Padili
James Mikomangwa.
Tanzania has
been endowed with an extensive spectrum of flora and fauna elements which makes
it a unique landmass for biodiversity with endemic species and sub-species and a
potential hotspot for tourism activities globally. Conservation areas like
Ngoro Ngoro where villagers can Co-exist With wildlife marks something unique
in the world of wildlife management and exposes numerous opportunities for a holistic approach when it comes to African
tourism, specifically Tanzanian Tourism attractions.
Our nation has 945,000 square kilometers, more
than 5 percent is protected land, more than 26 percent of land is for Hunting
and more than 27,000 Sq. kilometers belongs to the wildlife management areas
(WMA’S) national wide, I am proud to say we are naturally blessed indeed. From
that take the term wildlife commands an extensive meaning, proudly I recall the
term meaning from one of Dr. Zablon Kengera class sessions, a Lecturer at university
of Dar es salaam where he insisted that, wildlife commonly involves the
undomesticated animal species, but also extends to plants, fungi and the rest
of organisms that grow and survive in wild areas with no human interaction.
However the term can be explained anyhow according to the will of the
respective user.
Basically
when we refer to wildlife management areas, we traditionally command the
manipulation of wildlife population and habitat to achieve a goal. Tanzania has
been a practicing wildlife conservation since 1891 when we were under German
rule, where hunting rules were enacted, protecting some endanger species
further more they managed to establish the first Game reserve known today as
Selious Game reserve. Additionally the father of wildlife management Aldo
Leopold refers to Wildlife Management as the art of making land produce
sustained animal crops of wild game for recreational use.
Wildlife
management reflects the balance between the needs of wildlife with the needs of
the people using the best available science it can include game keeping
wildlife conservation and pest control, thus it draws several disciplines such
as mathematics, chemistry, biology, ecology, climatology and geography.
Furthermore
it aims taking into consideration earth biodiversity by taking into action
ecology principles such as carrying capacity disturbances and succession/
environmental conditions such as physical geography, geology, hydrology with
the aim of balancing the needs of wildlife with the needs of the people. Game
keeping is also inclusive, whereby is the control of wildlife for wellbeing but
also hunting/Killing other animals which share the same niche and predator to
maintain high population of the more profitable species.
Wildlife
management is focused on a major type which is Custodial management whereby is
a wildlife management Type based on preventing or protecting, aiming to
minimize external influences on the population and its habitats, it operates
effectively on national parks where external influence is executed to support
ecological processes, applies in protecting threatened species where threats
are of external origin not intrinsic to the system.
Tanzania has
a total of 38 Wildlife management areas country wide whereby they are at
different stages, 17 of them have attained authorized association. All these
are found in categorized WMA, Non-categorized WMA, National parks, game
reserves and conservation area. Back in 2003 Tanzania established pilot 16
WMA’s with the focus of alleviating poverty and enhancing conservation through
sustainable use of natural resources.
The major
17 wildlife management areas namely are;
Tunduru (NALIKA), Liwale (MAGINGO), Ngarambe/Tapika (MUNGATA), Wami-Mbiki (WAMI
MBIKI SOCIETY), Pawaga-Idodi(MBOMIPA), ipole (JUHIWAI), Uyumbu (UWIMA), Brunge
(JUHIBU), Ikona (JUHIWAIKO), Enduimet (ENDUIMET), Mbarang’andu (MBARANG’ANDU),
Ukutu (JUKUMU) Makame (INDEMA), Makao (JUHIWAPOMA), Kimbande (KIMANDE),
Kisungule (KISUNGULE) and Chingoli (CHINGOLI).
Similarly to
the environmental conservation Lecture sessions I attended under Dr. Zablon
Kengera WMA’s objectives are relevant thus, focuses on increasing the
participation of local communities in the management of wildlife resources,
enable local communities to access benefits from wildlife resources and enhance
conservation of wildlife resources.
Before there
were no framework for community to participate in wildlife management although
individual in villages could in a small scale and in an Ad Hoc manner enter
into business contracts with private sector. The government enacted the first
WMA regulation in 2002 (revised 2005) which detail the process for establishing
a WMA the requirement for management of wildlife and a basic framework for
sharing benefits among stakeholders.
Several WMA’s
were enacted which enabled the legal frameworks including the 2004
Environmental management act which became operational in 2005, also
reaffirmation of WMA polices and regulation in the wildlife conservation ACT of
2009 other laws governing WMA: the 2008 wildlife conservation (
Non-Conservation wildlife Utilization).
The Creation
Wildlife Management areas follows a designated path, where by an interested
group of villages must follow required process, the villages must agree to set
aside part of their land for wildlife(wildlife management area
itself) and elect village members to represent them through a community
organization. From the process land use plans are developed , bylaws and
regulation put in place.
Further on
the WMA creation, under community organization the village assembly agrees to
form a WMA based on village council recommendation on what land to donate. The
village form a representative community based organization undertake to make a constitution
and bylaws and register it within the ministry of home affair then the
community based Organization (CBO) prepares a strategic plan of proposed WMA.
On the Land
use planning: villages prepare land use plans including the future WMA which
must be surveyed, mapped and registered. Villages prepare bylaws to support the
land use plans which are then subjected to Environmental Impact assessment.
Then the CBO’s prepare an interim 5 year resource zone management plan.
Authorized Association
(AA) and WMA formation; the CBO applies to the wildlife director (WD) for
authorized Association AA states and is gazette. The AA applies to the WD user
rights so the wildlife inside the WMA and applies for a hunting block if
desired, and then AA enters into investment agreement.
Basically
the process of WMA creation is long, bureaucratic and arduous, sadly it is very
costly for the villagers, because the cost of establishing a WMA ranges from
100,000 USD to 250,000 USD thus it is advised that villagers get into a
joint-venture with potential partners, private sectors to facilitate the
potential process.
The land we
have is fixed, population is growing every year and land use demands extends
further and further, hence posing a great challenge on wildlife conservation. Human
wildlife is exacerbated by the lack of a well-used compensation mechanism /
consolation schemes regulated by government under the 2007 wildlife conservation
act which ensures the director of the wildlife division to issue a monetary
payment for injury or death provided to the individual /group was not involved
into unlawful act, hence the WMA can institute their own scheme.
Wildlife
Policy of 2007 cited that Poaching is growing day to day and being a chronic
matter to eliminate. The policy also cited
on limited experienced technocrats, patrols with less firepower, and manpower
and state of the art equipment to fathom the well prepared poachers who are
driven by the booming markets and high prices for ivory and rhino horns. Most WMA’s have few management patrols and
monitoring systems which are potential in collecting and analyzing data , thus
only 7 pilot WMA are equipped.
Across the
country there are several conflicts involving the Wildlife and the villagers
co-existing with it, they encroach the buffer zones and cultivate, graze and
settle endangering the wildlife niche and their lives also. In some areas of
western Serengeti National park wild animals found themselves on frontline of
land use conflicts with pastoralists, such actions trigger the need to employ
more extensive measure to secure the WMA potentials, hence placing fences to
buffer effectively the areas might help.
Another
issue that requires an extensive solution is on the WMA income sharing, taking
a look around East Africa in Kenya, Communities in WMA’s are allowed to acquire
the income but not the taxes extracted from the land use, evidently is supports
and encourages the CBO’s and villagers to enhance the development of the WMA
because the gain something from it.
Additionally
Namibia on the other hand allows 100% profit to stay in the community, however
in our country there is a hiccup, whereby communities feel robbed when all the
income is channeled to the government and wait for a return. This makes them
feel less involved and consider the WMA’s less vital and sometimes they are
involved and attributing to poaching, illegal hunting for bush meat. There is a
contradiction of laws, polices creating a confusion over the rights,
responsibilities, and benefits, thus they change in a way that seems arbitrary
to the conservation practices.
There have
been cases in BURNGE WMA where investors give one village much investment than
neighboring villages some villages opted out of the WMA furthermore trouble
emerges when it comes to benefit sharing the villages involved tend to share
the little returned income from the central government. Also there is a debate
on the income generated to be channeled directed to the communities hence,
hopefully a mutual understanding will emerge.
Tanzania has
a room for further and extensive improvement in wildlife conservation; we ought
support all the actions and strategies employed in wildlife conservation. These
WMA have made local people gain Jobs and engaged themselves into
entrepreneurial activities like MWADA WOMEN GROUP IN BURUNGE WMA where women
make baskets and generate a very good income. BURUNGE WMA alone generates USD
230,000 a year from two safari lodges established in the WMA.
However all the
Wildlife management stakeholders and the entire nation as a whole need to
cherish and protect our natural heritage, the poaching rates are so alarming,
global warming and climate change threatens the survival or all organisms. The
government and relevant ministries should revise the current Wildlife Policy
(2007) and address the contradiction of the laws to harmonize the circumstance
for a broad and effective approach towards WMA development. These WMA can be
very beneficial if there is frequent monitoring of wildlife conservation,
promotion and outreach programs with the community and Capacity building to
ensure the sustainable use of natural resources. It is our duty to ensure that our natural
potentials are sustainably utilized and managed.
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