CASE STUDY 4 Tanzania: Chumbe Island – private management of a marine protected area Challenge: Growing pressure on nature Enablers used: Infrastructure; finance; technology and innovation; people and skills; policy and governance In the early 1990s, Chumbe Island off Zanzibar faced escalating threats to its coral reefs, mangroves and forest habitats. Overfishing, weak enforcement capacity and coastal development placed the ecosystem at risk, while limited government resources constrained conservation efforts. A private non-profit initiative established the island as a marine sanctuary and forest reserve in 1994, making it the first privately managed marine protected area in the region. Revenues from a small eco-lodge finance the conservation programme, including ranger patrols, reef monitoring and mangrove restoration, with scientific surveys documenting more than 470 reef fish species and higher coral cover compared to adjacent fished reefs.47 Local community members were trained as rangers and hospitality staff, generating new skills and stable employment, while structured education programmes reached more than 12,000 students, teachers and community members, embedding conservation values in coastal communities.48 Eco-lodge income remains the primary funding source for operations, demonstrating that tourism can directly sustain protected area management without reliance on external donors.49 Chumbe illustrates how the private sector can finance, govern and operate ecosystem-based tourism in ways that deliver conservation, education and livelihoods simultaneously. CASE STUDY 5 Egypt: Siwa Oasis – private initiative for heritage and ecotourism Challenge: Growing pressure on nature; cultural and heritage dynamics Enablers used: Infrastructure; finance; technology and innovation; people and skills; policy and governance Siwa Oasis in Egypt’s Western Desert is renowned for its palm groves, springs and mud-brick architecture, but it faces fragile ecological conditions and risks from unplanned development. Tourism remained underdeveloped, while traditional crafts and building methods were in decline. Private investors from within the community initiated heritage- based tourism projects, restoring vernacular architecture and developing eco-lodges that used local materials and low- impact design. These initiatives created employment for local residents, with surveys showing that most capital investment in Siwa came from small local tourism projects in hotels, restaurants and guiding enterprises.50 Craft revival and training programmes improved opportunities for women and youth, while surveys of stakeholders found that 95% identified natural tourism as the main attraction and 61% viewed personal community networks as the most important marketing channel.51 Tourism to Egypt grew strongly in the late 2010s, with national arrivals reaching more than 6.1 million in the first seven months of 2018 compared to 4.3 million the year before, and Siwa captured a share of this rebound by positioning itself as a sustainable desert destination.52 Environmentally restored mud-brick structures and traditional building techniques reduced pressure on fragile ecosystems while preserving cultural identity. Siwa demonstrates how private initiative can mobilize capital, skills and heritage resources to anchor ecosystem-based tourism in a vulnerable desert environment. Beyond Tourism: Coordinated Pathways to Inclusive Prosperity 16

Beyond Tourism Coordinated Pathways to Inclusive Prosperity 2025