Protecting Chumbe Island Nature Reserve from increased poaching threats due to COVID-19 pandemic, through re-assignment of local rangers, skills development of youth fishers, and sustaining its conservation activities

Protecting Chumbe Island Nature Reserve from increased poaching threats due to COVID-19 pandemic, through re-assignment of local rangers, skills development of youth fishers, and sustaining its conservation activities

As a not-for-profit, privately managed nature reserve in Zanzibar, Tanzania, Chumbe Island Coral Park (CHICOP) has been the first financially sustainable Marine Protected Area (MPA) in the world, entirely self-financed through ecotourism for nearly 30 years. For the first time in CHICOP`s history, the successful MPA management model was threatened by a worldwide collapse of the tourism sector and funding loss due to COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 – 2021. Through an emergency fund from the Biodiversity and Protected Areas Management (BIOPAMA) Rapid Response Grant financed by the European Union and the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States, CHICOP ensured that conservation management and biodiversity protection on Chumbe Island not only continued during the COVID-19 crises but also strengthened relationships with other MPAs in the archipelago and enabled skill capacity building for local youth and women.