Challenges of coastal area management in coastal developing countries—lessons from the proposed Rufiji delta prawn farming project, Tanzania

Many developing countries are characterized by a poor economy and thus very small foreign earnings. As an effort to improve their economies most of these countries have adopted liberalization policies under the guidance of the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). However, these policies are increasingly becoming the source of conflicts over access to and resource use because they do not give proper consideration to the interests of the local communities. Additionally, projects that are known to be socially as well as environmentally destructive in nature are also taking advantage of liberalization policies to try to relocate their activities to Africa. This is a big challenge to African countries especially when the project is considered to offer an important opportunity to stir up the economy. Tanzania recently experienced such a challenge after a private investor proposed to develop an extensive prawn farm in Rufiji delta. The Rufiji delta is located in southern Tanzania and is the largest delta in eastern Africa. It contains the largest estuarine mangrove forest on the eastern coast of the African continent, and numerous other conservation and socio-economic values. Thus it is an ecologically and socially sensitive area. The project proposal caused many conflicts and was strongly opposed by local communities, environmentalists, social activists, and some government departments. However, it was given high priority by the central government, the reason behind being the estimated total export earnings that could be as much as US$500 million per year, more than double the countryʹs total export earnings from other exports. It was also estimated that the project would create 2000 jobs for local communities. Following the crisis over the project, Tanzania started developing an Integrated Coastal Area Management (ICAM) policy as well as mariculture guidelines. It is hoped that given the level of awareness on ICAM in Tanzania, when these are in operation, will help to eliminate or reduce conflicts. However, revisiting the crisis over the project indicates that Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process, reviews of EIA, public participation and awareness, and a good ICAM policy should be backed-up by strong political will and commitment to a healthy environment on the part of decision makers, and truthfulness and fairness on the part of investors.