The Grass Underwater Project

More than half of the seagrass cover in the ocean has been lost since 1977. This is due to numerous anthropogenic pressures that threaten the existence of seagrass beds. Most findings report that pollution, coastal developments and boat anchoring have for decades been the major cause of seagrass loss in many areas including the Indian Ocean. Seagrass are one of the most overlooked marine ecosystems, worse enough is that local coastal communities are not even aware of the roles and importance of seagrass and on how to conserve seagrass. The UNEP reports that globally 7% of the seagrass cover is lost every year equivalent to a football field of seagrass cover lost every 30 minutes. There is a possibility of losing seagrass beds completely in the next 10 years if no actions are taken. THE GRASS UNDERWATER PROJECT has a goal to make seagrass a familiar habitat to everyone so as it’s no longer overlooked but given the spotlight it deserves through raising awareness to the community, performing seagrass bed monitoring, research, conservation, protection and restoration also it will aid to protection of Tanzania Marine endangered spp like sea cow and sea turtles whose existence greatly depends on seagrass for food and shelter.

Project type: Blue carbon ecosystem restoration/ Natural Based Solution  

Project status: ongoing