Competing Commons: Local Response to the Criminalization of Customary Use of Resources in Arusha National Park, Tanzania

Abstract

"Modern conservationists portray national parks as part of a common world heritage and as essential components of sustainable development. The rules of these new 'commons', however, often abrogate existing common property rights. After nearly three hundred years of continuous use, the Wameru people have been denied access to the forests and grasslands of Mt. Meru by the creation of a series of conservation areas, culminating in Arusha National Park. Based on current field research, this paper examines the nature of the continuing social conflicts which have resulted from the criminalization of local people's use of the commons. It pieces together the historical use of the area now enclosed by the park and investigates local people's interpretation of and response to the state-initiated regulations. Finally, the paper speculates on what this implies for the sustainability of the accepted model of national parks in Tanzania and other countries in Africa."

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Keywords

land tenure and use, customary law, IASC, resource management

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