Attachment J.2 Additional Background Information.pdf

ATTACHMENT J.2

ATTACHMENT J.2: ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND INFOMATION

Tanzania Country Context As a party to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Tanzania has committed to ambitious national targets for conservation, in line with the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. Aichi Target 11 aimed to safeguard ecosystems, setting a goal that by 2020, 10 percent of coastal and marine areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services, are conserved through effectively and equitably managed, ecologically representative and well connected systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, and integrated into the wider landscapes and seascapes. Countries will update the Aichi targets to call for protecting 30% of marine seascapes by 2030, through the UN Convention on Biodiversity’s Sustainable Development Goals. However, only 3% of Tanzania’s Marine Seascape is currently under protection, falling well short of the CBD commitment of 10%, and the country’s own internal goal of 15%. International best practice recommends 30% of all representative habitats be conserved for optimal results and sustainability.

Though often overlooked in national strategies, the link between wild fisheries and food security is well established in Tanzania and other countries in east and southern Africa. To address demand for livelihoods and for food security, particularly in the context of a growing population, Tanzania has sought to implement policy reforms and in the case of Zanzibar, restructured its government to prioritize Blue Economy goals. Fisheries can provide both sustainable employment and jobs for Tanzania’s youth if communities, the private sector, civil society, and government collaborate to prioritize co-management based on sound science.

Tanzania’s reefs and mangroves can provide ecosystem services such as protection from storms and a sustainable food supply only with effective management of the country's marine resources and biodiversity, given the deleterious effects that global climate change will continue to have on marine ecosystems, in addition to local pressure to extract marine resources unsustainably. To protect reefs and mangroves from further degradation, stakeholders from government, civil society, communities, and the private sector must cooperate to reap the benefits of a network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), the key management strategy for achieving the Government of Tanzania and Zanzibar’s resource management goals and supporting resilience to climate change. Tanzania has prioritized marine conservation as part of its Blue Economy policy, administered through the Zanzibar Ministry of Blue Economy and the mainland Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, each of whom have departments focused on on sustainable fisheries and marine conservation.

Tanzania’s marine ecosystems are home to extensive biodiversity including coral reef systems, mangrove systems, sea grass, and open ocean pelagic systems, home to a diverse array of marine species including sharks and rays, whale sharks, and sea turtles. Coral reefs cover an https://www.cbd.int/sp/targets/ https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2021/07/a-new-global-framework-for-managing-nature-through-2030-1st-detailed-draft-agreement-debuts/ https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2021/07/a-new-global-framework-for-managing-nature-through-2030-1st-detailed-draft-agreement-debuts/ https://biodiversitylinks.org/projects/completed-projects/measuring-impact/resources/fishing-for-food-security-041316_508.pdf https://biodiversitylinks.org/projects/completed-projects/measuring-impact/resources/fishing-for-food-security-041316_508.pdf area of about 3500km2 in Tanzanian waters and contain an estimated 280 species of hard coral, 8,000 species of invertebrates, 1,000 species of fish, five species of marine turtles, 428 species of seaweed, and 44 species of marine birds.1 Much of Zanzibar's 370km coastline is outlined by coral reef systems and the island of Mafia holds the most coral diversity at any one location.2 Mangrove systems exist in all coastal areas of Tanzania, and while the largest mangrove forest in East Africa is located in the Rufiji delta, about 180 km2 are present in Zanzibar which are critical feeding, breeding, and nursery grounds for a great variety of invertebrates and fish due to their innate high productivity.3 In addition, marine fishes provide over 90% of the animal protein needed in Zanzibar4, making the intersection of biodiversity conservation and community resource management a high priority. In particular, the Government of Zanzibar prioritizes the Pemba Channel Conservation Area for near shore fisheries and conservation activities, as well as the four other Marine Protected Areas in the Zanzibar archipelago, including Menai Bay Conservation Area, and the more recently revived Tumbatu Marine Conservation Area, and the Changuu-Bawe Islands Marine Conservation Area. Private MPAs include the Mnemba-Chwaka Bay and Chumbe Island Coral Park Sanctuary. Despite the designation of public reserves such as Changuu-Bawe and Tumbatu, communities and ecosystems have not realized substantial positive results due to minimal implementation, management, and oversight. The Government of Tanzania prioritizes the Mafia Island Marine Park, Tanzania’s oldest and arguably most successful marine sanctuary.

Tanzania’s scores for liberal democracy and open government demonstrate that there are additional gaps that have the potential to erode the country’s biodiversity sector commitments, such as poor access to public information and transparency.

The USAID Tanzania Country Road Map as a whole indicates that there is significant need to build the capacity of the institutions responsible for biodiversity conservation and sustainable management; to build an enabling environment that enables greater collaboration and cooperation across government ministries to address marine conservation challenges; to engage the private sector to support marine biodiversity conservation measures; and to support civil society in these areas. In addition to the Country Road Map’s useful insights into Tanzania’s biodiversity sector as a whole, a context analysis of the threats and drivers of biodiversity loss in the marine sector was still needed to identify USAID’s approach.

1 CBD Fifth National Report - United Republic of Tanzania (English version)

2 TANZANIA BIODIVERSITY AND TROPICAL FORESTRY (FAA 118/119) ASSESSMENT

3 IUCN Aquaculture and Marine Conservation Zanzibar Case Study 4 Zanzibar Blue Economy Policy https://selfreliance.usaid.gov/country/tanzania https://freedomhouse.org/country/tanzania/freedom-world/2020 https://www.cbd.int/doc/world/tz/tz-nr-05-en.pdf https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00TP93.pdf https://www.iucn.org/sites/dev/files/content/documents/zanzibar_case_study_2020.pdf http://planningznz.go.tz/doc/new/BE%20Policy-2020.pdf

Biodiversity and Human Well-being Targets

The biodiversity focal areas for this model include mangroves, sea grass, and coral reef ecosystems and key marine species groups. Research5 illustrates that Tanzania’s reef systems (including mangrove and seagrass areas) are likely to be some of the most resilient to climate change impacts, meriting protection also due to their high biodiversity. To conserve global marine biodiversity, the scientific community has proposed novel conservation strategies including preservation of the 50 most climate resilient reefs, based on their biological and oceanografic features, of which Tanzania’s reefs rank among those with the highest returns on conservation investments.

The situation model identifies key species groups as biological focal interests for conservation, including coral reef and small pelagic fish; sharks and rays, including whale sharks; marine mammals; and sea turtles. The situation model hypothesizes that effective conservation and management of these biodiversity focal interests could promote sustainable fisheries and tourism, improving livelihoods for women and other disadvantaged groups, youth, economic growth, and food security. The process and results of improved resource management are expected to strengthen governance, security, and resilience to change.

USAID/Tanzania Mission Priorities

Through the Heshimu Bahari (Respect the Ocean) contract, the US Government expects to achieve key development goals as outlined in the USAID/Tanzania Country Development and Cooperation Strategy (CDCS 2020-2025). Specifically, the Activity will contribute toward the achievement of:

● Development Objective (DO) 3: Capacity of State and Non-State Actors Strengthened to Benefit Future Generations, and will directly support

○ Intermediate Result (IR) 3.1: Capacity of sub-national governments to lead sustainable development improved

○ IR 3.2: Enabling environment for private sector and CSOs enhanced, and

○ IR 3.3: Capacity and resilience of civil society actors strengthened.

● DO 2: Empowerment, Productivity, and Engagement of Tanzanians Aged 15-35 Increased, supporting IR 2.2 Economic Opportunities Increased.

All DO3 and DO2 activities have the ultimate goal of building a resilient civil society and a vibrant private sector while preserving Tanzania’s natural resource base for future generations. This activity is designed to complement and collaborate with other DO3 and DO2 activities by empowering government and civil society at national and subnational levels while promoting sustainable economic opportunities for Tanzania’s youth.

5https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326034705_Risk-sensitive_planning_for_conserving_coral_reefs_under_rapid_climate_change https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Tanzania_CDCS_2020-2025_Public_1.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Tanzania_CDCS_2020-2025_Public_1.pdf https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326034705_Risk-sensitive_planning_for_conserving_coral_reefs_under_rapid_climate_change https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326034705_Risk-sensitive_planning_for_conserving_coral_reefs_under_rapid_climate_change

Each USAID activity under DO3 has a unique but complementary role to play to address the economic and natural resources challenges facing many Tanzanians economically dependent on wild fisheries. This activity will be closely linked with other implementing activities that respond to the DO3 and DO2 results, intermediate results and sub-IRs. An important role for this activity is to serve a coordinating and convening role at the marine biodiversity sector level, bringing together and working in tandem with other USAID activities and other donor and Government of Tanzania efforts as appropriate. This activity will maximize the potential for all other activities to achieve their development results.

Therefore, the Contractor will be required to collaborate with other USAID activities in the geographic focus areas as it implements activities. This collaboration shall be advanced through, among other things, integrated work plans, common indicators, shared community prioritization criteria, and joint activities.

Compliance with USAID’s Biodiversity Code In order to ensure that USAID meets the legislative directive to support biodiversity conservation, the Agency has established requirements, referred to as the Biodiversity Code, for the use of biodiversity funding. All USAID programs and activities that use biodiversity funds must comply with these requirements or Code. The Code has four key criteria, all of which must be met if the activity is considered a direct biodiversity program:

1. The program must have an explicit biodiversity objective;

2. Activities must be identified based on an analysis of drivers and threats to biodiversity and a corresponding theory of change;

3. Site-based programs must have the intent to positively impact biodiversity in biologically significant areas; and

4. The program must monitor indicators associated with a stated theory of change for biodiversity conservation results.

The US Government approaches biodiversity conservation as a tool to increase broad-based prosperity for all Tanzanians including women and youth. As such, the Activity will operate at both a national level to affect policies and build Tanzanian government capacity, and at a local site-based level to make tangible, evidential improvements leading to positive development outcomes through engagement with the private sector, local community, NGOs, academic/research institutions, and marine management authorities.