SwAM Ocean workshop, November 24–27 2025
The Indian Ocean outside Jambiani shimmer in shifting shades of turquoise — as if the sea itself is breathing. In the heart of Menai Bay Marine Conservation Area, the horizon opened wide, inviting us to four days of reflection, learning and development. Along this coastline, those who carry the responsibility of safeguarding Zanzibar’s marine water meet to join minds and strengthen the marine management.
They arrived from all five Marine Conservation Areas — managers, rangers, planners and practitioners — united by a single challenge: How do we protect a pressured ocean in a time of scarce resources, rising demands and rapidly changing ecosystems? This question became the foundation of the training organised by the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management and the consultant FOS Europe, designed to strengthen adaptive, effective management and help teams make confident, evidence-based decisions in an uncertain world
Where challenges become motivation
Dr. Makame, director at the Department of Marine Conservation, opened the workshop by acknowledging both the achievements and the struggles. The Department of Marine Conservation is still young, striving toward a sustainable Blue Economy while operating with limited staff and funding.
But there is progress worth celebrating. In just five years, the number of rangers has grown from ten to more than sixty. Patrol systems are stronger. Partnerships are expanding. And for the first time, MCA revenues are flowing back into local communities — small steps that build trust, pride and shared stewardship.
Still, the pressure is mounting. Tourism is affecting coral ecosystems more than ever before. Climate change is no longer abstract. And global goals like target 3, in the Global Biodiversity Framework with the aim to protect 30 % of the marine ecosystems to 2030, push everyone to think bigger, act faster and collaborate more deeply.
Understanding what truly matters
The heart of the workshop lay in the conversations that unfolded:
What values are we protecting? What threatens them? And what actions will truly make the greatest difference?
In lively breakout groups, MCA teams mapped their biodiversity values — coral reefs, mangroves, seagrass meadows — and the human well-being values they sustain: livelihoods, food security, culture, identity.
For many, this brought a moment of clarity:
“Now I truly see what we are managing for.”
Step by step, they built goals, analysed threats, and assessed climate vulnerabilities. Some exercises sparked lively debates; others brought quiet moments of insight. But the energy stayed high — a shared sense that this work was not theoretical but urgently real.
Adapting with evidence-base
As the days unfolded, result chains and Theory of Change models began to fill the walls — each one a roadmap from action to impact. Monitoring emerged as the compass of adaptive management, guiding teams when to stay the course and when to adjust.
Monitoring emerged as the backbone of adaptive management — not as a bureaucratic task, but as the compass that tells whether the team should stay the course or adjust direction. The group practised scoring progress and evaluating the effectiveness of their strategies. Some strategies were on track. Others needed rethinking. But the atmosphere was open, honest and hopeful. Everyone recognised the core truth of adaptive management: it is not about being right from the start — it is about learning, improving and moving forward together.
One participant summed it up beautifully:
“We can only protect the ocean if we keep learning from it.”
One ocean, shared responsibility
When the workshop ended, the turquoise sea beyond Jambiani looked the same — calm, bright, and infinite Yet something had shifted. The participants left with clearer priorities,stronger bonds and a renewed sense of commitment to their marine areas and communities.
Zanzibar’s seas face immense challenges, but they hold extraordinary resilience. And with managers, rangers, communities and partners joining forces across islands, organisations and cultures, the path toward safeguarding this ocean grows brighter every day.
Because one ocean can only be protected together — and in Zanzibar, the hands willing to protect it are m any, determined and ready.
Contact us
For further information, please email jenny.hertzman@havochvatten.se
SwAM Ocean is a program under the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management that aims to strengthen an effective and adaptive management in marine and coastal areas to preserve biodiversity and sustainable exploitation of marine resources for future generations.
