Community-Based Wildlife Management In Tanzania: The Policy Environment

Community-based wildlife management (CWM) approach – known to others as community-based conservation – was first introduced in Tanzania in 1987/88. The approach intends to reconcile wildlife conservation and rural economic development. In the 1990s Tanzanians witnessed a rush by government Ministries and Departments to formulate and/or reformulate their policies. One such policy is the Wildlife Policy, formulated by the Wildlife Division in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism. Some policies affect community-based wildlife management (CWM) approach positively. Others affect the approach negatively and yet others affect it both positively and negatively. This article reviews the Wildlife Policy of Tanzania and eight other national policies and assesses how each actually or potentially affects CWM and wildlife conservation in general. The article intends to show wildlife managers, conservationists and proponents of CWM in Tanzania the work ahead of them, as far as clearing the way for the approach is concerned. Also, as one reviewer observed, the article acts as a stimulant to further analyses of the policies. TJFNC Vol. 75 2004: pp. 1-1