Integrating Local Communities in the Policy and Legislative Framework for Wildlife Conservation and Management in Tanzania

Abstract

This paper analyzes the efforts taken by the Tanzanian government to devolve wildlife rights to local community members living in proximity to wildlife. It traces the legislative approaches applied that have a bearing on the livelihoods of the local community members in different historical epochs. The paper’s underlying thesis is that local community members have consistently been marginalized in wildlife management processes. The paper argues that Tanzania’s government’s initiative to change this trend is at the verge of being foiled by some Machiavellian stakeholders in the private sector of the wildlife industry.