Reconsidering Human-Wildlife Conflicts In Communities Around Wildlife Protected Areas Of Tanzania

Tanzania has a number of wildlife protected areas (WPAs), surrounded by rural communities undertaking various socio-economic activities. These communities are constantly in conflict with wildlife because of the damage they cause. Surveys in some WPAs indicate that the damages of major concern include crop predation and attacks to people and livestock. These damages have social and economic implications to communities in terms of food security. This situation has existed for long without any satisfactory ways of addressing it. Recently, Community-Based Wildlife Conservation (CBWC) through established Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) has been envisaged as an approach to mitigate the conflicts. This approach is still under experimentation in Africa. However, there are indications that it may not be a plausible solution instead it may worsen the problem. Moreover, CBWC is feasible only where WPAs are large enough to establish WMAs. Another complication is that the wildlife policy clearly states that there is no intention of introducing a compensation scheme for wildlife based damages. It is high time this problem is reconsidered for example by instituting a compensation scheme. This would help the poor rural communities who bear the cost of wildlife conservation. TJFNC Vol. 76 2007: pp. 40-4