The Voice Behind the (Scuba) Mask

Like many teenagers growing up along a coastline, Nyawira Muthiga loved the beach. After her family moved from Kenya to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, weekends were spent swimming, collecting shells, and snorkeling along the shores of the Western Indian Ocean. The reefs that teemed with colorful corals, fish, and turtles captivated her; the jellyfish that stung her brother still stands out in her memory as awakening her to the ocean’s power. 

What began as a fascination for marine life quickly bloomed into a concern for its plight, in the face of over-exploitation and destructive exploitation that consume so much of the world’s marine resources. Muthiga went on to earn her Ph.D. in zoology from the University of Nairobi, and became a marine scientist. Her work with the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Marine Program, which operates collaborative conservation projects to protect seascapes and the animals that inhabit them in more than twenty countries around the world, began in 2003. Today, as the coordinator of the WCS Western Indian Ocean Marine Program, she oversees marine and coastal research and biodiversity conservation programs in Kenya, Tanzania, Seychelles, Mauritius, and Madagascar, with a focus on reconciling the needs of local communities with the region’s conservation priorities for marine wildlife. Her impact on conservation in her native Kenya includes the development of community ecotourism initiatives and effective plans for the management of marine protected areas, as well as an extensive training program for the staff and community representatives serving these zones. Such visionary leadership has helped make her country a model for marine conservation in East Africa.

This fall, at the National Geographic Society’s headquarters in Washington D.C., Muthiga accepted the prestigious 2005 National Geographic Society/Buffett Award for Leadership in African Conservation. The $25,000 prize was awarded by agriculturalist, businessman, and widely published agricultural, humanitarian, and wildlife photographer Howard Buffett. Established through a gift from the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, the annual awards acknowledge the winners’ outstanding work and lifetime contributions that further the understanding and practice of conservation in their countries.

From her office in Mombasa, during a short break between meetings in Nairobi and Washington, D.C., Muthiga took a few moments to express her cautious optimism that collaborative conservation efforts can make a difference in the endangered health of the Western Indian Ocean.

What are the biggest threats to the marine life of the Western Indian Ocean?

The biggest challenges we face are overexploitation and destructive exploitation of coastal resources, driven by poverty and the rapidly increasing coastal populations. This has degraded marine ecosystems and diminished biodiversity, further aggravating poverty.

How does climate change affect the Indian Ocean’s coral reefs?

Climate change has brought about such problems as bleaching-induced mortality of corals. Bleaching occurs when corals are stressed by high temperature or other environmental changes, and lose their symbiotic algal cells. When they lose these cells, which provide the corals with essential nutrients and give them their color, they can die. Reefs are important for livelihoods, and fisheries and tourism, and are the main ecosystem along the eastern African coast as well as fringing many of the islands of the Western Indian Ocean.

In college during the ’70s, I joined an expedition to the Malindi Marine Park—one of the first MPAs (marine protected areas) to be established in Africa—where we dove in a well-protected reef. But over the years, that reef has been completely devastated by the bleaching. It was truly depressing to see such a vibrant and healthy reef reduced almost to the status of an unprotected one.

Recently, coral reefs have received a great deal of attention, especially following the 1997/98 bleaching event that devastated 70 percent of the reefs of the region. Through a regional task force, a coral reef strategy with an emphasis on MPAs is currently under development. Countries in the region are also involved in a globally-targeted reef research project to better understand the impacts of coral bleaching.

How do local efforts to protect such far-ranging species as marine turtles affect their chances for survival as they travel the oceans of the world?

On a local level, we work to protect marine turtles nests at nesting beaches, reduce bycatch through the use of TEDs (Turtle Excluder Devices) on trawl nets, and push legislation that protects turtles and turtle products. However, turtles also face threats while migrating to foraging or nesting grounds; therefore, interventions on a regional scale are needed, too. I am the chairperson of the Kenya Sea Turtle Conservation Committee (KESCOM) and a member of the advisory group for the Indian Ocean South-East Asian Memorandum of Understanding for the conservation and management of sea turtles (an initiative of the Convention on Migratory Species). Last year KESCOM organized a regional turtle workshop, where the main objective was to discuss how the conservation and management of sea turtles can be facilitated in the region. A turtle task force among the Nairobi Convention signatory states has been formed and will be addressing these issues within the Western Indian Ocean.

As the world’s marine resources are consumed at a ravenous pace, how do we protect what’s left?

MPAs have become popular management tools for the conservation of marine habitats and resources. However, several key issues still need to be tackled, including where and how they are established, and whether they fall under community or national management. Once established, MPAs must be continually monitored and evaluated in order for them to work. WCS is involved in many of these efforts in the region. Our 25-year-old MPA monitoring program in Kenya has been operating for longer than any other in the region.
 
Is it really possible to reconcile development and economic interests with conservation, when so many marine resources are depleted or nearly so?

It is not impossible, but must be done carefully. The development of alternatives, the implementation of MPAs, and the sustainable management of fisheries should all help towards this goal. The fact that the community projects we have implemented are thriving is a hopeful sign.
 
What do you plan to do with the funds you won for the Buffett prize?

I have not yet decided, but I’m leaning towards organizing a meeting in Kenya because new legislation to increase the power of local communities to manage marine resources is under discussion. What exactly this means, how it will work, and what process will be followed are questions that need a thorough assessment. Subsequently, appropriate mechanisms must be developed. This will ensure that communities develop the capacity to manage their resources, and ultimately benefit from improved management.

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