Institutional rhetoric versus local Reality: a case study of burunge Wildlife management area, Tanzania
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Date
2018
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
SAGE
Abstract
Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) are establishments that promote wildlife conservation and rural development in
Tanzania. However, through focus group discussions, key informant interviews, a questionnaire survey, and literature review,
we found that the participation of local people in both the establishment and management of the WMA was limited and rife
with conflict. While benefits have materialized at the communal level, local people saw neither value nor benefit of the WMA
to their livelihoods. Specifically, local people’s access to natural resources got worse while private eco-tourism investors and
the central government have gained financially. Contrary to the livelihood enhancing WMA rhetoric, top-down institutional
choices have sidelined democratically elected Village Governments and successive legislative adjustments disenfranchised and
dispossessed them and their constituencies. We conclude that village governments should consistently demand for their legal
rights to the resources on their land until the WMA approach to conservation and development is democratized.
Description
Journal Article
Keywords
community-based wildlife management, dispossession, institutional choice, rule-by-law, disenfranchisement