I recently spent 3 weeks living on Uzi Island, off the coast of Zanzibar, in Tanzania, East Africa The time I spent there was documenting the Uzi Island Sea Turtle Conservation project, that is being set up by local Uzians. Aliy and Iss-haka, who are behind the project, have been working long hours not only to try and raise funding to work on their project, but also to tray and change the viewpoints of their fellow Uzians, and teach them the importance of preserving the coastline, marine life, and in particular the turtles. It's been a battle for them to try and convince the local fishermen to hand over turtles rather than killing them for food. Aliy and Iss-haka have managed to see their project come to life over the past 12 months with a sanctuary area being built for rescued turtles to live in safely until they are released. Some local tour companies have been supporting them with raising the funds to do this, and they hope to work with them in the future to provide eco-tourism tours from Zanzibar to Uzi Island. The photographs I have taken over the past few weeks will be used to build a website for the Uzi Island Turtle Conservation project, which I will share on this blog once it is launched. In the meantime, here are some photos from my time there:
© Anna Fawcus
Uzi Island, 2011
