The
coastal zone of Zanzibar, Tanzania, is culturally, socially,
economically, and ecologically unique but there is a lack of baseline
information about its state characteristics as a whole. This paper
provides a holistic assessment of the environmental and socio-economic
settings of the Zanzibar coastal zone with its unusual physiographic
characteristics and key habitats such as coral reefs, mangroves, and
seagrass meadows. The human livelihood of Zanzibar is unmistakably
coastal with its many cultural adaptations but the most recent decades
have shown drastic changes in the prevailing seaborne and coastal
activities. This development has not been without disputes among the
different interest groups. The driver-pressure-state-impact-response
approach allows to scrutinize the socio-ecological system circles of the
Zanzibar coastal zone. Systematically, the approach provides interlink
of the drivers and with their impacts on the socio-economic systems and
the appropriate responses necessary to combat the impacts. The main
drivers identified to be the population increase, urbanization with
settlement expansion, and the rapid expansion of the shore-dwelling
tourism with its associated infrastructures. These factors are adversely
impacting the coastal and marine nature and the traditional
socio-economic systems. The Zanzibar government has put forward several
initiatives to protect the health of the coastal ecosystems and the
endurance of the traditional cultures. The effective implementation of
measures, for example, the Zanzibar Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning
as part of the National Land Use Plan, have not yet been sufficient to
restore the situation. However, there are also signs of commitment being
fostered and an improvement in the know-how for making changes. We
conclude by asserting the need for coastal and marine spatial planning
as the holistic and robust approach for sustainable coastal and marine
planning while emphasizing community participation throughout the
process.