Complimentarity not competition: Co-existence of community-based wildlife conservation and protected area approaches in Morogoro district, Tanzania

Abstract

In sub-Saharan Africa, community-based wildlife conservation (CBC) emerged in the 1980s to complement the clearly failing protected area (PA) conservation approach. Over two decades have passed and both the theory and practice of relations between CBC and PA approaches indicate a situation of competition rather than complementarity of the two  approaches. This paper uses empirical evidence from Morogoro rural district in Tanzania where a CBC project is implemented next to the Selous Game Reserve to explore why complementarity of the two approaches has remained elusive to-date. Rapid socioeconomic and climatic changes have
brought rural communities and wildlife even closer together further making it difficult to exclude local people in wildlife conservation. Findings from this study indicate that local communities are willing to complement Governmental efforts in wildlife conservation only when they derive benefits from their participation. The situation of unmet expectations has increased distrust and apathy among local people in participating in wildlife conservation. Governments have a bigger role to play in enhancing complementarity but so far have been reluctant to do so. In the face of predicted climatic changes impacts on wildlife distribution, human population growth, and economic changes, complementarity of the PA and CBC approaches will even be more important. Without serious  transformations on the government side to practically embrace CBC as a complementary conservation strategy, complementarity of the two approaches will remain elusive and hence continued loss of biodiversity.