Nairobi, Kenya. Tanzania has called for greater inclusion of coastal communities, especially women, youth and marginalised small-scale fishers in climate resilience and natural resource management, stressing that lasting environmental protection requires both scientific and Indigenous knowledge.
Speaking at a side event on December 09,2025, during the Seventh Session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-7), Permanent Secretary in the Vice President’s Office, Cyprian Luhemeja, said meaningful participation and fair benefit-sharing must be placed at the centre of conservation efforts.
The session carried the theme “Harnessing science and Indigenous knowledge for climate resilience and nature action: A focus on peatlands and coral reefs.”
Luhemeja said Tanzania is working to ensure communities are not only protected but also empowered.
“Inclusiveness means going beyond ecological interventions and making sure coastal communities especially women, youth and marginalised groups play a meaningful role in decision-making, management and benefit-sharing,” he said.
He outlined several ongoing initiatives. The first is strengthening community rights and co-management systems by expanding and empowering Beach Management Units (BMUs) and Collaborative Fisheries Management Units.
These units, he said are being supported to ensure leadership structures include women, youth, and minority groups. Tanzania is also providing training in governance, financial management, conflict resolution, and linking communities with researchers and national authorities.
“The second area is improving livelihoods through fair and equitable benefit-sharing. This includes supporting women-led seaweed farming, value addition initiatives, and wider market access” he said.
He also said ensuring inclusive participation in local planning processes and promoting equity in education and capacity building through training in monitoring, boat handling, digital mapping, ecotourism management and entrepreneurship. Tanzania is also integrating climate resilience and social safeguards into coastal programmes.
“These measures are both an environmental necessity and an issue of social justice,” Luhemeja said. “By empowering communities and combining scientific and Indigenous knowledge, Tanzania is strengthening climate resilience and safeguarding nature.”
UNEP consultant on Indigenous Peoples and coastal ecosystems, Chris Poonian, emphasised that reef conservation cannot succeed if Indigenous knowledge remains marginalised.
“Just and effective reef conservation will only succeed if Indigenous knowledge is placed at the centre, not the margins,” he said.
He added that research shows Indigenous methods are not merely cultural practices but the foundation of coral reef stewardship.
“For millennia, Indigenous knowledge has protected ecosystems around the world, yet in many places these practices are not recognised in law,” he noted.
He called for formal recognition of Indigenous systems within national legislation, integration of their authorities in marine management, and ensuring free, prior and informed consent for decisions affecting ancestral waters.
Marine biologist and youth representative of the Indigenous People of Guna Yala in Panama, Susania Avila Misselis, shared how young people are merging traditional knowledge with modern science.
She said young Guna women are leading community conservation work, scientific partnerships, and education to protect coral reefs.
The combination of ancestral wisdom with scientific tools, such as underwater monitoring and species assessments has strengthened conservation outcomes, she explained.
UN Environment’s Director of Ecosystems Division, Susan Gardner, highlighted global examples where traditional practices improve modern environmental management.
She cited Indigenous fire crews in Canada who work alongside local fire departments to revive cultural fire-management approaches, supported by satellite-based systems. “Indigenous knowledge is essential, and we are seeing the best results when it is combined with science,” she said