Public Assets Management: Would Mutual Cooperation with other Actors in Forest and Wildlife Sectors Really Help?

Abstract

The Government of Tanzania decided to cooperate with other actors particularly local communities in improving forest and wildlife management by approving Forest Policy 1998 and Wildlife Policy 2007 (RE). The decision to entrust local communities with control over forest and wildlife reserves can help in plummeting many of the ills such as human-wildlife conflicts, deforestation and poaching. However, giving managerial responsibilities to local communities without looking after their livelihood is something that need to be reconsidered. When JFM and WMA models were introduced, the expectation was the same would bring about an improved cooperation and livelihood of local population. The two models have been brought into Tanzania by development partners as part of the technical and financial support in managing forest and wildlife resources. Thus, these models neither originated from the local communities nor have their development priorities been considered, and that explains why livelihood outcomes of local communities have been poor. The paper suggests that MNRT and development partners should know that local communities have different expectations of improving their livelihood outcomes. The paper also suggests that MNRT should ensure that local communities are at the centre of any development support program, and they (i.e. local communities) should be the ones determining development priorities and influencing the institutions involved in the processes that affect their lives. The paper further suggests that any kind of future intervention must recognise, appreciate and respect the differences that exists among actors involved in forest and wildlife management such as overall well-being, gender, age, ethnicity, level of education etc. The MNRT should look at local communities as organisations which possess required knowledge and skills to manage their local forest and wildlife resources. MNRT should ensure that when livelihoods analysis is conducted, emphasis is placed on how people earn their living. MNRT should also ensure that there is a frequent reviews of the practices used to deal with various livelihood and vulnerability issues during implementation of a particular support program in forest and wildlife management. These reviews must be conducted on both sides (of MNRT and development partners on one hand as well as local communities involved on the other), in response to various changes particularly on vulnerability context that usually take place in an effort to avoid unintended consequences.

Keywords: Local Communities’ Participation, Livelihood Outcomes, Forest and Wildlife Management, Tanzania

DOI: 10.7176/DCS/10-5-07

Publication date:May 31st 2020