A milestone in our next important project, we have started the first stage of the set up of the Kinyika Co-Managed Marine Area (CMA). This stage involves meeting with key stakeholders, discussing the concept of the CMA, identifying resources Kinyika provides the community, and brainstorming how best to protect it. We have identified 10 key Beach Management Units (BMUs) that use the resources around Kinyika, and plan to meet with each group individually to set up the core committee.
Our first BMU meeting was in Matondoni village and we were joined by our partners in this project; Blue Ventures.. The main objectives were to address the importance of Kinyika to the people and the marine ecosystem at large, and introduce the concept of protecting the area through a cooperative working co-management approach. We also touched on adding value to fisheries and livelihood diversification, It was vital to empower the members to openly discuss their views and we had a fruitful meeting that received positive feedback on how they can help manage our marine resources without damaging the marine ecosystem, allowing it to prosper now and for our future generations.
We are looking forward to hold our next 9 BMU meetings in communities that are stakeholders in Kinyika & we hope together we can make the Lamu marine conservation system a sustainable one.
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