Theory & practice of conservancies: WMAs in Tanzania

The article “Theory and practice of conservancies: evidence from wildlife management areas in Tanzania” by Fidelcastor Kimario et al (published 2020 in Erdkunde 74 (2): 117–141) analyses the performance of Tanzanian Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) to better understand their relevance for safeguarding biodiversity outside of traditional protected areas, e.g. national parks. It assesses the potential of WMAs to achieve their environmental and socio-economic goals from a governance perspective. Two theoretical approaches – Social-Ecological Systems Framework (SESF) and Sustainable Livelihoods Approach (SLA) – was combined to explore the WMA system dynamics. The data were gathered in 2017 in eight WMAs of different ages.

The findings show that local governance of wildlife resources in most WMAs is still plagued by understaffing, inadequate funding, insufficient skills and knowledge, and investment issues. It takes time for the tourist industry to find confidence in the WMA concept, but recent figures show that WMA-related tourism facilities increasingly sponsored by private investors have higher revenues. Community-based conservation is meant to improve the overall wellbeing of local people but, in practice, everything is still valued only in terms of direct cash benefits. Where the analysed WMAs are failing, it is mostly because unreliable revenue sources can neither cover the daily operational needs nor adequately fund community-development projects.

This article emphasises the conflict between livestock and wildlife in WMAs and does not make specific reference to pastoralism.

Posted on 16 February 2023 in Pastoralism & Natural Resources, Pastoralist Livelihoods & Nutrition