Qualitative Assessment of Marine Environmental Quality Along the Coast of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Abstract

This paper presents qualitative assessment of marine environmetal quality on the selected beaches and coastal areas including the port of Dar es Salaam. With the long-held misconception, the huge and resilient ocean could tolerate anything; ocean degradation has been happening for decades. From that ideology, this work came up with a research study with focuse on the qualitative assessment of the quality of marine environments along the coastline of the Dar es Salaam Region in Tanzania. In this paper field survey and observation, interviews, and questionnaires were employed to assess the situation. Results showed that, approximately 70% of the respondents visit the beaches frequently, showing their familiarity with the beach environments. However, 50% of the respondents have witnessed regular beach cleaning exercises, although they have commented that there have been inadequate cleaning efforts around the beaches. Additionally, all respondents commented that human activities in the study area are attributed to 90% of the environmental pollution. Also, from the methodology approached, this research work identified various anthropogenic activities contributing to marine environmental pollution on the coastline of the Dar es Salaam region, where the authors of this work propose measures such as clean-up campaigns, social media initiatives, educational programs, and the enforcement of laws and policies, aiming to minimize pollution and promote sustainable practices along the Dar es Salaam coast.