanzania
Ph: (255) 51 667589
Fax: (255) 51 66861
(Information provide by Sorensen 2000 Database of ICM Efforts)

SUMMARY OF OCEAN
AND COASTAL PROGRAMS

Many thanks are due to the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development, the source of the information below. The information was taken from Tanzania's submission to the 7th Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (last update: January 1999). For further information on social and economic factors, natural resources, and institutional structures in Tanzania see the United Nations System-Wide Web Site on National Implementation of the Rio Commitments National Information for Tanzania at

OCEAN AND COASTAL AREAS

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea was ratified by Tanzania on 30 September 1985. Other relevant Conventions or Treaties to oceans and coastal area management in Tanzania include: the Convention on the Continental Shelf, adopted in 1958; The Convention on the High Seas, adopted in 1958; the International Convention for the Protection of Pollution from Ships, adopted in 1973; and the International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Cooperation, adopted in 1990.

The Convention for the Protection, Management and Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment of the Eastern African Region (the Nairobi Convention), was adopted on 21 June 1985 and acceded to by Tanzania on 1 March 1996. This regional Convention includes two Protocols and an Action Plan. The objective of the Convention is to ensure sound environmental management of the maritime and coastal areas of the East African region. It provides a framework for the protection and development of marine and coastal resources. The protocols focus on the conservation of flora and fauna and on measures for combating marine and coastal pollution.

The Convention is an initiative considering the economic and social value of the Eastern African marine and coastal environment, the unique hydrographic and ecological characteristics of the region, local shortcomings in the integration of environmental protection in national planning, and the inability of the more broad-based environmental conventions "to entirely meet the special requirements of the Eastern African region."

Tanzania stands to benefit from the Convention and its Protocols. Priority areas include coastal management, pollution monitoring, contingency planning to combat marine pollution, coastal erosion, and environmental impact assessment. Parties cooperate in information sharing on the conservation and management of natural resources, and exchange expertise within the sub-region.

In 1994, the Marine Parks and Reserve Act (No. 29 of 1994) was enacted. This new Act aims, inter alia, to protect, conserve, and restore the species and genetic diversity of living and non-living marine resources and the ecosystem processes of marine and coastal areas. It also marks the beginning of the enactment of environmental legislation which includes community-based conservation through the involvement of villagers and local resident users dependent on a marine park or marine reserve. These stakeholders are involved in all phases of the planning, development and management of the particular marine park or reserve, and share in the benefits of its operation as a protected area. The Mafia Marine Park is the first marine park to be established in the country.

This information was provided by the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania to the fifth session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development. Last Update: 1 April 1997.

SUMMARY OF OCEAN AND COASTAL PROGRAMS

OCEAN AND COASTAL AREAS

SUMMARY OF OCEAN
AND COASTAL PROGRAMS