Can shelling out for a holiday be good for the planet? The 'Turtle Sheikh' thinks so

Sheikh Fahim bin Sultan Al Qasimi has hailed the conservation work being done at a luxury retreat in Tanzania

Sheikh Fahim bin Sultan Al Qasimi explores the Shungimbili Island Marine Reserve run by Jumeirah Thanda Island. Photo: Sheikh Fahim

The island off the east coast of Africa is a picturesque, private and luxury getaway for the wealthy. But on it some serious conservation work is taking place, boosting eco-conscious tourism as a result.

A centre run by Dubai's Jumeirah Group in Tanzania has been hailed as a model that should be widely adopted around the world.

The call was made by Sheikh Fahim bin Sultan Al Qasimi, better known as the “Turtle Sheikh” and ambassador for this Dubai Turtle Rehabilitation Project, who has seen the work being done at the Shungimbili Island Marine Reserve, on Jumeirah Thanda Island.

While the resort is an ultra-exclusive private escape, Sheikh Fahim of Sharjah believes it can demonstrate how tourism can be a force for environmental good. He has first-hand experience of how Jumeirah Group was exporting its model of eco-conscious tourism from Dubai to the shores of Tanzania.

"Jumeirah has brought its model of care with a sense of place and planet from Dubai all the way to Tanzania," said Sheikh Fahim. “This is not just a beautiful island, it’s a destination built with purpose."

Sheikh Fahim spent several days at the resort this month to monitor the conservation work being carried out there. “There’s so much to learn here,” he said. "It's not only about experiencing this beautiful destination but also going away with a sense of care for the environment around us."

Jumeirah Thanda in Tanzania is an uninhabited, five-hectare tropical island that features an exclusive villa. Photo: Jumeirah

Sheikh Fahim has played an instrumental role in marine conservation and is a keen advocate for ocean life, earning the "Turtle Sheikh" nickname along the way. He is as an ambassador at the Dubai Turtle Rehabilitation Project at Jumeirah Al Naseem in the emirate.

Under the scheme launched 21 years ago, more than 2,300 rescued turtles have been released back into the wild.

Whale shark conservation, meanwhile, has become a key priority at Thanda. In 2023, Jumeirah teamed up with the Marine Megafauna Foundation, WWF Tanzania and the Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute to study more than 200 whale sharks individually. Using tracking and monitoring, the aim is to better understand these migratory animals and ensure their protection for years to come.

Since 2017, the Thanda team has also worked with Sea Sense, a Tanzanian NGO, to protect nesting sites of Green and Hawksbill turtles. In 2023 alone, four nests successfully hatched, each producing more than 100 hatchlings.

Making a difference

Thanda’s in-house marine biologist, Rianne Laan, oversees several coral nurseries used to restore degraded reefs. This work proved critical during a coral bleaching event of early 2024. Thanks to swift action, relocating the nurseries to deeper, cooler waters, the team was able to shield fragile coral reefs from the worst effects of rising sea temperatures.

Eight years ago, Ms Laan arrived on Thanda Island for what she presumed to be a three‑month posting. Now she leads a thriving marine conservation programme at the island's Jumeirah property.

The island has officially been designated as a marine reserve since 2007. However, illegal fishing, including the use of dynamite, had devastated the coral and fish populations. When Ms Laan started documenting reef health, she found degraded coral, patchy fish life and little evidence of recovery.

While the island has been designated as a luxury resort, Ms Laan believes that this has helped to enable conservation that would not have been possible before.

"What makes Jumeirah Thanda Island special is the partnership we have with the Mafia Island Marine Park," she said. "The development of the island into a luxury hotel has enabled the effective enforcement of the marine reserve by rangers from the Mafia Island Marine Park in this remote location, and we work closely together to ensure the conservation of the marine ecosystems and all life in the reserve.

"The Shungimbili Island Marine Reserve [where the island is located] is very small, but I believe it makes a big impact, serving as a safe place for marine life to live and reproduce. We have seen several species, such as eagle rays and giant grouper, return to the reserve and the reserve acts as a blacktip reef shark nursery, which we are currently investigating in more detail together with researchers from the Marine Megafauna Foundation."

Thanda’s in-house marine biologist Rianne Laan spoke of the important conservation work her team is carrying out

The island currently does have the facilities to rehabilitate turtles, the term given to the treatment, rescue and release of injured sea turtles back to their natural habitats, but that does not mean it cannot offer protection and care to endangered marine wildlife.

She pointed out that Mafia Island, the main island close to Jumeirah Thanda Island, supports the largest green sea turtle rookery in Tanzania.

"Approximately 60 per cent of the nests are laid in Juani Island, making it a site of national conservation importance," she said.

The team works closely with Sea Sense, an NGO that works closely with coastal communities in Tanzania to conserve and protect endangered marine wildlife, in particularly sea turtles.

"Sea Sense currently has a network of 35 conservation officers who act as ambassadors for conservation in their villages and serve as a vital link between Sea Sense and the wider community," she said.

"The conservation officer’s main role is to patrol the beaches daily to monitor nesting activity, relocate nests at risk of predation or tidal inundation, document hatching success, record turtle mortality incidents, conduct beach clean-ups and engage with local residents to increase their understanding of the importance of marine turtles’ conservation."

So far this year, there were 178 nests recorded and monitored in Mafia Island, and 15,740 green sea turtle hatchlings were released safely to the ocean, she added.