In an effort to conserve coral reefs in the lagoons of Mauritius, Reef Conservation has been designing and developing an innovative concept of Voluntary Marine Conservation Areas (VMCAs) since 2009. These are selected sites in the lagoon where communities agree that no extractive or destructive activities will be done. Sustainable use of marine ecosystems is favored through implementation of best practices for the maintenance and improvement of ecosystem health and diversity.

This project aims to bring different stakeholders relying on marine resources to actively participate to the protection of the marine environment. Two VMCAs have been established in Mauritius through project actions in Roches Noires (RN) and Anse la Raie (ALR) where no traditional stewardship for marine resources previously existed.

The VMCA in Roches Noires is 8 hectares in size and is predominately sea grass beds with little commercial pressure but the area utilised and is fished by the local community. The Anse La Raie VMCA is 50 hectares in size and is made up of coral reef patches, this VMCA protects most of the viable coral that can be found in this lagoon and the area is regularly used by tourism and boat operators.These voluntary conservation sites are established through a participatory approach with direct users of the resource and other stakeholders.

Knowledge sharing, understanding, capacity building in ecosystem and environmental issues as well as community involvement in monitoring of marine habitats have led to the agreement and delimiting of sites in the initial stages of the project. Further, solutions for sustainable use such as placing fixed mooring buoys and a snorkel trail in sites used for touristic activities as well as the establishment of community committees have all been key to the conservation efforts and success of the project in the long term.

The VMCAs are no longer a project but have been developed into a programme, Reef Conservation will continue to support the established sites, stakeholders and committees to find sustainable solutions for using the resources responsibly and by finding the funding to allow the sites to continue to be a success.Although the VMCAs are voluntary and have no legal standing, the VMCA programme is noted and used as a reference by the Ministry of Ocean Economy and Environment in Mauritius as a positive way forward for coastal and marine conservation with communities.Our work has been presented at the Western Indian Ocean Scientific Symposium (WIOMSA) in October 2015 and at the 30th International Coral Reef Symposium, June 2016 in Hawaii.