Support for the ecotourism development of Mohéli and the strengthening of the Ulanga Associations

Tourism is underdeveloped in the Comoros, yet the archipelago offers undeniable potential. As such, from its creation in 2001, Mohéli Marine Park (PMM) identified ecotourism as one of the main means of conserving the island’s biodiversity, through the development of income-generating activities for communities and public awareness-raising. The PMM has therefore paired its environmental surveillance and protection activities with the development, by village communities, of a network of small reception, information and accommodation facilities across several localities on the island.

In 2005, the creation of the Mohéli Ecotourism House (MEM) aimed to bring stakeholders together and define a shared strategy for developing ecotourism on the island.

Initially supported by the Multi-annual Micro-Project Programme (PPMR, 9th EDF), the MEM is a young structure that still requires support. This project therefore proposes to bring the PMM and the MEM together around FADESIM in order to develop ecotourism on Mohéli.

A specific action will target the island’s environmental protection associations (Ulanga associations), which are numerous but poorly organised.

The project’s specific objectives are to develop and promote ecotourism on Mohéli as an alternative to activities destructive to forest, marine and coastal environments; to promote the sites, ecotourism products and the destination at regional level; to contribute to environmental education for school and university students; to professionalise village-level tourism stakeholders; and to strengthen the capacities of the Ulanga Associations in biodiversity protection and fisheries management, in and around the park.