Maria Pentzel

I am a mid-career professional, a former fisheries officer and currently a Marine Conservation Warden at Mafia Island Marine Park. I deal with conservation and management of marine resources and its environment for 7 years now. I have a degree in Fisheries and Aquaculture from the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) and recently graduated a joint Erasmus Mundus Master Course on Maritime Spatial Planning from Venice, Azore and Sevilla Universities. Here, I aquired knowledge on issues in policies and regulations formulation, mapping process and planning strategies for maritime space related to predominant role of the oceans and coastal areas and marine natural resources to support human life and the corresponding need to develop and utilise them in a sustainable manner.

I have an understanding of the importance of oceans and their resources in the context of regional politics and sustainable development and how to improve their management and  conservation from an environment, social, economic and legal perspective within the framework of Maritime policies. I can deal with different stakeholders and also understand complex maritime issues, governance and explore potential solutions in a collaborative manner.

I have an Australian Awards Fellowships Program of DFAT on “Enhancing Fishery management capacity in Indian Ocean Region” in June/July 2017, ANCORS, University of Wollongong. I worked as a National Consultant on MSPgloble Training on Marine Spatial Planning and Sustainable Blue Economy, including Transboundary Aspects and Opportunities by IOC-UNESCO in Tanzania.

I am a member of Too Big To Ignore, Global Partnership for Small Scale Fisheries Research (TBTI), Erasmus Mundus Association (EMA) where I am volunteering as a Country Representative and Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association (WIOMSA).