Menai Bay Conservation Area
The Menai Bay Conservation Area (MBCA) is located in Menai Bay, Zanzibar Tanzania. At , it is Zanzibar's largest marine protected area. It was officially established as a conservation area in August 1997 in the traditional fishing area, known as Unguja Island, covering the tropical marine environment comprising extensive coral reefs, tropical fish, sea grasses, and mangrove forests. In addition to controlling illegal fishing, MBCA's alternative initiatives have included bee keeping, mangrove replanting, tree nurseries and tourism. The management of the MBCA falls upon the Fisheries Department and the bay's local villages. It is rated by the IUCN as Category VI Managed Resource Protected Area. The conservation project started operating one year after it was formally established. The project was initiated by WWF and has been fully supported with funds by USAID, the British Government and Switzerland. It is a participatory project with community of 19 villages in the project area actively involved in pursuing the conservation efforts, and to this end they have set up village level Conservation Committees to restrain illegal fishing using circular nets and blasting techniques. Of all the villages, the villagers of Kizimkazi on the eastern part of the project area have been successful in