IUCN, Eastern Africa Programme

With more than 70 individual sites, nationally and internationally designated, in the Western Indian Ocean, there is a growing need to ensure and improve the management effectiveness of the marine protected areas. This toolkit aims to act as a first point of call in the search for information on issues that MPA managers and practitioners face in day-to-day operations.

The Pangani River Basin covers an area of about 43,650 km2, mostly in Tanzania with approximately 5% in Kenya. The Basin contains a wide array of resources of which water and arable land are arguably the most important to its 3.7 million Tanzanian inhabitants. There is a diversity of interests in the Basin, and these are able to wield various degrees of power as they seek to lay claim to its resources.

Wetlands in Africa are increasingly being recognised as ecosystems of extreme importance to man and biodiversity. However, the management of these wetlands has been impacted by alien invasive species that specialize on aquatic (and semi-aquatic) systems. This booklet introduces alien wetland invaders by describing seven of the worst species already introduced to Africa and mentions several others that are potential threats.

The Loita/Purko Naimina Enkiyio forest is estimated to cover an area of 330 km2 in Kenya and serves several functions within the Loita Maasai community. When a change of the forest tenure to a reserve threatened this community, they challenged the decision and were successful in having the decision rescinded. Security of tenure can be considered the single most important factor in the sustainable management of natural resources.

Wetlands in Africa are increasingly being recognised as ecosystems of extreme importance to man and biodiversity. However, the management of these wetlands has been impacted by alien invasive species that specialize on aquatic (and semi-aquatic) systems. This booklet introduces alien wetland invaders by describing seven of the worst species already introduced to Africa and mentions several others that are potential threats.

There is growing recognition that centralized forest regimes, which exclude local knowledge and customary practices, have not achieved sustainable forest management. Most countries of Eastern and Southern Africa are reviewing and revising policies and laws and restructuring their agencies to accommodate emerging forest management imperatives.