THE government has commended the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) through the Nairobi Convention secretariat for its managing of the country’s environmental agenda by funding projects intended to improve the lives of fishing communities in Mkinga District, Tanga Region.

Hamad Yusuf Masauni, the Union and Environment state minister in the Vice President’s Office (VPO) issued this commendation when opening the first meeting of the bureau of the Nairobi Convention in Dar es Salaam yesterday.

Similarly, he expressed gratitude to the UN agency for providing the government with $70,000 to complete an expansion project for the sewage treatment center at Misini in Chake Chake, Pemba.

The coastal area of Tanzania has many marine resources like sandy beaches, rocks, rivers, mangrove forests, wide sea grass, coral reefs and muddy flats, he said, noting that this marine environment supports various types of fish, sharks and rays, turtles and coral reefs, with seagrass and mangroves helpful in environmental protection.

He appealed to member countries to recognize the challenges facing the marine and coastal environment, including climate change, unsustainable fishing, environmental pollution and loss of living organisms, which threatens the health and resilience of ecological systems.

As Tanzania was elected to chair the bureau at its 11th meeting in Madagascar last August, it stands ready to collaborate with other parties to the convention as well as civil society and the private sector in seeking to achieve the shared vision of a healthy, thriving eastern Africa seashore zone.

The participating countries are Tanzania, Comoros, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Madagascar, Seychelles, Somalia, Reunion Islands and South Africa.

The minister said that the government has implemented robust measures to protect marine resources, in efforts aligned with national development goals.

The measures have helped to promote sustainable fisheries management and prevent marine pollution, mitigating the risks of climate change, he said.

The zone provides important ecosystem services including habitat for marine biodiversity, a globally valuable ecosystem and of great benefit to coastal communities, he added.