Tanzania’s partnership landscape: Convergence and divergence in the wildlife sector
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Date
2017-03
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
NEPSUS
Abstract
Tanzania’s endowment of diverse biodiversity, wildlife resources and prime natural
attraction sites put the country at the center of many debates about conservation, human
welfare and development. As approaches for wildlife protection have evolved over time,
so has the need for redressing the gap between nature and people through different
kinds of partnerships. Based on are view of the existing literature, we examine the context
in which partnerships have emerged in the wildlife sector in Tanzania, the processes that
support acquisition and maintenance of legitimacy, as well as the sustainability outcomes
of these partnerships. Specifically, the paper examines the historical trajectory of these
partnerships and the influence that different actors have historically maintained hence
determining how the public and private sector engagements evolved over time. We draw
insights from the Selous game reserve with specific attention to the role of Wildlife
Management Areas (WMAs) as a converging point for many actors. The paper suggests
that partnerships for wildlife protection have increased in number and scope. However,
the assessment of their impacts has mainly focused on how much land has been secured
for the protection of wildlife. Livelihood impacts of these partnerships have been largely
assessed against the background of unequal terms of local community engagement with
private investors, recentralization, the rise of local elites, corruption and the limitations
that they place on local land use. We suggest that documenting how partnerships are
formed, their different configurations and impacts should be an important step towards
the analysis of the relations of power among different actors and with local communities,
as well as a nuanced understanding of their ecological and livelihood outcomes.
Description
Keywords
Sustainability, partnerships, Wildlife Management Areas, Selous game reserve, Tanzania
Citation
Noe, C. et al. (2017). Nepsus Working Paper. Tanzania’s partnership landscape: Convergence and divergence in the wildlife sector