How to grow $25K into community-led conservation: Interview with Tanzania’s Mwambao

In Unguja, Tanzania, Ali Thani and Lorna Slade first met decades before they joined forces to establish a marine conservation organization. Years later, Slade returned to Tanzania for research on tourism for her master's degree and became involved in an initiative focused on empowering local resource stewards. However, the 2008 global financial crisis intervened, and the organization funding the initiative withdrew, leaving only $25,000 behind.

Slade recalls that "So they said, 'OK, well, it's a good idea. We have $25,000, so here you are,'" and thus, the Mwambao Coastal Community Network was born. What started as a modest beginning has evolved into an organization now operating across Zanzibar and mainland Tanzania, with an annual budget of approximately $3.5 million.

For Thani, whose background includes government work and larger conservation organizations, Mwambao emerged from the conviction that conservation efforts should be locally driven. He emphasizes that those who rely on natural resources should possess the knowledge, capacity, and authority to manage them. This idea holds broader significance as countries aim to conserve 30% of the world's land and oceans by 2030.

With Mwambao, community fisheries management and other initiatives are supported, as local organizations and communities are expected to bear a significant portion of the conservation burden, despite many facing challenges in securing long-term funding compared to larger international organizations and intermediaries.