Race to Resilience: Tanzania’s first all-women dive lab is restoring reefs

Partner: Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance (ORRAA)

Implementer: Action For Ocean (AFO) Tanzania

Location & Region: Kilwa Seascape – SouthernTanzania, Africa

Action Agenda Key Objectives: Axis 2, KO 6 & 7 conservation and restoration of ocean and coastal ecosystems; Axis 5, KO 17, 18 & 19 training linked to support local livelihoods and practices.

Impact: 60 divers certified (2021–2025), with over 20% increase in women’s participation including the launch of the first all-women dive lab.

Target by 2030: 20 km² of marine habitats restored, 150 new divers trained, 25 local innovators equipped

Nearly half of the coral reefs and mangroves along Tanzania’s coastline have been degraded or lost, threatening food security, coastal protection, biodiversity, and local livelihoods.

For decades, access to marine skills, certification, and leadership in ocean conservation has been limited, particularly for women. Through its Ocean Access Programme, Action For Ocean (AFO) is changing that narrative.

Tanzania’s First PADI-Certified Community Dive Centre

In 2025, AFO established a PADI-certified educational dive facility in the Kilwa Seascape, the first of its kind operated by a local nonprofit in East Africa. The eco-dive centre makes internationally recognised dive training accessible within Tanzania, delivered by local instructors and largely in Swahili.

For many women in Kilwa, this is their first time learning to swim.

Swimming lessons now serve as the entry point to the All-Women Dive Lab — the first initiative of its kind in Tanzania. A pioneering cohort of six women is currently training toward Open Water SCUBA certification. From there, they will lead in:

• Coral restoration & community-led conservation enterprises

• Marine research

• Eco-tourism

What begins as swimming lessons becomes something far greater: access, agency, and leadership.

“I used to think the ocean was not for me,” said programme participant Sophia Ramadhani. “Now I am learning to swim, and soon I will dive to protect it. This has changed how I see myself and the future of my family.”

Training an All-Women Dive Lab on Coastal Conservation

Action For Ocean’s model blends science with community power. Along Tanzania’s coast, the organisation leads large-scale marine restoration, bringing corals, mangroves, and seagrass meadows back to life.

To date, 60 candidates have been certified through the programme (2021–2025). Historically, only 19.6% of participants have been women, highlighting the scale of gender imbalance in marine spaces. The All-Women Dive Lab directly addresses this gap by investing in women as key shareholders of conservation – as a result there has been a 20% increase in women’s participation.

Community-led conservation seen as a generational investment. By 2030, Action For Ocean aims to:

• Restore 20 square kilometres of marine habitats (mangroves, corals and seagrass meadows)

• Train 150 new divers

• Equip 25 local innovators to pioneer homegrown restoration solutions

When coastal communities are trained, certified, and economically included, restoration becomes regeneration. Ecosystem recovery becomes human recovery. Women who once stood at the margins of marine economies are now preparing to lead reef restoration teams, guide eco-tourism initiatives, and contribute to climate resilience along Tanzania’s coast.

Learn more about Action For Ocean (AFO) work here.

About Race to Resilience

Race to Resilience is a global campaign working to strengthen the resilience of four billion people to climate risk by 2030. Through locally led partnerships across water, food, health, and livelihoods systems, it supports solutions where environmental recovery and Discover the Race to Resilience.