REGREENING BEACH PROGRAM
Introduction
Environmental Conservation Community of Tanzania (ECCT) focused on working from grassroot levels in the community to address the issue of environmental pollution as a major global crisis we are facing now and advocating for a solution towards sustainable environmental conservation activities. Since our existence in 2020 we have been the champion for communities and schools capacity building and raising awareness on best practices for solid waste management and curbing ocean plastic pollution. Through community and beach cleanups as core activities we engage local communities and schools on local waste management solutions and climate change adaptation measures that help the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and provide environmental, social and economic benefits to people of Tanzania.
ECCT believes in the power of collective action to create lasting change. ECCT works in collaboration with a number of communities and fellow CBOs, NGOs, Government and Private Sectors. It is through community leadership that we can understand local needs and sticking points, draw on local stories, and sustainable objectives in order to build an effective coalition that can work toward Cleaner, greener, healthier environment and thriving communities together.
Regreening beach program
Action oriented program purposely in addressing the issue of ocean plastic pollution and coastal ecosystem degradation through community capacity building in coastal ecosystem conservation, engaging on nature conservation best practices and restoration activities such as beach cleanups, establishment of nursery trees and planting trees along the coastal of Tanzania Mainland.
Regreening beach program goal is to raise community awareness in coastal ecosystem restoration and advocate for nature based solutions in promoting restoration best practices for coastal ecosystem protection against climate change impacts,plastic pollution and loss of biodiversity
Program objectives
- To promote community awareness in coastal ecosystem conservation activities.
- To remove ocean plastic waste through beach cleanup activities
- To promote coastal ecosystem rehabilitation activities through planting coastal native species trees and removing alien species.
- Promoting sustainable harvest for natural resources from coastal ecosystem products (food, medicine and trade)
- Promote domestication of wild plants used for foods, medicine and trade focusing on the plants native to the coastal area. ( Establishment of nursery trees for coastal ecosystem native species.
Beach cleanup
Beach clean-up is our commitment in protecting and restoring the world’s ocean and promoting long term behavior change through engaging grassroot local communities in environmental conservation activities which contribute to ending plastic pollution and adapting and mitigating climate change crisis.
Beach cleanup gathered more than 200 people including volunteers and all invited participants in the event from Jogging clubs, University students, organizations, government, and the Mbezi Beach neighborhood. Through beach cleanup we managed to collect 180 bags of waste equivalents to 1800 kg of waste. The waste and brand audits performed during beach cleanup shows unsustainable status of waste production and waste management along the Mbezi beach area neighborhood and Dar es salaam city. Manufacturing companies are responsible for the over packaging practices that perpetuate a massive plastic production, which in turn translates into pollution that overwhelms communities and our ocean.
Tree planting
20 tree seedlings were planted along the Mbezi beach B’ neighborhood coastline . These trees once they are grown are hugely important as it maintains the stability of soils that are vital in limiting erosion risk around the area and it also helps to trap more sediments and waste and prevent them from reaching ocean ecosystems.
Establishment of coastal tree nursery bed
Through the regreening beach program we established a tree nursery bed in Mbezi beach B neighborhood for optimizing opportunities on yielding more tree nurseries, so that we make sure there are sufficient trees for planting in this program and other planting trees initiatives. The established nursery tree beds were launched by Kinondoni district commissioner. Mr Godwin Gondwe. The head of Kinondoni district during the launch of tree nursery established by ECCT he emphasized on planting more trees, “he said that, due to the effects of climate change we have contributed significantly to insufficient of rain seasons and its affecting livelihood everyday and it’s my decree that, each ward and subwards in Kinondoni municipality to start setting aside areas for establishment of the tree nurseries to support the availability of trees to be planted in various areas with the aim of greening our beach and protecting our environment .
ECCT executive director on her Remark speeches during the launch of tree nurseries, she said, “ We have launched a tree nursery. This program is our efforts to restore and conserve our beach to fight against climate change, plastic pollution and ultimately to have healthy, clean and green idyllic coastal areas in Dar es salaam”. She added ECCT as a major private sector stakeholder in the implementation of forest ecosystem conservation as indicated in national forest policy of 1993 after being amended, showing us and everyone to be responsible in the joint management and development of forests as we have shown in our event today.
Our urgent call to all environmental stakeholders to continue to encourage the issue of participation in environmental conservation activities in our communities, especially tree planting, in order to continue to develop the spirit and responsibility of each of us to take care and protect our environment to be resilient and withstand the impact of climate change, plastic pollution and loss of biodiversity.
Coastal conservation edutainment from Msimamo theater group
Regreening beach program not only focuses on hand getting dirty activities, but also we share the knowledge and conservation best practices through fun and entertaining activities and this has huge potential of capturing attention to different audiences and easier insemination of environmental conservation knowledge to a larger audience. This edutainment was performed by Msimamo theater group by sharing their environmental conservation message through songs, dance and acrobatics.
Program Impacts
- Through the program activities such as beach cleanup, planting trees and the launching of the tree nurseries we gathered more than 200 people who joined our regreening beach program. These people are from Jogging clubs, University students, international and local organizations, government, private sector and the Mbezi Beach neighborhood. Through Beach clean-ups we collected 180 bags of waste and more than 200 people volunteered for the event to clean the beach and impacted with conservation knowledge shared via education on marine conservation activities. This was a huge learning opportunity in promoting and strengthening nature conservation best practice capacity of local government, NGOs, CBOs, private sector and communities.
- Establishment of one (1) coastal tree nursery bed and planted 20 tree seedlings along the Mbezi beach B’ neighborhood coastline . ECCT established this nursery tree bed purposely for preparation of sufficient coastal tree seedling required for regreening beach program implementation in Dar es salaam city. 20 trees planted during the event, once they are grown, is hugely important as it maintains the stability of soils that are vital in limiting erosion risk around the area and it also helps to trap more sediments and waste and prevent them from reaching ocean ecosystems.
Conclusion
Regreening beach program is the part of coastal forest ecosystem restoration which is vital for supporting community livelihood through profit generation including fresh water, clean air, food, and other resources. The restoration of our coastal ecosystem through regreening beach program will impact the growth of industries in fisheries, forestry and agriculture that can flourish for hundreds years, if managed sustainably.
It seems impossible to actualize green beaches or revive coastal biodiversity and ecosystems impacted by climate change and plastic pollution, but it is a challenge that will best be met by contribution from many individual people, communities and institutions, including government.
