Presentation made at the Sustainable Tourism in Small Island Developing States conference, 23-24 November 2017, Seychelles. A partnership of the Seychelles Sustainable Tourism Foundation, IUCN WCPA Tourism and Protected Areas Specialist Group, University of Seychelles, Paris Tourism Sorbonne (IREST), and Global Sustainable Tourism Council.

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2. With an increasing number of factors affecting the health of the
world’s marine resources, and experts predicting the collapse of
global fisheries by 2048, &Beyond is expanding its focus on wildlife
conservation to include the protection and sustainability of our
seas with Oceans Without Borders – a call to preserving our marine
eco-systems
MISSION
Through research, conservation initiatives, and collaborating with
community and governments, OWB aims to strengthen the current
conservation status of our islands as well as grow opportunities for
community development
VISION
Established and dynamic marine reserves and marine protected
areas encompassing ‘take and no-take zones’ that maintain their
biological productivity. These conservation areas will support
sustainable marine fisheries and similar community enterprises in
surrounding areas and also contribute to the ecological
enhancement of the greater areas associated with OWB

3. Background
Building on the positive influence it has had on more than 9
million acres of protected wildlife land, &Beyond has recently
increased its portfolio of exclusive island lodges to now
encompass &Beyond Mnemba Island (off the coast of
Zanzibar), &Beyond Benguerra Island (in Mozambique’s
Bazaruto Archipelago) and &Beyond Vamizi Island (in the
Quirimbas Archipelago)
The linkage of 2,000 km of Indian Ocean coast line through
these 3 islands has created a unique opportunity -in a critical
area of this fragile marine eco-system - to highlight and
proactively tackle the local conservation and community
development challenges and by doing so provide a spotlight on
practical and effective global marine conservation solutions

5. Vamizi’s Unique Mother Reef System
Vamizi’s unique source reef system is at the centre of an ocean current network that moves up and down the East coast of Africa towards Benguerra and
Mnemba respectively. This enables coral and fish spawn to be moved with the currents, creating a unique opportunity for research and marine conservation
between the three islands.

6. OCEANS WITHOUT BORDERS | Internal Expertise & Utilisation Of World Class External Resources

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Objective 1 - Logistical support and enlarging of current marine
protected areas (MPA’s)
Objective 4 – Supporting current conservation and research initiatives and
establishing new projects
Objective 3 - Facilitating and developing sustainable community benefits from the
marine environment and developing alternative revenue sources that
are not marine dependent
Objective 2 - Upgrading current MPA’s to Marine Reserves which have a
higher conservation status
Objective 5 – Use ‘flag-ship’ conservation projects to showcase OWB and the
plight of marine ecosystems to the world
Create marine based conservation initiatives that include direct social and economic
benefits to local communities, while securing and improving the ecological status of the
three islands, with an ambitious aim of establishing dynamic models in marine
conservation that can be exported to other areas under similar threat
OCEANS WITHOUT BORDERS | Goals and Objectives

8. OCEANS WITHOUT BORDERS | Current and Historic Projects
Protection of Reefs
Protection of Endangered Species
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• Research on Hydro-dynamics, tidal erosion and
impact on island and reefs - Mnemba
• Assessing impact of boat traffic to assess impact
on reefs – Mnemba
• Assessing impact of snorkelers on reefs – Mnemba
• Establishing MIMCA
• Establishing a marine sanctuary at Vamizi
• Community fishing practices and
management of local fish stocks
• Community stakeholder analysis
• Research on the ecology of the Aders’ Duiker
• Aders’ translocation to grow species in other areas
• Grey reef shark population monitoring - tagging,
acoustic and satellite monitoring
• Green turtle nest protection and monitoring
Community Empowerment and Capacity Building
• Protection of the Vamizi Sanctuary – Patrolling and
engaging with Community Fishing Councils
• Engagement with government to protect Neptune's Arm
and Metunda reefs - Vamizi
• Research and monitoring of coral reefs
• Monitoring of fisheries and fish stocks in the Vamizi
sanctuary
• Study of mass coral spawning – Vamizi
• Conservation lessons with local schools
• Weekly and monthly community leadership meetings
• CLEF scholarship program through the African Foundation
• Building of classrooms and clinics with the Africa Foundation
• Access to water programs
• Tagging and tracking a turtle – with Seasense
Mnemba
• Implementation of MIMCA
VamiziMnemba BenguerraCurrent Projects Historic Projects

9. Community Empowerment and Capacity Building
• School Education Program
• Supporting local conservation and marine biology research interns
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Facilitating alternate income projects
Protection of Reefs
• Advocacy documentary
• Creating MPA’s and exclusion zones – Mnemba, Vamizi Neptune’s Arm and Metunda
• Strengthening the monitoring and patrolling of marine sanctuaries
• Research and monitoring of reef health, species and bleaching
• Artificial Reef program
Protection of Endangered Species
• Turtles – protection and management of nests, monitoring of turtles
• Sharks – research to enable protection of the grey reef shark
• Whales – monitoring behavior and migration patterns across 3 islands
• Dolphins – measuring the impact of tourism on dolphins
• Dugongs – facilitating the creation of alternate income sources
• Aders' Duiker – DNA testing and research to protect this endangered antelope
VamiziMnemba Benguerra
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Protecting our marine life across 2 000km’s of Indian Ocean coastline
OCEANS WITHOUT BORDERS | Proposed Future Project Summary

10. The continuous recording and study of mass coral spawning around Vamizi make the
protection of these reefs critical. It is the only official coral monitoring program of
this kind in Africa
• Protection of the current marine sanctuary through patrolling and engagement
with the Community Fishing Councils
• Engagement with government to protect Neptune's Arm and Metunda reefs
• Research and monitoring of coral reefs and bleaching
• Monitoring of fisheries and fish stocks moving in and out of the protected zone
The Mnemba fringing reefs face degradation, due to lack of regulation. The project
will set out to work with government to create exclusion zones and more regulation
in this area
• Privatise the house reef to create a protected no take and limited tourism zone
• Work with MIMCA to upgrade the atoll to a Marine Protected Area (MPA)
• Research and monitoring of coral reefs to understand the impact
• Explore the possibility of artificial reefs to create alternate sources of fish and
diving to take the pressure off the house reef
• Fish populations and impact (all 3 islands)
• Engaging with communities to create alternate income sources, to reduce net
fishing and reef damage
• Engage with the Bazaruto National Park and WWF to determine next steps in reef
protection
• Fish populations and impact (all 3 islands)
Coral reefs are a vital indicator of the health of the earths oceans and are increasingly threatened. A
combined project will monitor the health and diversity of the coral reefs at all three island
OCEANS WITHOUT BORDERS | Protection of Reefs
Vamizi
Mnemba
Benguerra

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OCEANS WITHOUT BORDERS | Protection of Endangered Species
Protection of the endangered sea turtles at all 3 islands:
• Mnemba is the only protected nesting site for green turtles in Zanzibar
• Vamizi Island is home to the oldest and only ongoing turtle monitoring project in
northern Mozambique
• Benguerra is possibly the only island off Africa where all 5 turtle species nest
• Monitoring, marking and protecting nesting sites
• Night patrols to protect nests
• Relocating nests if endangered by encroaching water levels
• Monitoring and assisting with hatchings to ensure survival
• Identifying and tracking turtles when they return to nest
• Hawksbill photo identification documentation
• At Neptune’s Arm, a large aggregation of up to 30 grey reef sharks has been
witnessed at certain times of the year. All the sharks are mature females, suggesting
that this location may be very important in the sharks’ reproduction cycle. Shark
populations are severely threatened, making research on this species vital for their
protection
• Grey reef shark monitoring –tagging, acoustic and satellite monitoring project
of a population of grey reef sharks
• Benguerra is also a habitat for sharks. OWB is engaging with the National Park
to understand the protection of these endangered species
• Research and tracking of the humpback whale population at all three islands will
contribute to a global data base, learning about their behaviour and migration patterns
• Shore observations
• Boat and photo identification, drone tracking and/or hydrophone

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Benguerra is home to the only population of dugong along the east coast of
Africa. Fishing nets and community fishing cause a great threat to this
endangered species. The project to protect the dugong is to work with local
communities to create alternate income sources – such as vegetable gardens
Mnemba is home to Africa’s rarest antelope species, the Aders' Duiker. In order
to protect this species we have to gain in depth knowledge of their breeding
patterns and optimal population size on the island
• DNA analysis to gain a deeper understanding of the antelope
• Monitoring and evaluation of the population to ensure optimal breeding size
• Translocations to improve breeding potential and maintain sufficient genetic
strength on the island
• Mnemba and Benguerra are home to two sub-species of the Suni antelope
• Research between the islands on the DNA structure will enable deeper insight
into the protection and breeding of this species
Assess the impact of tourism on bottle nosed dolphins at Mnemba and humpback
dolphins at Benguerra
• Research on dolphin population sizes and behavior patterns
• Assess the threats and impact of tourism
• Develop an action plan
OCEANS WITHOUT BORDERS | Protection of Endangered Species

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• Build on the current conservation lesson model to develop a marine education
program that can be integrated into schools
• Identify an educationalist to design the programme
• Engage with schools and education departments in each country
• Implement with support of an education development organization
• Develop research positions within the research programs to include a certain
number of local interns per year to build capacity of our future
conservationists and scientists
• Continue to work with and engage local government and communities to increase
MIMCA’s effectiveness at Mnemba Island
• Continue to support local community conservation initiatives and application for
increased conservation status from government for Neptune's Arm and the
extended protected zone at Vamizi
• Finalize a community needs analysis and feasibility of a Community Conservation
Project within Bazaruto National Park (Benguerra Island)
• Sources of income that are not dependent on marine life, could enable
communities to reduce their dependence on it.
• Engage with local communities to understand what businesses or skills are
needed
• Facilitate linking business development NGO’s, micro-financing and skill
development organisations with the willing community members
• Investigate innovative ways for local communities to benefit in the direct
profits of the local island lodges including supply and supply chain benefits or
indeed P&L profit participation based on reaching key OWB project targets
OCEANS WITHOUT BORDERS | Community Empowerment and Capacity Building

14. OCEANS WITHOUT BORDERS | Working with the Africa Foundation
Africa Foundation was founded in 1992- 25 years of experience
Africa Foundation is a non-profit organisation whose purpose is to facilitate the empowerment and
development of people living in or adjacent to, protected areas in Africa, where &Beyond operate
Education
Small Business Development
Health Care and Water Access
• Over 7,000 students and 500 teachers have received conservation
lessons
• 438 Students have received tertiary education from the AF Bursary
program CLEF (Community Leaders' Education Fund)
• Over 80 schools have improved infrastructure (including 200
classrooms, 3 libraries and media centers, 13 kitchens and 3
administration blocks)
• Built 2 clinics and support 5 medical centers
• Pay the salary of one medical practitioner
• Have provided access to water to over 56,000 people
• Improved sanitation for over 7,000 people with 175 Enviroloos
• Support 10 centers for home based care volunteers to assist the
elderly
Achievements to Date
• Provided seed capital to 41 small businesses
• Support 30 food gardens and 12 commercial farmers
Core Experience to leverage for OWB
• Established relationships with communities
• Established community project management
– including engaging with government and
gaining buy-in from communities
• Channel for processing funds
• Africa Foundation staff and OWB staff work
hand in hand on OWB related community
projects
Africa
Foundation
COMMUNITIES
&BEYOND
(OWB)
DONORS

15. Conclusion
As the human population grows there is more and more
pressure on our ocean systems. Fishermen are using
destructive methods to catch fish, and killing anything that
gets caught in their nets or that they feel might be a threat to
the fish they are trying to catch- including whales, dolphins,
dugongs and turtles
In order to protect the marine environments around the three
islands, vitally necessary resources are needed to protect
these fragile eco-systems