Chumbe Island Coral Park
A small island off Zanzibar that became the world's first privately established and managed marine protected area, declared in 1994. Seven solar-powered eco-bungalows, a fully protected coral reef of more than 200 coral species, and a strict cap on guest numbers to keep the ecosystem intact.
Chumbe Island lies off the west coast of Zanzibar, and its status is unusual: set up by Sibylle Riedmiller and declared in 1994, it was the first privately established marine protected area in the world, and the first to fund itself through tourism rather than grants.
The reef is the reason for all of it. More than 200 species of coral and over 500 of fish live in the sanctuary, and diving is not permitted anywhere in the marine park: snorkelling only, which keeps the contact light. A 16-hectare forest reserve covers the rest of the island, home to the giant coconut crab among other things.
There are seven eco-bungalows, and no more than fourteen overnight guests at a time. The bungalows are built from renewable materials, run on solar power, collect and filter their own rainwater and compost their waste: closed loops rather than gestures.
The island is staffed and managed by Zanzibaris from the local fishing community, and the profits from tourism are reinvested into the park’s conservation and education programmes. A stay here is, fairly literally, the funding model.
