New tools to help manage coastal resources

A Tanzanian atlas of coastal and marine resources, expected to be of considerable benefit to NGOs, local planners and environmental resource managers, was launched last week in the Tanzanian capital, Dar es Salaam, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

The atlas and an accompanying Geographic Information Systems (GIS) database on the coastal environment contain information on the resources of the 800 km Tanzania coastline fronting the Indian Ocean - from Kenya in the north at 4°38'S to Mozambique in the south at 10°30'S, including the offshore islands of Zanzibar (Unguja and Pemba) and Mafia, to the south.

The atlas presented a "profile of areas of intense use" along the coastline which require careful management, according to a UNEP briefing note. The atlas also provided scenarios and consequences of specific decisions on resource use in the coastal environment and indicated gaps in the knowledge and information base, suggesting priority areas for research and investigation, it said.

The GIS database would provide data and information to planners and decision-makers from institutions and specialised agencies in Tanzania, including the Marine Parks and Reserves Unit, Department of Archives, Museum and Antiquities, and the National Environment Management Council, UNEP stated.

The system would allow the production of different thematic maps to meet the demands of the users - such as provision of base maps for conservation areas and critical habitats, development of emergency contingency plans in case of an accidental oil spill, and identification of action priority areas and hotspots. http://www.unep.org/MediaRoom/information/Default.asp.

An accompanying textbook will be of immense benefit to users such as park managers, fishing cooperatives, NGOs and environmental resource managers, local administrators, tourists, hoteliers, teachers and the general public, according to UNEP.

Two thousand copies of the atlas are to be distributed to Tanzanian government ministries and departments, local authorities, NGOs, the private sector, academic institutions, libraries, subregional and national environmental authorities in Eastern Africa and the general public.

The production of the atlas and database was part of a broader Eastern African Action Plan on the management and protection of coastal resources, which UNEP's Division of Early Warning is coordinating at a regional level.

Kenya launched the atlas textbook and its set of coastal resource maps in 1998, while Comoros, Mozambique and Seychelles are still in the process of implementing the project.