Greening the Islands is glad to announce the new member of the GTI Observatory, Chumbe island. Chumbe is a beautiful, small, formerly uninhabited island off the west coast of Zanzibar, Tanzania (East Africa).
Chumbe Island Coral Park Ltd (CHICOP), an award-winning private not-for-profit company has turned it into a fully protected marine and terrestrial nature reserve where (until 2020) management and various research and education programs were fully funded by proceeds from the small eco-lodge built with rainwater catchment, photovoltaic power, composting toilets and vegetative greywater filtration.
The company objectives are to protect a coral reef and pristine coral-rag forest by establishing the first privately managed Marine park in the world; showcase sustainable and zero-footprint energy, water and sanitation technologies in Tanzania; promote marine conservation and eco-technologies through Environmental Education programs for local schools, communities, government officials and all visitors. All operations are guided by Management Plans and an Advisory Committee that includes representatives of local village communities, the academia and relevant sectoral Zanzibar government departments.
Testifying the island’s commitment to self-sufficiency and sustainability, in 2018 Chumbe Island Coral Reef Sanctuary won the prestigious Global Ocean Refuge Award for Most Effective Conservation of Marine Life (https://globaloceanrefuge.org/refuges/chumbe-island-coral-reef-sanctuary); and in 2019, it won the “Best Of Africa” Sustainable Top 100 Destinations Award. The GTI Observatory looks forward to supporting the island’s continuous efforts with the involvement of experts and solution providers.
Entering the GTI Observatory, CHICOP commented: “Featuring unique and sometimes endemic biodiversity that is threatened by climate change and the 6th mass extinction, islands excel in both challenges and opportunities. Therefore, we need to unite to mainstream a sustainable circular economy and, in particular, conservation-based tourism that has a net-negative ecological and carbon footprint.”
