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Thanda’s mermaid. a wider network of conservation organisations in
also as an experience. After all, swimming over a
living coral reef is a completely different experien-
ce than swimming over a flat rubble bottom. The
rangers provided by Mafia Island Marine Park are
crucial for the conservation of marine life and for
supporting Thanda’s current and future initiatives.
The continued focus of Thanda Island’s conser-
vation efforts is the marine biologists’ monitoring
of the reefs. The reefs are regularly inventoried and
checked to assess their condition and development.
This provides a better understanding of the ecosys-
tem around the island and efforts can be made to
strengthen the reef’s resistance to natural shifts and
the effects of climate change.
Thanda also strives to expand its efforts outside
the marine nature reserve and therefore supports
Our involvement | DANIR 2024
the area. Through collaborations with non-profit
organisations such as Sea Sense and the Marine
Megafauna Foundation, Thanda also contributes to
the conservation of sea turtles in Tanzania and the
research on whale sharks at Mafia Island.
THANDA’S MERMAID, A SYMBOL OF THE
BEAUTY OF MARINE CONSERVATION
In addition to knowledge about ecosystems, ani-
mals and plants, creativity is also required when it
comes to finding solutions for how we can restore
the nature that we humans have damaged. Functio-
nal creativity is often tested. Aesthetic creativity,
however, is not as common when it comes to coral
reef restoration. But there are examples, and British
sculptor and artist Jason deCaires Taylor has made
a name for himself with his spectacular underwa-
ter installations. Works of art that are in constant
change with the help of ocean organisms. And that
will be completely integrated into nature.
Inspired by this award-winning artist, Thanda
Island’s General Manager Antigone Meda wanted to
create an underwater sculpture that would become
part of the regular reef restoration work at Shungim-
bili. In 2019, Antigone began sculpting a mermaid in
clay, a project that would take two years to comple-
te. The sculpture was designed to promote natural
growth of coral fragments. When the clay sculpture
was ready, a fiberglass mold was built, which was
then filled with concrete. To enable the transport of
the mermaid to her new home on the reef, she was
split in two.
It was a team-building task to get the sculpture in
place, but since 2021, Thanda Island’s own mermaid
watches over the nurseries and corals have found a
home on her. Slowly but surely, she is transforming
along with all the living things on the reef. And when
she is completely integrated into the reef, she will lie
there as a buried but strong symbol of the beauty
of restoring nature to the way it was before we
destroyed it. She also becomes a symbol of the long-
term and solid work Thanda does for nature and the
environment, a prerequisite for the experiences they
want to offer their guests.