Coastal and Marine Resource Development (COMRED)

Securing coastal livelihoods. Sustaining marine ecosystems.

🌊 The Challenge

For most coastal families, the ocean isn’t just a view; it’s their livelihood. Nearly 80% of rural coastal communities we serve depend on marine resources to survive.
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But the ecosystems that sustain them are under pressure. Poverty, weak resource governance, overfishing, habitat degradation, and climate change continue to erode both livelihoods and biodiversity.
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In our target areas, 47.4% of people live below the poverty line, compared to the national average of 36.1%. With few alternative sources of income, communities depend even more on the very resources already stretched thin, creating a cycle of overdependence and decline.

Discover our Story

🌿 The Solution

We tackle poverty and livelihood challenges by diversifying income sources and improving existing practices. Through our work, communities are taking charge of their future while securing 126,807 hectares of marine seascapes for sustainable use and conservation.

💡Click To Read Our Theory of Change

Impact in Action

👥950+

950+ members accessing credit, 62% women

💰$33,000

Eco-credit groups have achieved 60% growth from seed grants, saving over USD 33,000 collectively

👥158

158 community members benefiting from sustainable livelihoods

🪸126,807 ha

126,807 ha of marine seascapes secured for community stewardship

🤝21

We support 21 community institutions (Beach Managemet Units (BMUs) and community Forest Association (CFA))

How We Create Change

🌍 Thriving Communities

Coastal Kenya is home to vibrant marine ecosystems that sustain thousands of families through employment, livelihoods, and nutrition.
We work hand in hand with coastal communities to strengthen governance, promote sustainable fisheries management and conservation, and drive livelihood diversification.
Through initiatives such as eco-credit, apiculture, and the fish value chain, we help communities access finance, create sustainable income opportunities, and build resilience for a thriving coastal economy.

Coastal Kenya is rich in marine ecosystems that include mangroves, wetlands, coastal forests, estuaries, sandy beaches and dunes, coral reefs, and seagrass beds supporting marine and coastal species. These ecosystems maintain the health and biodiversity of marine and coastal landscapes and seascapes. Despite this, the Kenyan coast is one of the least developed regions of the country, with more than 62% living below the poverty line and most relying on the coastal and marine ecosystem for employment, livelihoods and nutrition.

We identified an area of opportunity to support coastal communities that rely on marine resources for survival. Working with various partners and associations we ensure the delivery of impactful solutions for coastal communities and cities and conserve coastal and marine environments. Our focus is the Shimoni-Vanga Ecosystem and Malindi Ungwana bay, an ecologically sensitive area of global and national significance bordering the Southern coast of Kenya and Northern Tanzania.

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COMRED staff and participants participating in Voices for Climate Change

🐚 Conservation and Fisheries Management

Coastal ecosystems are vital for biodiversity, fisheries, and the livelihoods of thousands of families. We works with communities to restore degraded habitats and protect key ecosystems such as mangroves.
We support locally led conservation initiatives that strengthen the health of marine environments and enhance resilience to the impacts of climate change.
By mapping and integrating indigenous knowledge systems, we ensure that traditional practices continue to inform conservation, fisheries management, and climate action along Kenya’s coast.

This program is supported by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in Kenya through the Voices for Just Climate Action (VCA) Program. The goal was to facilitate the collective action of women within Shimoni Vanga, enabling them to better manage marine resources and benefit from them. It addressed their need for inclusion in marine resource management and realized their contribution to conservation. It assessed the ocean literacy level of the women, trained and built their capacity on climate change, marine resource management, and techniques of value addition to their products. The seascape is home to indigenous communities, and this project also mapped the indigenous knowledge system used by the community in conservation and climate-related interventions.

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COMRED staff working on project together on the beach

🏙️ Smart and Sustainable Cities

Coastal cities and ports are key drivers of Kenya’s blue economy and the social and economic heartbeat of the coast. Yet, they face growing pressures from rapid urbanization and climate change.
COMRED’s Sustainable Cities Programme works to strengthen urban resilience through improved spatial planning, policy development, and governance of coastal resources.
By promoting data-driven decision-making and inclusive planning, we help cities adapt to climate challenges while fostering sustainable growth for people and the planet.

Coastal Cities and Port Development play a pivotal role in the socio- economic development of coastal regions and the prioritization of the blue economy agenda by Countries of the Western Indian Ocean region further affirms this. The rapid development of coastal cities has a considerable impact on the local ecology, and potential including renewable energy sources.

Coastal zones connect land to sea and COMRED started a sustainable cities program to address challenges facing coastal cities and ports such as spatial planning, governance of resources and policy in the face of Climate Change. Additionally, this program complements our previous interventions in marine conservation and is designed to facilitate transformation of coastal cities to be smart and sustainable.

The Cities program has commenced two flagship projects, Miji Bora and Bandari bora. These were implemented in Mombasa, while drawing key learnings from Durban, South Africa and Moroni, Comoros with the vision of expanding to other coastal cities in the region that face similar challenges.

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Stories of Change

Bee keeping

Apr 18, 2025

A Community’s Journey in Bee Feeding

As the climate changes and prolonged droughts become rampant, apiculture suffers the brunt of climate change as the floral resources are reduced in the prolonged dry seasons. Bee farmers usually feel the impact, as their output reduces each season.

Conservation

Mar 7, 2025

Saving The Shoreline

Overreliance on fishing has led to dwindling catches, pushing some to desperate measures—cutting down the mangrove forests that cradle their way of life. The trees are felled for firewood, construction, or to find "chambo"—worms used as bait.

Beach Management Unit

Mar 5, 2025

Changing Tides of Shimoni-Vanga

The recently held BMU elections are proof that the tides are turning. No longer are the youth just spectators—they are stepping up and taking the helm. What once seemed like an old man's duty has become a shared responsibility.

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