♪ NARRATOR: The forests of Zanzibar are full of rare creatures, some found nowhere else on Earth.

But lives here are fragile.

(Mwamvua speaking Swahili) NARRATOR: Life for the local people is difficult too.

(Mwamvua speaking Swahili) NARRATOR: But today, an unusual method of farming promises prosperity for humans and wildlife alike.

(Pandu speaking Swahili) (Pandu laughs) (Pandu speaking Swahili) NARRATOR: That difference?

A crop of tiny shape shifters with a big impact.

♪ For more than 800 years, Zanzibar was a gateway between Africa and Asia, its name synonymous with spices and the slave trade.

But today, people from around the world flock to the islands for their beautiful beaches and to see the exceptional wildlife of Jozani Chwaka Bay National Park.

(Habib speaking Swahili) NARRATOR: Though smaller than Manhattan, Jozani contains 10 distinct environments, from groundwater forests to coastal mangroves, which support a wide range of wildlife.

Including a colorful array of butterflies.

♪ (Habib speaking Swahili) NARRATOR: But while Zanzibar's biodiversity charms tourists, poverty has prompted local communities to turn to the forest for survival.

(Habib speaking Swahili) NARRATOR: Jozani is the only national park in the archipelago of Zanzibar.

And on all sides, the forests are being cut.

About thirty percent of the tree cover has been lost just in the last 20 years.

(Pandu speaking Swahili) NARRATOR: The forest may not survive without better options for Zanzibar's people.

But its butterflies provide a unique reason to keep these habitats intact.

(onlooker gasps) The Zanzibar Butterfly Center is the largest tourist attraction of its kind in all of Tanzania.

(Pandu speaking Swahili) ♪ (Pandu speaking Swahili) NARRATOR: The Center directly employs locals, like Pandu Vuai, but it also pays others to catch and raise butterflies for its exhibits.

(Mwamvua speaking Swahili) NARRATOR: And that's where the program's real impact comes in.

(Pandu speaking Swahili) NARRATOR: Unlike traditional agriculture, butterfly farming requires healthy forests, not open fields.

Mwamvua Vuai is one of about 20 people from the neighboring communities who now farm the colorful insects.

(Mwamvua speaking Swahili) ♪ NARRATOR: The wildlife inside the national park is protected, but Mwamvua is free to collect butterflies in the forests nearby.

(Mwamvua speaking Swahili) NARRATOR: She doesn't need to catch many to make a profit because she targets pregnant females.

(Mwamvua speaking Swahili) NARRATOR: Creating a nursery for these eggs requires intimate knowledge of each butterfly species.

(Mwamvua speaking Swahili) NARRATOR: Most butterflies will only lay their eggs on specific "host plants," which provide food for the next generation.

This narrow blue-banded swallowtail prefers citrus trees.

(Mwamvua speaking Swahili) NARRATOR: Like all butterflies caught for the Center, the swallowtail isn't rare or endangered.

It's popular among tourists, but its lifespan is a scant 11 days, so the need for resupply is constant.

♪ The real work for Mwamvua begins when the hungry caterpillars start to hatch.

♪ (Mwamvua speaking Swahili) NARRATOR: Caring for hundreds of butterfly young requires constant vigilance.

(Pandu speaking Swahili) ♪ (Mwamvua speaking Swahili) NARRATOR: With the right care, most of the caterpillars will begin to transform into pupas.

♪ This immobile life stage is the best time for Mwamvua and other farmers to sell their soon-to-be butterflies to the Center.

(Mwamvua and Alfred speaking Swahili) (Alfred speaking Swahili) (Mwamvua speaking Swahili) ♪ NARRATOR: Mwamvua has farmed butterflies for 16 years.

They've become a key source of income as tourism to the islands has increased.

(Mwamvua speaking Swahili) NARRATOR: That incentive is an important part of the Center's mission.

Farmers like Mwamvua keep their local habitats intact, so they can sustainably collect butterflies year after year.

(Mwamvua speaking Swahili) NARRATOR: Every butterfly farmer helps maintain a buffer zone around the park.

While other areas contend with deforestation, their harvesting spots stay green, providing a little more safety for Jozani's wildlife.

♪ At the moment, the Center's impact is small scale with only 20 butterfly farmers.

But they have plans to expand if they can sell pupas to zoos and researchers around the world.

(Pandu speaking Swahili) NARRATOR: Tanzania banned all wildlife exports to limit the poaching and trafficking of threatened species.

Unfortunately, the total ban also blocks the sustainable sale of farm-raised butterflies.

(Alfred speaking Swahili) (Alfred speaking Swahili) NARRATOR: Alfred and others are fighting for an exception to the ban.

Until then, they're working to increase the butterfly tourism that lifts up their communities and helps protect Jozani's wildlife.

(Pandu speaking Swahili) (Mwamvua speaking Swahili) ♪ ♪ ♪