Off the coast of Tanzania, Zanzibar’s lush vegetation and beaches drive its tourism-dependent economy. The island is also a hub for agriculture and fishing industries, which help feed its 1.5 million residents. The island is most well-known for its coastal ecosystem: mangrove forests.
Now, the climate crisis is putting all of this at risk. In Tanzania, 70% of natural disasters are climate-related. These disasters are endangering the island’s indigenous flora and fauna and the livelihoods of its agriculture and fishing-dependent communities. But people on the island are fighting back against the climate crisis in Tanzania.
How technology and education are helping preserve mangroves
Mangroves, a resilient family of trees and shrubs, boast deep, salt-tolerant roots that flourish along coastlines. They serve as natural defenses against storms and rising sea levels. Zanizbar’s mangroves safeguard both its human and aquatic life. Mangroves also play a pivotal role in mitigating climate change. They hide an impressive three to four times more carbon from the Earth’s atmosphere than tropical forests.
But ongoing deforestation is threatening the vital role mangroves play in Zanzibar.
Recognizing this urgency, the Tanzanian government has turned to Digital Earth Africa to fight the climate crisis in Tanzania. Digital Earth Africa is an organisation that offers digital data, including decades of satellite imagery of the continent. These resources empower government officials, NGOs, business leaders, and farmers to make informed decisions and spearhead conservation efforts.
“As we all know, climate change has been an issue not only in Zanzibar. It’s a worldwide problem. We are part of the community and we are taking part in helping the community, working with them, supporting them where [they are] in need, also helping in giving them education about climate change, but also taking part in volunteering programs.” – Raya Ahmada
How Digital Earth Africa helping fight the climate crisis in Tanzania
Khairiya Masoud is a Zanzibar native and assistant lecturer at The State University of Zanzibar (SUZA). Her experiences with climate change on the island motivated her to pursue a career in education. Masoud leads SUZA’s Digital Earth Africa club, an extracurricular group that equips students with advanced geospatial tools and Earth observation data.
SUZA’s lecturers have unrestricted access to Digital Earth Africa’s data and analysis tools, giving them vital insights to apply to conservation efforts, especially mangroves. Other conservation groups in Zanzibar, including YouthMappers, are working to raise community awareness about the significance of mangrove forests as a means of illustrating the island’s vulnerability to climate change.
“As we all know, climate change has been an issue not only in Zanzibar. It’s a worldwide problem. We are part of the community and we are taking part in helping the community, working with them, supporting them where [they are] in need, also helping in giving them education about climate change, but also taking part in volunteering programs.”
Digital Earth Africa’s data and tools are already influencing on-the-ground conservation efforts.
Beyond the data
“Without mangroves after maybe 20 [or] 25 years, if there’s no group like us, Zanzibar will disappear because the saltwater is coming [into] the villages. Zanzibar will be history. That’s why we [educate] villagers of Zanzibar to plant more mangroves.” – Iddi Hassan Ali
Zanzibar Volunteers for Environmental Conservation (ZAVECO) is one conservation organisation that is able to succeed thanks to Digital Earth Africa. Iddi Hassan Ali, chairman of ZAVECO is a driving force behind the on-the-ground conservation efforts. He works to plant mangroves, recognizing their critical role in safeguarding the island.
He alongside local leaders like Masoud, Hamad, Raya Ahmada, and SUZA students are dedicated to planting mangroves almost weekly. Each week, they have a goal of planting 1,000 mangrove seeds. All of this is an effort to preserve the natural ecosystems that benefit the island.
“Without mangroves after maybe 20 [or] 25 years, if there’s no group like us, Zanzibar will disappear because the saltwater is coming [into] the villages,” Ali said. “Zanzibar will be history. That’s why we [educate] villagers of Zanzibar to plant more mangroves.”
Just as communities worldwide rely on their natural resources, communities in Zanzibar both rely on and bear the responsibility of taking care of them. And as the climate crisis continues, it’s the dedicated work of these communities and data from programs like Digital Earth Africa that will make the biggest impact towards creating a more sustainable future in Africa.
