Ym mis Rhagfyr y llynedd rhanddeiliaid a gasglwyd i adolygu gweithgareddau cadwraeth gyda'r nod o ddiogelu Zanzibar yn cellïoedd cysegredig llawer yn hysbys fel 'Misitu ya Jadi’ yn Saesneg. Un o'r prif wersi a dynnwyd yw, er bod yn gymharol fach o ran maint ac yn gymedrol o ran statws y maent yn hynod o bwysig ar gyfer diwylliant, hanes, archeoleg, daeareg, cadwraeth natur a gwasanaethau amgylcheddol. They also play an important role in the fabric of Zanzibar’s life especially at the village level, felly eu rôl yn sylweddol "Mwy o faint na'u maint”. Cultural and economic changes mean, Fodd bynnag,, eu bod yn cael eu diraddio, difrodi a dinistrio hyd yn oed yn llwyr.

Gwaith dros y flwyddyn ddiwethaf a hanner wedi cynnwys arolwg biolegol o 10 coedwigoedd cysegredig mewn 6 pentrefi y rhanbarth deheuol Ynys Zanzibar, arolwg cymdeithasol eu gwarcheidwaid a chymunedau, cynnal gweithdy budd-ddeiliaid cynllunio ar gyfer 43 people drawn from different stakeholders and the development of management plans for two of the sacred forests. Also accomplished has been the making of two community films and the collection of Swahili language oral histories in both film and written transcripts. Cyfieithiadau Saesneg wedi cael eu gwneud hefyd.

Gwarcheidiaeth y Groves Sanctaidd o Safleoedd Naturiol Sacred ar Vimeo.

Rhanddeiliaid gweithdy harwain gan warcheidwaid goedwig: Ar 14 Rhagfyr 2012, the key organisations came together to review these activities and reflect on what the next steps might look like. Importantly the guardians of the forests themselves guide this process and they have been actively involved in the programme and planning for the future. One participant Musa Hassan Mwambe, Gwarcheidwad y Goedwig Sanctaidd Marembwe, lleoli yn Makanduchi mhentref dywedodd; “Rydym yn falch gwarcheidwaid â chydweithredu a fyddai'n hoffi cwrdd â gwarcheidwaid mwy a thrafod ffurfio rhwydwaith neu efallai gymdeithas”. Other activities during the week were meetings, focus group discussions and field visits. The workshop included the forest guardians, adrannau allweddol y llywodraeth, cefnogi sefydliadau cymdeithas sifil, tra yn y pentrefi trafodaethau pwysig yn cael eu cynnal gyda gwarcheidwaid eraill, aelodau o'r gymuned leol a gweithredwyr twristiaeth.

Heriau o Groves Sanctaidd o Safleoedd Naturiol Sacred ar Vimeo.

20,000 mlynedd o ddefnydd dynol: Gymdeithasol y coedwigoedd yn aml yn gysylltiedig â sefydlu hanesyddol pentrefi penodol, neu gysylltiedig i darddiad teuluoedd penodol ac mae'r hynafiaid yn cael eu parchu gan ymweliadau i'r llwyni i gynnal gweddïau a gwneud offrymau. Mewn rhai achosion, digwyddiadau blynyddol yn cynnwys 'Ngoma’ sy'n dawnsiau gyda rhythmau drwm penodol. Yn aml, mae'r safle cysegredig ei hun yn ogof galchfaen yn aml gyda gwanwyn, yn dda neu bwll, formed within ancient raised coral reef rock. Recent archeological evidence has shown a much older human connection with evidence of occupation as long ago as 20,000 mlynedd.

A elwir yn dechnegol yn 'system carst’ the caves can go for miles and much of the island is riddled with such systems often supporting important water lens. The water provides fresh water for dry season community use and in some cases have become the main village water supply. Kast caves have their own specialist wildlife and are home to bats and unique cave creatures that have yet to be explored. Thus while the cave or geological feature is usually the cultural focus and forest provides the ‘clothing’ offering cool and shady conditions. Within local protocols it is prohibited to cut trees or hunt animals in the groves and so they have been, o leiaf tan yn ddiweddar, yn hafan ddiogel i fywyd gwyllt.

Rich o fywyd gwyllt: Gwaith arolwg biolegol sydd wedi cadarnhau bod y coedwigoedd yn llawer cyfoethocach yn bioamrywiaeth nag y goedwig o gwmpas a thiroedd amaethyddol, much of which is becoming increasingly degraded. They provide refuges for local animals such as the endemic Zanzibar Red Colobus Monkey and two species of Elephant Shrew. They are also rich in plants with the 10 coedwigoedd sydd gyda'i gilydd yn gyfanswm o llai na 10 hectar mewn maint dros gefnogi 70 rhywogaethau planhigion, many of which are becoming increasingly rare. 10 species have been noted that cannot be identified locally. Given that Zanzibar is part of one of the most important global hotspots for nature the biological riches of the forests may not be so surprising.

What is perhaps more surprising that despite their importance the sacred forests have remained hidden and often over looked. The do not figure widely in conservation or other government policies and the forests are easy to miss. Villagers tend not to talk about them much, hyd yn oed ymysg ei gilydd, and new residents can live right next to them for years without knowing their significance. Given Zanzibar’s tourist boom the island has a large number of new residents from many places in the world who are unfamiliar with this aspect of Zanzibar culture and life.

“Rydym gwarcheidwaid yn falch â'r cydweithio ac yn awyddus i gwrdd â mwy o gwarcheidwaid i drafod ffurfio rhwydwaith neu efallai gymdeithas” Musa Hassan Ambe, Guardian o Marembwe Sacred Goedwig, Makanduchi bentref, deheuol, Zanzibar.

Bioamrywiaeth hotspot o dan fygythiad: Mannau o anifeiliaid uchel ac amrywiaeth planhigion yn cael eu galw'n hefyd 'mannau poeth’ because they are critically threatened. Zanzibar is no different and rapid economic development, tourism expansion population growth has put significant demands on the social and ecological systems. Cultural changes mean that some, yn enwedig y genhedlaeth iau, yn colli diddordeb mewn diwylliant a chrefydd, galw am dir ar gyfer datblygu twristiaeth wedi codi'n ddramatig, tra bod yr angen am ddeunyddiau adeiladu wedi datblygu i fod newyn! This hunger combined with the real poverty of many rural inhabitants has left most of the areas forests no more than a low scrub. This has meant that attention has turned to sacred forests for timber, polion a choed tân a'r tabws sydd wedi sefyll prawf amser yn cael eu torri i lawr, large trees are being felled and poles from them sold to Zanzibar town. Hundreds if not thousands of years of history are being extinguished for a few Tanzanian shillings to no meaningful gain in comparison to the diverse cultural and biological riches that are being lost. Often the cutting is being carried out by the youth of the same families whose elders despair at their loss of control and the changing culture around them.

Groves Sacred ddechrau cyfrif: Nawr, Fodd bynnag,, efallai ei fod yr amser yn aeddfed i ddeall yn well y 'Misitu ya Jadi’ and them start to count. In fact starting to count them has been the first step. This work has been led by the local non-government organisation ZAZOSO y Sŵolegol Society Zanzibar. A team of ZAZOSO biologists and foresters has been working with the site guardians to map and record the locations, ffiniau, gwerthoedd cymdeithasol a bioleg y 10 safleoedd. It is important that the guardians not only give their permission for this but guide the process so that the local regulations and norms are followed. All the data will be returned to the guardians in a form that is useful to them and they guide how it can be stored and used.

Ffilmiau Cymunedol: Arall anllywodraethol Zanzibar sefydliad Mwambao Cymunedol Arfordirol Rhwydwaith (http://www.mwambao.or.tz) has taken a lead on the social development component training guardians and other community members in film making. This has used a specific technique call ‘Participatory Video (PV)’ hynny'n golygu mewn tua 10 diwrnod 12 Gall aelodau o'r gymuned cynllunio a ffilmio dau fideo cymunedol – camp nodedig ar gyfer y rhai nad yw byth yn y rhan fwyaf o achosion wedi cynnal camera fideo cyn. See also news item: https://sacrednaturalsites.org/resources/news/page/4/

Gweithdy Strategaeth: Mae'r argymhellion y gweithdai allweddol fel a ganlyn:

• Mae'r gwarcheidwaid i gwrdd ac ystyried ffurfio rhwydwaith i gyfathrebu gyda'i gilydd a chymryd camau cydlynol i ddiogelu eu safleoedd,
• I barhau i restru a gwaith arolwg i ddeall yn well y coedwigoedd cysegredig,
• I ddatblygu ymwybyddiaeth a rhaglen gyfathrebu ar lefel pentref ac ar lefel genedlaethol yn enwedig wrth weithio gyda gwneuthurwyr polisi ieuenctid a,
• I ddatblygu strategaeth coedwig gadwraeth cysegredig,
• Cymryd camau i wrthdroi'r crebachu y coedwigoedd drwy hyrwyddo adfer fforestydd ar eu hymylon.
• Gwella mesurau polisi a chyfreithiol i amddiffyn coedwigoedd cysegredig.

Mae'r Zanzibar Forest Adran wedi bod yn darparu goruchwylio a chymorth i'r gweithgareddau, fel y mae Adran Dwristiaeth a'r Adran Archifau – in recognition of the historic and cultural values. Technical advice and fund raising has been provided by the Sacred Natural Sites Initiative a member of the IUCN Specialist Group on the Cultural and Spiritual Values of Protected Areas. The work has been funded by the Christensen Fund, (UDA) y New England Biolabs Sylfaen, (UDA) a Terralingua (UDA a Chanada).

Am ragor o wybodaeth cysylltwch info@sacrednaturalsites.org