While life may be wonderful for tourists visiting Zanzibar, the eastern Tanzanian archipelago renowned for its tranquillity and the unspoilt beauty of its beaches, most urban and rural communities on the islands suffer from poor living conditions and an inadequate supply of clean and safe water. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Tanzania is now backing the development of six water projects intended to provide adequate water supply and sanitation for more than 45,000 people on the largest island of Unguja (popularly known as Zanzibar) and its sister island, Pemba.

The strategies and methodologies in current practice aimed at achieving sustainable, participatory conservation are inadequately developed, and their implications are poorly understood by policy makers, managers and communities among other user groups. Possibilities of conflict and jurisdictional overlap exist. Institutional arrangements and policy instruments that facilitate the alleviation of poverty in the mountain adjacent communities through rural development should be integral components of sustainable mountain conservation. The local community though fully aware of the ecosystems biodiversity values have insufficient insights on all issues at stake, as they have limited capacity to interact at par with research institutions and government agencies as key stake holders. This paper takes a candid look at possibilities existing within the indigenous knowledge systems, community structures, institutional management agencies and other resource users for sustainable mountain and site-based resources conservation. This is in view of current policy shifts, and the gaps that exist in practice between the policies and actual enforcement.

United Nations University Leadership Academy's global course on Leadership for Environment and Human Security will take place in Jordan and South Africa during 12-30 August 2002.

The Academy's goal is to enable the participants to "learn about leadership directly from leaders" We ensure our participants have the unique opportunity to interact with global and national experts. The academy offers an innovative core curriculum on leadership including History of leadership, Contemporary Theories of Leadership, Contexts of Leadership, Ethics of Leadership, Individual Leadership Analysis and Development. Global Human Values required to meet contemporary global challenges is an integral component of the curriculum as developed by the Academy.