
WHAT WE DO
What we do
One of the Kwanini Foundation’s very first activities was to set up a Marine Protected Area adjacent to the Manta Resort. We did this in 2013 and very much relied on voluntary approach. At the same time, we realised that we could not achieve much without the support of the community, so we worked with the local fishermen’s committee to spread the word.
During the last five years, we began to understand that there were some important environmental issues on the island that could not be ignored. We saw increasing issues with solid waste collection and disposal and plastic, now recognised as a global pervasive problem, is beginning to invade our villages. Ironically, the significant rainfall on Pemba does not prevent us having issues with fresh water supply and there is a general shortage throughout the island. Similarly, there is no real system for treating waste water.
So, these issues formed the backdrop for us to develop our Kwanini strategy which now focusses on the three main platforms of conservation, environment and communities.