New conservation tax for Mnemba Atoll, Zanzibar.
To support the creation of the restricted zone within the Mnemba Island Special Marine Area, a new conservation tax will apply to all guests staying on the island (at &Beyond Mnemba Island Resort), as well as to all day visitors who come to dive or simply relax off the island.
Implemented by the Mnemba Island Marine Conservation Area (MIMCA), this new conservation tax will fund active monitoring and stronger protection of this regulated zone.
What does this mean for conservation and local communities?
Further protecting this regulated zone should allow fish and coral biodiversity to increase, reef health to recover, and the ecosystem to function more effectively — as is already the case with the current coral reef restoration initiatives.
It will also help improve local livelihoods and community education, as well as food security, based on the potential for additional local fishing.
What does this mean for travellers?
Our clients taking a trip to Zanzibar and staying at &Beyond Mnemba Island can expect fewer boats offshore and a significant reduction in the number of day-trippers on the Mnemba Island House Reef and the Mnemba sandbank.
The tax of 100 USD per person per night will apply to all new bookings made from 1 June 2023.
For day visitors remaining aboard boats, this tax is expected to be around 30/40 USD per person (amount not yet fixed).
This initiative aligns with what Étendues Sauvages has been advocating for nearly twenty years: preserving fragile environments requires limiting the number of visitors, to avoid over-tourism. Securing the financial resources needed for this conservation work therefore means raising taxes, whether directly or indirectly, when they are included in nightly rates and passed on by the properties. Private donors cannot cover everything, so it seems reasonable to us that those who wish to enjoy these exceptional territories should contribute to their preservation and funding.
