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PDF
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Type:
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Journal Article |
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Author:
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Nelson, Fred; Nshala, Rugemeleza; Rodgers, W. A. |
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Journal:
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Conservation & Society |
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Volume:
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5 |
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Page(s):
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Date:
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2007 |
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URI:
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https://hdl.handle.net/10535/3222
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Sector:
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Social Organization
Wildlife |
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Region:
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Africa |
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Subject(s):
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wildlife
resource management
community participation
conservation
policy analysis
devolution
decentralization
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Abstract:
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"Natural resource management efforts in sub-Saharan Africa and throughout the tropics widely advocate the increased involvement of local communities in management decisions and processes. In Tanzania, wildlife management is largely centralised, featuring large state-protected areas and strict controls on resource use throughout the colonial and post-independence periods. During the past two decades a policy reform narrative has emerged in Tanzania, strongly supported by donor agencies and foreign conservation organisations, which aims to increase the participation of rural communities and decentralise wildlife management to the local level. Despite official government policies calling for these reforms, administrative and legal measures enacted during the past 10 years have, contrastingly, increased central control over wildlife and reduced the rights of rural communities. This divergence between the rhetoric of policy statements and management practice is best explained by the historical legacy of centralised control over wildlife and the institutional disincentives to devolving authority that have become entrenched within Tanzanias wildlife bureaucracy. These factors undermine efforts to reform the countrys wildlife sector and reflect fundamental political economic challenges facing natural resource decentralisation efforts throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa and the developing world."
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