Abstract:
The Live Wild Animals Trade Ban (LWATB) has been imposed temporarily by the
Tanzania government since March 2016. The ban implied a national revenue loss of about
1.83 billion Tanzanian Shillings (TZS) per year. One among the reasons for such a ban
was a breach of the Wildlife Conservation Act (WCA) No. 5 of 2009 by some of the
actors. Subsequently, the government has been thinking of imposing a total ban.
However, the social-economic and conservation effects of the ban on the communities are
not well known. This study was conducted in the villages found adjacent to the Nilo
Nature Forest Reserve (NNFR) in the East Usambara Mountains. The objectives were to
ascertain the effects of LWATB on income, poaching, and communities’ coping
mechanisms post LWATB. Household questionnaires and key informant interviews were
used for data collection. Both inferential and descriptive statistical analyses were
conducted. Findings revealed that the LWAT contributed TZS 709 057 400/= of the total
income to local communities, whereas other Income Generating Activities (IGAs)
contributed TZS 192 455 000/= yearly. This showed a significant difference between the
income earned from LWAT and other IGAs (t=21.455, p < 0.05) before the ban.
Furthermore, the ban has contributed to decreasing poaching incidences by 38.4%.
These results commensurate with secondary data that showed that there was statistically
significant difference on poaching incidences before and after the ban (z = -2.938,
P < 0.05). Moreover, 98% of respondents who were engaging in the trade before the ban
have shifted to the other IGAs. Ultimately, LWATB has negative impacts to the income
of the local communities and positive impacts on conservation through reducing income
and poaching incidences after LWATB by 78.7% and 38.4% respectively. Therefore, it is
recommended that the government should uplift the ban on non-threatened species and
facilitate local communities to conduct their activities sustainably.
