Chumbe Island to highlight private sector role in Marine Conservation

Chumbe Island Coral Park (CHICOP) will participate in the Twelfth Conference of the Parties (COP12) to the Nairobi Convention, taking place in Dar es Salaam from 6–9 October 2026.

COP12 marks the 40th anniversary of the Nairobi Convention and is being held under the theme “Towards Sustainable Blue Economy in the Western Indian Ocean for people and nature: A journey of Forty Years.” The conference brings together governments, regional institutions, civil society, scientists and the private sector to advance sustainable development and marine and coastal conservation in the Western Indian Ocean.

A key focus of this year’s COP is stronger private-sector engagement in the Blue Economy. The programme includes high-level ministerial dialogues, a Blue Economy Business Forum, anniversary celebrations, Women and Youth events, exhibitions and numerous side events. Governments will also review progress under the Nairobi Convention Programme of Work for 2025–2028 and consider key decisions for the next phase of regional cooperation.

Sibylle Riedmiller, Founder of Chumbe Island Coral Park, will represent CHICOP in two COP12 events.

On 7 October, she will participate in the Blue Economy Business Forum: “Investing in the Blue Frontier” as the only speaker representing Coastal and Marine Tourism in the Western Indian Ocean region. The Business Forum is part of the official COP12 programme and is organised by the Vice President’s Office of the Government of Tanzania.

She will also contribute to the side event “From Mandate to Action: Demonstrating Multi-Stakeholder Progress in Advancing Ocean Governance in the Western Indian Ocean” on 8 October.

The session examines how governments, private-sector actors, civil society, development partners and research institutions can translate regional commitments into practical action for a sustainable Blue Economy.

Chumbe Island Coral Park (CHICOP) will additionally host its own COP12 side event on 9 October, x“From Reducing Plastic to Protecting Marine Biodiversity: Strengthening Tourism’s Contribution to a Sustainable Western Indian Ocean”

The event will examine how tourism businesses can move beyond reducing their environmental footprint to making an active contribution to marine conservation and ocean governance.

It will showcase two complementary approaches. The first is the REDUCE Guidelines for Zanzibar, developed by CHICOP and Blue Impact Network together with the Zanzibar Commission for Tourism (ZCT), with support from the European Union and the German Government through the StawiBluu programme implemented by GIZ. The guidelines translate international good practice into practical measures for tourism businesses, particularly through reducing plastic at source through procurement and operational choices.

The session will also introduce a new technical paper, “Private Sector Contribution to the Protection and Sustainable Use of Coastal and Marine Biodiversity: The Chumbe Island Exemplar for Private Protected Area Management.” The paper documents how private-sector engagement can go beyond improving business operations or providing conservation finance to supporting effective conservation management. Chumbe Island provides a long-standing regional example of tourism revenues supporting marine protected area management, ecological monitoring, environmental education and local livelihoods.

The discussion will bring together the Zanzibar Commission for Tourism, tourism businesses participating as REDUCE pioneers, Chumbe Island Coral Park and Blue Impact Network. It will examine practical experiences, barriers and enabling conditions, and explore opportunities for replication across the Western Indian Ocean—from reducing environmental impacts and transforming business practices, through sustainable supply chains, to actively supporting conservation and marine protected area management.

CHICOP’s participation at COP12 reflects its long-standing experience of demonstrating that tourism and marine conservation can be mutually reinforcing. Established in the early 1990s when the concept of marine protected areas was still new to Zanzibar, Chumbe pioneered a model in which tourism provides the financial basis for the management of a fully protected marine and forest ecosystem, while generating employment, education and wider local economic benefits.

Official COP12 programme: Nairobi Convention COP12 Programme

Further information & social media

Chumbe Island Coral Park (CHICOP) www.chumbeisland.com

Contact: Sibylle Riedmiller sibylle@chumbeisland.com