By Justine Williams | Head of Foundation
Wondering how our local project partner Oceans Alive Trust, Kenya could build on the success of the visit of the King Charles III at the end of 2022?
We are delighted to share news that during this past quarter our local project partner was featured internationally on a special BBC Earth programme - the Lagoon of Life.
Project spokesperson and long-term advocate Ledama Masidza presents the amazing progress of the Marine Protected Area (MPA), as well as the resilience of the community.
No fish, no village
Kuruwitu, is Ledama's home and a place he loves, he reflects on past times when fish stocks in the local waters were low due to overfishing, leading to lack of community food security, household income and opportunities for future generations.
To resolve the issue, the community came together to create the tengefu (Swahili word for Marine Protected Area). By agreeing to divide the local waters up into dedicated areas, the lagoon became a community protected area, where fishing is completely banned. Since the original creation of the MPA fish and local marine biodiversity in the lagoon has increased by a fantastic 400%.
Impact of climate change
Sadly, the impact of climate change warming ocean waters continues to have a significant negative impact on the local sea. In areas where fishing is allowed, fish stocks continue to greatly reduce, putting pressure on the fisherman who must either spend more time fishing, or bring home less fish to sell. During certain times of the year, the local climate also means that there is no fishing taking place at all.
Food security
To combat low or no fish yields at times, our local partner, Oceans Alive are working with the female fishmongers (those who buy and sell the fish) to create local community vegetable gardens to ensure a ongoing supply of food all through the year. By teaching the women, locally known as the Mama Karanga skills in growing and nurturing their vegetable gardens, they can not only have enough food to eat all year round, but also have surplus to sell to the wider community to maintain a livelihood when there is no fish.
Next steps
Believing that the community's needs can be balanced with the needs of the environment, Oceans Alive Kenya are experts at creating and connecting collaborative, community management initiatives. With your kind donations, Pelorus Foundation are continuing to support the economic and environmental momentum of this vital work, including a new research project, 10 years on from the last research undertaken, to analyse the MPA biodiversity to see what changes may have taken place over the past decade of protecting the lagoon.
The success of the project so far is already having a significant impact on the local community, with a plan to ensure this has a ripple effect into other communities.
To view the BBC Earth programme, please go to the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMoal6N1okA
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