Warming seas frustrate Zanzibar's seaweed farmers

Danstan Kaunda in AlertNet: Rising sea temperatures and more extreme weather  are damaging Zanzibar’s formerly thriving seaweed farms, maritime experts say, reducing harvests and putting farmers out of work.

Commercially valuable seaweed was brought to Zanzibar from the Philippines in the 1980s, and early producers found it grew well in the shallow waters off this Indian Ocean island. Some types of seaweed, used in the food and pharmaceutical industries as a stabilizer or emulsifying agent, are in great demand abroad, and the government promoted it as a useful export crop and source of employment.

...Demand was strongest for high quality red seaweeds such as the Cottonii and Spinosum varieties, but seaweed farmers say those varieties are now proving very vulnerable to changes in growing conditions, which can make the weed lose its colour and, most important, its texture.

As an apparent result of warming conditions and storms, Zanzibar’s seaweed production has fallen sharply in recent years, from 14,040 tonnes five years ago to just under 10,800 tonnes last year, according to the Department of Marine Resources of Zanzibar.

The Zanzibar Exporters Association said its members collected and exported about 11,000 tonnes of dry seaweed in 2011, most of it going to the United States, France, Denmark, Spain, China and Chile....

Aquaculture of red algae in Zanzibar, shot by Leyo, Wikimedia Commons,  under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Switzerland license

Climate blights Zanzibar's economic future

Issa Yussuf in AllAfrica.com via the Tanzania Daily News: Zanzibar is already highly vulnerable to climate variability, and will be amongst most affected by future climate change, while sea level rise received most attention; there are multiple risks, particularly to ecosystem services that underpin island economies.

This is a concluding paragraph in a research report conducted on 'Climate Change on Zanzibar: Impacts, Adaptation, Economics &Low Carbon Growth' by the Global Climate Adaptation Partnership, and local partners. Thanks to the UK's Department for International Development (DFID) for funding. Researchers in the report launched two weeks ago, have advised Zanzibar that adaptation can reduce the risks, cautioning of cost, and requires necessary finance and capacity to access and effectively use resources.

Mr Paul Watkiss, the research project director, led other experts in the eight month research in the Islands advising further, Zanzibar to act now, including considering Low carbon development by providing a more sustainable energy future, development and sustainability benefits, and opportunities for finance

The objectives of the study were to: Assess climate change impacts and their economic costs for Zanzibar, analyze costs and benefits of adapting to these effects over different timescales, assess the potential for low carbon growth, including development benefits and finance opportunities, and build national capacity and take advantage of local knowledge. In a general perspective a large proportion of Zanzibar's GDP and most of the livelihoods on the islands are associated with climate sensitivity activities, either directly such as with agriculture or tourism, or indirectly for example from the use of natural resources.

Therefore the economy and people of the islands are very dependent on the weather and climate. However, the finding in the research shows that climate of Zanzibar has been changing, and in the last decade has seen a significant increase in extreme events (climate variability), the recent extreme events such as droughts and floods, as example, which has led to major economic costs....

Growing red algae in Zanzibar, shot by Leyo, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Switzerland license.

Zanzibar pushes to join island alliance to confront climate change

Mohamed Issa in AlertNet: The East African archipelago of Zanzibar is attempting to win “environmental independence” from Tanzania by joining an organisation that promotes the sustainable development of islands in the Indian Ocean. Zanzibar has lodged a formal membership application with the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC), a regional cooperation body whose current members are Comoros, Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagascar and Reunion.

Although Zanzibar is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, officials in the archipelago’s own government, as well as some scientists, maintain that the isles have different needs from the mainland in dealing with climate change. Backers of Zanzibar’s entry into the IOC argue that membership will help it deal more effectively with environmental threats. Parts of the islands suffer from beach erosion, flooding and high salinity in arable land, which is itself scarce.

Amina Shaaban, Planning Commissioner in the Zanzibar government’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, listed the development challenges confronting the archipelago as including unsustainable agricultural and livestock practices, depleted fisheries, deforestation, quarrying and sand mining, water pollution, and threats to food security and tourism.

“The question here is not whether we should continue or stop developing,” Shaaban said in April at an IOC-organised workshop on sustainable development planning for Zanzibar. “But rather, we should ask ourselves, ‘How can we strive forward with our economic goals without compromising the carrying capacity of our fragile environment?’”

Zanzibar residents say they increasingly recognise their vulnerability to the changing environment...

Mangroves at Jozani Park in Zanzibar, shot by Nannarella, public domain

Zanzibar study on drought-resistant maize seeds gets underway

Mwinye Sadallah in IPP Media via the Guardian: The government of Zanzibar has said that a research project on better maize seeds being conducted by scientists from five African countries will help to overcome drought and food shortages in the respective countries.

The remarks were made on Monday by Minister of State in the Second Vice-President’s Office Mohamed Aboud when opening a third meeting of scientists convened to assess the project, which focuses on getting better maize seeds that will withstand drought, known as Water-Efficient Maize for Africa (Wema).

He said since maize is being consumed in many African countries, obtaining drought-resistant seeds will help to increase production and overcome the problem of food shortages facing most countries in the continent.

“The government supports efforts being made by agricultural scientists in helping farmers to obtain better seeds, which would overcome climate change impacts, especially drought,” Aboud said.
He said the Isles government has started conducting research on getting better seeds for banana, coconut and fighting pests.

Aboud said in implementing the second phase of the Zanzibar strategy for growth and poverty reduction, agriculture has been given priority, including providing loans for farm implements to small-scale farmers to achieve the goal of strengthening agriculture….