Healthy Seagrass, Healthy People

Imagine working on an international project, conducting research, taking samples, analysing, discussing and arranging your findings and then writing a set of reports that end up on someone’s desk. And then they end up under the next report. And then the report after that. For Kyle Smith, a marine ecologist at the Scientific Services Division of South African National Parks (SANParks), this is the worst possible way for a project to end. Fortunately, the SOMWAT project is designed to have a more sustainable impact. To learn how science informs communities and management, Kyle shares his perspective as part of the MeerWissen project SOMWAT.

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Conserving Tanzania’s Migratory Eels and Community Livelihoods

Uncategorized / Sven Stöbener

Migratory eels are vital to Tanzania’s freshwater and marine ecosystems, but their survival is threatened by habitat loss, sedimentation, and unsustainable fishing practices. Along rivers like the Rufiji, these challenges also impact local livelihoods. The MeerWissen project BIOEELS-TZ works to conserve migratory eels through research, community education, and promoting sustainable practices.

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Assessing the biodiversity of eels (BIOEELS-TZ)

Latest / Sven Stöbener

BIOEELS-TZ followed an interdisciplinary approach to bridge knowledge gaps through a better understanding of the impacts of fisheries and other economic activities on migratory eels.

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People and boats at the coast of Zanzibar

New Digital Technologies for Marine Biodiversity Data Handling in East Africa – Data Linking People (NeDiT)

Uncategorized / Sven Stöbener

NeDiT aims to improve the handling of marine biodiversity data and facilitate policymaking in marine resource management in East Africa using innovative digital technologies.

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NeDiT: Data Linking People

Uncategorized / Stephen Iwanowsky

Eastern African coasts are characterised by intensive use of coastal resources, threatening biodiversity, ecosystem functions and services. Despite various efforts and some successes in marine resource management and biodiversity conservation over the past two decades, the status of biological resources and the rate of ecosystem change often remain unclear, due to limited reliable information. The

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BIOEELS-TZ: Assessing the biodiversity of eels

Uncategorized / Stephen Iwanowsky

A noticeable lack of knowledge regarding the identification, distribution and other ecological information concerning eels has been observed in East Africa, particularly in Tanzania and neighbouring countries. In Tanzania, eel species have never been the focus of fisheries science, resulting in a general lack of information regarding their biological dynamics and ecological needs. The management

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FIDEA: Fishing Data East Africa

Uncategorized / Stephen Iwanowsky

Artisanal fisheries are crucial for the livelihoods of coastal communities in East Africa, contributing to poverty reduction and economic development in the region. Yet overexploitation and destructive fishing activities continuously harm the coastal and marine ecosystems, and the lack of data hinders an effective and sustainable fisheries management in the region. Fishing Data East Africa

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PAMO: Participatory Modeling for Nature-based Solutions in the WIO-Region

Latest / Stephen Iwanowsky

Tropical coastal ecosystems in the Western Indian Ocean region are under enormous pressure from increasing resource use, environmental degradation, and global climate change. This impedes their huge potential for mitigating the effects of climate change and their provision of a wide range of economic and non-monetary values to local communities. PAMO provides policymakers with decision

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SOMWAT: Mitigating Watershed Pollution by Coastal Seagrass Meadows

Latest / Stephen Iwanowsky

Coastal habitats such as seagrass meadows, coral and sponge reefs, and mussel banks provide numerous livelihood benefits for local populations. Their ability to act as filters that improve coastal water quality is often underappreciated but represents an important ecosystem service that affects “blue” economic developments. In this context, SOMWAT especially looks at the socio-ecological role

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