00:01Husna Aminu and her team are on a mission,
00:04building up new coral reef habitats off Tanzania's coast.
00:08Their efforts are critical to protecting both the ocean's ecosystem
00:12and the livelihoods of millions of Tanzanians.
00:16Kilwa is a rural district on the Indian Ocean.
00:19Its coral reefs provide vital shelter and breeding grounds for fish,
00:24sustaining local fishing communities and food security.
00:28Plus, the reefs are a tourist attraction.
00:32But climate change and overfishing are degrading these vital habitats,
00:36threatening marine life and the local economy.
00:39Enter Action for Ocean, a Tanzanian organization aiming to restore marine life.
00:47Husna Aminu leads the organization's efforts in Kilwa.
00:51While women had largely been left out of conservation,
00:54Husna became one of Tanzania's first female marine experts.
00:57She broke barriers in a male-dominated field,
01:00training scores of female divers and expanding local expertise.
01:06We need a lot of women in the ocean space.
01:09We need our readerships.
01:11We need their voice, their efforts in marine conservation.
01:16So we can inspire other women to do marine conservation
01:20and they can be part of ocean conservation.
01:24Husna grew up near the ocean and had an affinity for marine life from a young age.
01:29But she soon realized how much of it was threatened.
01:32She decided to work in conservation and earned a degree in aquatic science
01:37from the University of Dar es Salaam.
01:41Today, she and her team are conducting surveys of their new coral reef nursery,
01:46aimed at reintroducing corals to previously degraded habitats.
01:53The team reviews the plan for the dive.
02:04From Kilwa's shoreline, they head to the offshore reefs.
02:08After an hour, they finally reach the site.
02:10Here is one of our nursery. It's called Kifinge.
02:14These coral reef nurseries are made of ropes to securely hold coral fragments
02:19and support their growth.
02:20In the water, the team measures the restoration area,
02:24accounting for any expansion or destruction of the nursery.
02:28The team then brushes algae from the ropes,
02:31preventing it from competing for resources with the coral.
02:35Next, using a wooden block, they assign numbers to each plot,
02:39streamlining used for comparing growth during data analysis.
02:42Husna Aminu then records the coral fragments' health
02:45and takes pictures to document the findings.
02:49Just some meters away, it becomes clear why new reef habitats need to be built.
02:54These reefs are nearly dead.
02:56A restoration effort is essential.
02:59Pais Momwaja is an assistant lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam.
03:04He specializes in coral reef ecosystems.
03:07Coral bleaching is a result of rising ocean temperatures due to climate change.
03:11Coral bleaching is when coral becomes white.
03:14If the conditions keep continuing, like if there is an elevated temperature
03:19and it keeps for so long, coral undergo mortality.
03:22When you compare from protected and non-protected,
03:24you find those protected are having some good biodiversity or some good conditions.
03:30But those open access, they are distracted and the mortality is too high.
03:36Fishing is critical to Kilwa's economy, but overfishing has destroyed reef habitats.
03:41This in turn drove away fish, lowering catches even more.
03:46Said Juma struggles to catch fish, but working with Husna's team has made him optimistic.
04:10The divers regularly greet fishermen on their missions, but relations weren't always positive.
04:15So when we started to operate in Kilwa, our community, they felt like we need to take,
04:22to stop them going to the ocean.
04:24They feel like, action for ocean, they are taking our resources.
04:29But after so, their fellow communities are divers,
04:33and the ones who are reading the initiatives, they get more interested.
04:37Beyond their collaboration with fishermen,
04:40the conservationists must train the next generation of divers.
04:56On this expedition, these diving students are aiming to pass their final exam.
05:03The test is the culmination of 10 days of diving, swimming and safety training.
05:09Their dive is a critical simulation, ensuring students have the skills to descend to
05:14and navigate the sea floor to contribute to reef restoration efforts.
05:21After a 40-minute swim, the team has passed.
05:27Graduating student Kundi Julius Kugari entered the program with a passion for Tanzania's marine life.
05:33I wanted to do this because me and my husband have a production company.
05:39Me being here, I believe I could show more to people through visuals
05:46and how we can bring the coral life back and save part of the marine life.
05:54With temperatures continuing to rise,
05:57over 70% of Tanzania's coral reef habitats could degrade by 2050,
06:02putting 5 to 10 billion dollars in annual economic value from reef-dependent activities at risk.
06:10Huzna believes more has to be done to increase awareness amongst Tanzanians.
06:17We have a beautiful ocean, but most people do not have direct access to interact,
06:23see the beautiful of it, change the narrative.
06:25We need to inspire more young people to come into the ocean
06:29and make the conservation efforts and enjoy the beauty of the ocean.
06:33In spreading the word, Huzna Amunu and her team
06:37take another step towards helping Kilwa's reefs flourish for generations to come.
