Project Detail

Wasini Island Marine Conservation Project

Wasini BMU Co-management area in one of the biodiversity hotspot in Kenya with high diversity of corals, fish species and seagrass beds. There are over 64 coral genera recorded within its waters in addition to over 250 species of fish and 5 species of turtles. The resources however face various threats which include overexploitation, resource use conflicts, and limited awareness among local community members of applicable national laws and policies and climate change.
The proposed project seeks to support the Wasini BMU through focused capacity building of the Wasini BMU Executive and Technical committee, targeted awareness programs of the Assembly and other stakeholders and development of a co-management plan for the co-management area.
The overall project objective is ?a healthy coastal and marine environment providing sustainable benefits for present and future generations? with the project objectives being:-
1.0 Build the capacity of the Wasini BMU through focused trainings on resource governance, conflict management, monitoring and surveillance
2.0 Support the development and approval of the Wasini BMU Co-management plan for the 350 ha co-management area
3.0 Support awareness and dissemination programs within Wasini BMU Assembly, local communities and other stakeholders
4.0 Support activities to rehabilitate or reduce pressure on the BMU co-management area including coral transplantations and alternative livelihood options
The project will be implemented by the Wasini BMU in collaboration with the Africa Nature Organization.

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Project Snapshot

Grantee:

Wasini Beach Management Unit

Country:

Kenya

Area Of Work:

Biodiversity

Operational Phase:

Phase 5

Grant Amount:

US$ 36,833.00

Co-Financing Cash:

Co-Financing in-Kind:

US$ 25,202.00

Project Number:

KEN/SGP/OP5/FSP/BD/12/015

Start Date:

12/2012

End Date:

11/2014

Status:

Satisfactorily Completed

Project Characteristics and Results

Promoting Public Awareness of Global Environment

-The most commonly used strategy by the PIC to create awareness on the project were BMU meetings as reported by 41.4% (n=12) of the sample. Wasini BMU has been holding regular meetings to create awareness and sensitize its members on the UNDP SGP GEF project. The village, being a small island and that most of its livelihood are either directly or indirectly marine-related means that majority of the community members are BMU members. According to available records, the BMU has held a total of 7 meetings since the inception of the project. These meetings helped greatly in raising community awareness about the project. The second mostly used awareness raising strategy were public meetings (baraza) as reported by 31.0% (n=) of the respondents. The PIC took advantage of public meetings convened by local leaders to talk about the project, what it entailed and its benefits to the community. Such meetings were held either in the village or Shimoni Township. Since inception of the project, a total of 6 public meetings have been held.

Notable Community Participation

A Project Implementation Committee (PIC) will be established as the overall supervisory body of the project. The PIC will be chaired by the Wasini BMU with representation by other partners such as African Nature Organization, Fisheries Department, Kenya Wildlife Service, Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute. One of the key roles of the PIC is approval of the project workplan and budget monitoring of the project implementation. It is expected that the PIC will not have more than 9 members with community members taking a bigger share of the PIC membership. The lead implementers of the proposed project are the Wasini Beach Management Unit (WBMU) and a local non-governmental organization, the African Nature OrganizationF. The planning and design of the proposed project has been developed by the two partners. Issues and various interventions proposed have been discussed and agreed on by the two organizations and communities that will be involved in the implementation of the project. At the start of the project, a Memorandum of Understanding will be drawn between the Wasini BMU and ANO that will identify the roles and responsibilities for each partner. The project has direct benefits to the local communities and members of the BMU within the Wasini Village and they have guaranteed their full support for its implementation.

Gender Focus

The project takes note of the limited participation of women in the management and running of BMUs along the coast. While the Wasini BMU is unique in this aspect as the Wasini Women group plays a major role in its management, there is need to provide for quality and involved participation by women. Training programs will be structured in such a way that provides for equal training opportunities for women, while targeted awareness program will seek to mobilize women within the community to register as members and seek a more decisive role within the BMU by seeking leadership position. In addition, the interests of the youth have been well catered for in the proposed project. The Wasini co-management area is an initiative of the youth.

Capacity - Building Component

The proposed project complements the Darwin Initiative project that ended in early 2012 and seeks to support the BMU through focused capacity building of the Wasini BMU Executive and Technical committee and General Assembly, targeted awareness programs and development of a co-management plan for the co-management area.

Project sustainability

To achieve continued improved community livelihoods and marine biodiversity conservation, the following strategies were put in place by the PIC to ensure sustainability of the project: i. Creating community awareness on the importance of the project and its associated benefits including enhancement of community livelihoods ii. Training the BMU and community members on their roles in the project, and building their skills and capacity to run the project and participate in biodiversity conservation iii. Involvement of the community through (BMU) in the PIC so as to continue with project activities after the expiry of the funding After the expiry of the finding period, project assets will remain the property of the BMU.

Emphasis on Sustainable Livelihoods

Wasini is a small fishing Island. Fishing is the primary source of income with other marine-related eco-tourism activities. The reef in the area is promoting tourism growth with holiday cottages and hotels springing up in the area because of its extensive beaches and snorkeling gaining popularity. Because of the rocky nature of the island, there are no agricultural activities in the area.

Project Results

The most recognized community benefit of the project was the acquisition of skill and
knowledge as reported by 64.7% (n=11) of the sample. The project had a training component
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where members of the community were given hands-on-training on coral transplant. Through this component, the community learnt about corals and their importance, and the process of transplanting them. The members mentioned that this knowledge and expertise was an important asset that could enable an individual earn some income in future through facilitation in coral transplant trainings. It is also worth noting that coral transplant is a fairly new phenomenon in the country and the WIO region, and that it is only practiced in Wasini village and Seychelles. The fact that this coral transplant knowledge and skill in now endowed in members of Wasini community also enhances project sustainability.
The survey learnt that whenever the PIC called for meetings and wherever there were some training, the participants earned some allowances of Ksh. 500.00. This was mentioned as benefit of the project by 23.5% (n=4) of the households sampled.

Some few respondents indirectly linked the project to enhancement of employment opportunities, especially in the fishing and eco-tourism sectors as given by 11.8% (n=2) of the sampled households. The project that involves the transplant of corals to the Co-management area enhances fish breeding grounds that eventually increased fish catch and fish incomes. Again, the corals create good attraction for both local and foreign tourists, increasing tourist visitations to the Co-management area, benefitting boat operators and some eco-tourism ventures in the village.

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