The World Bank/WBI’s CBNRM Initiative

Case Received: February 6, 1998

From 1989 till 1995 the author was actively involved in development and implementation of the concept of Community Based Conservation as Regional Game Officer and coordinator for Selous Conservation Programme in the southern buffer zone of Selous Game Reserve. Currently he is head of the section ‘Development and Management of Protected Areas and Community Based Conservation Unit’ at the headquarter of the Wildlife Division, Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism.

The co-author is working since 1996 as Community Wildlife Management adviser with Selous Conservation Programme/GTZ.

The case study refers to wildlife as renewable natural resource for villages adjacent to the Selous Game Reserve in southeast Tanzania.

With an area of around 45,000 km², representing 5% of Tanzania's land surface, the Selous Game Reserve is the largest protected area in Africa. It encompasses a wide variety of wildlife habitats, including open grasslands, Acacia and 'Miombo' woodlands and riverine forests. The SGR contains some of the largest and most important populations of elephants, buffaloes and wild dogs in Africa. About 50 to 60 % of Tanzania's elephants are found in the SGR and there are also black rhinos remaining in isolated areas. The swamps form an important habitat for wetland plants, reptiles and resident and migratory birds. With its extensive area of Miombo forests, the Selous is one of the largest forest areas under protection. Due to its unique ecological importance, the SGR has been designated a 'World Heritage Site' by the United Nations since 1982.

The Selous ecosystem has a long history of fluctuating human occupancy caused by the natural and human disturbances that were characteristic for the region in the past and right up to the larger half of the present century, for instance slave trade in the Middle Ages, invasion of the warlike Wangoni and Wabena in the last century, the Maji Maji rebellion against the German colonial government, the movements of the First World War forces in the Selous area, the tsetse fly-borne sleeping sickness epidemic since 1936, and "Ujamaa" (villagisation) policy following independence. Under German rule, the first protected area in the present Game Reserve was created in 1905. The reserve was located in the southern part of the Selous.

By 1912 the Germans had increased the number of reserves in the area to four. In 1922 the British colonial government joined these reserves together and the resulting area was named the "Selous Game Reserve" in memory of Captain Frederick Courtney Selous, an early naturalist, hunter and author. The purpose of the reserve was to protect the large elephant population.

After Tanzania’s independence the final adjustments to the reserve’s boundaries were made to protect the migratory elephants which were apparently on the increase. There have been no changes to the reserve’s boundaries since 1976.

The United Republic of Tanzania is a Union between (Tanganyika) Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar. Institutionally the Government of Tanzania is elected democratically every after five years through multiparty system. The legislation recognizes three levels of Government at central, district and village. At Macro-level Tanzania’s economy is shifting from centrally planned to liberalized free market. Despite of these changes the country still remains one of the world’s poorest.

The expending tourism industry based on abundant wildlife and natural beauties of the country is one of the main pillars of the nation’s economy.

In rural areas farming of food and cash crops is a major occupation for the majority of the villages. The yields however barely suffice their requirement. Specifically meat protein is in high demand because livestock keeping in the ecosystem of SGR is hardly possible due to Tsetse flies and is not a tradition. Therefore the villagers are dependent on game meat, even if it means breaking the law. Since the colonial time villagers had no legal access to game meat because they could not comply with the legal hunting regulations. In addition villagers living in areas bordering the reserve did not benefit from its resources but instead faced infrastructural disadvantages, suffered from crop damages and dangerous wild animals causing threats to human life. This applies to all protected areas in Tanzania. This led to antagonism towards the reserve and conflict between wildlife authorities and villagers and led to villagers poaching or tolerating poaching. The consequence of this was that commercial poaching increased in the 1980’s to a magnitude that endangered the further existence of the reserve. The elephant population had been reduced from more than initial 100.000 to below 30.000. The black rhinos almost became extinct.

The situation changed from 1988/89 onwards when the Government of Tanzania solved the problem in the short run by deployment of crack down forces, which effectively brought poaching under control. The international community was approached for assistance in initiating programmes to conserve the wildlife resources.

The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany responded and the Selous Conservation Programme (SCP), jointly administered by the Tanzanian Wildlife Division and GTZ (German Agency for Technical Cooperation), began in 1988. Programmes of similar nature also took place around the Serengeti known as Serengeti Regional Conservation Strategy and Ruaha National Park in Iringa District. The two programmes were also joint ventures between Tanzania and Governments of Norway and United Kingdom respectively.

Before the implementation of the programmes, the administration of wildlife was a top-down monolithic responsibility of the Wildlife Division. The rural communities who co-exist with the wildlife were legally excluded from its management, though in practical terms they continued to utilize it. It was realized that an effective protection of the entire ecosystem carried out only by central government law enforcement would have meant unbearable costs.

Prior to the start of the progamme results from in-depth studies showed that the villagers play a primary role in determining the faith of renewable natural resources. In order to maintain successfully protected areas in the future, people living around those areas must be involved in conservation activities. Conservation has to be practiced ‘with’ and ‘through’ people. In recognition of their strategic position the Wildlife Division felt it necessary to involve a larger sector of the community in general and the rural communities in particular in sharing benefits and costs of conservation.

The Government of Tanzania regards the Selous Conservation Programme as an important pilot programme, which serves as a conservation model for other areas outside parks and reserves.

Consequently the SCP has two major objectives:

• To safeguard the existence and ecological integrity of the Selous Game Reserve as a conservation area.
• To significantly reduce conflicts between the reserve and the local population by implementing a programme of sustainable wildlife utilization by local villages.

To achieve these objectives, it was agreed that the SCP would focus on the following activities:

• Assisting in the rehabilitation and management of the SGR.
• Establishing, in cooperation with local communities, a programme of sustainable wildlife utilization in buffer zones of the SGR.

In the buffer zones around SGR Community Wildlife Management has been initiated so far with 41 villages in Morogoro, Songea, Tunduru, Liwale and Rufiji Districts.

The implementation took place in several steps using the bottom-up approach and making the communities to key actors in the change process as follows:

1. Self-help projects:

Because the problems of conservation cannot be solved in isolation of community needs, SCP assists the villagers with other rural development schemes. All programmes are based on self-help and self-determination by villagers involved. Self-help projects are necessary for confidence building between Wildlife staff and villagers and increase self-confidence of villagers in their own capabilities.

2. Land tenure and land use plan:

The evolution of land tenure in Tanzania affected the customary land tenure in many rural areas. A new National Land Policy was passed in 1995. All villages were assisted to survey and demarcate their land and to attain a ‘Certificate of Village boundaries’. The villages developed land-use plans with the assistance of the respective Land Development Offices. Among other forms of land use, Village Wildlife Management Areas have been demarcated as areas for sustainable wildlife utilization.

3. Institutional Changes:

On village level Village Natural Resources Committees were established with members elected by the villagers. The management capacities of the village government were strengthened.

Village Game Scouts were elected in order to protect the Wildlife Management Area and to carry out quota hunting for the village. They were appointed authorized officers in order to oversee the compliance of conservation law in their villages and districts.

On district level the District Game Officer took over the function as a Community Wildlife Management Officer in order to assist the villagers with the implementation.

District Natural Resources Committees for villages with Wildlife Management Areas are to be established.

A Community Based Conservation Unit was established and attached to the section ‘Development and Management of Protected Areas’ in the headquarters of the Wildlife Division.

A training center ‘Community Based Conservation Training Institute, CBCTI‘ for village game scouts, village functionaries and junior officers was established in Songea District.

In Morogoro District 19 villagers opted to form a non governmental organization which is administering the natural resources in the Wildlife Management Areas of the respective villages.

4. Wildlife Management:

The Wildlife Division made use of the Wildlife Conservation Act to accommodate changes including approving and issuing sustainable hunting quotas to the communities.

Villages were assisted to purchase initial equipment for their village game scouts e.g. uniforms, hunting rifle.

The village game scouts carry out the hunting and protection of crops and human life. The meat is sold within the village. The village assembly decides during an annual budget meeting about the use of the generated money. Partly it is used for the scouts and wildlife management and partly for village development projects (school rehabilitation, vaccination programmes etc.)

In the future the villages will be enabled to increase their income by leasing of their Wildlife Management Areas to safari hunting or photo tourism companies.

Recent outcome (positive):

Villagers now have legal access to game meat, for which they have a high preference. The villages derive revenue from sale of meat from their quota and are able to decide on their own responsibility about the use of finances and development in their immediate environment.

There is evidence that poaching in the buffer zones and SGR has decreased significantly due to the joint efforts of anti-poaching units, district, SGR, village game scouts and villagers. Wildlife is now coming back to areas where it has been absent for many years.

Neighboring villages, not yet enrolled in the scheme, copied the scheme in their village land, but need external financial assistance for training and initial equipment.

The idea of Community Wildlife Management was taken up in many parts of the country, new projects started with concept of CWM and course participants of the CBCTI are enrolled from different areas of Tanzania.

A new wildlife policy which puts a lot of weighing on community based conservation has been drafted, drawing the experience from SCP.

The villagers feel also responsible for the management of other natural resources like forestry and fisheries.

The transparency of the utilization of natural and financial resources increased on all levels.

Recent outcome (negative):

Constraints are:

• The lack of an elaborate policy and legislation to guide the process of organizing effective community based groups through participation.
• Limited personnel with necessary skills and commitment to work and live with villagers.
• Resistance to change attitudes on both sides: Wildlife personnel and villagers.
• Since a change of a system causes losers and winners there is still resistance on all levels.

Expected outcome after the termination of the programme:

With the enabling policy and legislation the communities should be able to make full use of their Wildlife Management Areas in particular to get revenue from tourist hunting.

Financing mechanisms for sustainable Community Wildlife Management on all levels should be developed and implemented.

The Selous ecosystem is secured and sustainably yields benefits for local communities and the nation.

• Given the enabling environment (policy legislation, training and trust) rural communities are capable of managing natural resources in their land prudently.
• The indigenous knowledge of people has to be understood, recognized, respected and has to be incorporated in the management of protected areas.
• In the long run the natural resources in rural areas can only be sustained by the communities if they are active committed, when the access to the natural resources is essential for local livelihood, security and survival and when communities are responsible for its management.
• The Government of Tanzania will financially not be able to finance the initial cost for the implementation of Community Based Conservation nationwide, e.g. training of Wildlife staff, District and village functionaries, village game scouts; survey of village land and land-use plan, extension service.

THE SELOUS GAME RESERVE AND BUFFER ZONES