Piloting Livestock and Wildlife Integration in Communal Lands Adjacent to Protected Areas in Africa (Tanzania)

Goal

The conservation of globally significant biodiversity, with improved ecological integrity, conflict resolution, food security and poverty alleviation.

Objective

A significant reduction in conflict over access to resources through the integration of pastoralism, cropping and wildlife conservation through effective policy and institutional change.

Project outcomes

Community based natural resource management developed and implemented effectively.

Pastoral livelihoods are improved, resulting in an increased tolerance for wildlife.

Decision support tools are adopted by policy makers, local administrations and project implementers, contributing to improved use of natural resources and participatory conservation of biodiversity. Awareness raised on a national (and regional) scale contributing to improved knowledge and practices in natural resource use and conservation of biodiversity.

Project activities to achieve outcomes

1. Participatory land use plans and Wildlife Management Areas developed, adopted and implemented.

• Six villages in which participatory land use planning will be implemented are selected. The six villages and the reason why they have been selected are described in a report.

• Land use changes and land use potential are analysed on the basis of existing information (through participatory assessment of local knowledge and existing reports) as well as additional data if required (e.g. statistical data, aerial photographs, and satellite imagery). A specific report is prepared and disseminated.
• Institutional analysis of existing rules and organisations at the local level to review formal and informal governance structures. A specific report is produced and disseminated.
• Local level Land Use Planning Groups established and supported to enable them to represent pastoralist's needs. Six groups are created and meet on a regular basis.
• Six Village Councils are trained in participatory land use planning. Eighteen training sessions are organised (twenty to twenty-five participants each).
• Key representatives from two Districts (Simanjiro and Monduli) trained in participatory land use planning (the six villages involved in participatory land use planning are part of these districts). Six training sessions are organised (twenty to twenty-five participants each)..
• Land Use Planning Fora established at District level which are representative of stakeholder interests (e.g. livestock keepers, agriculturalists, tour operators, hunting companies, local government, & NGO's) and will manage land use planning and implementation of plans in six villages. Two for a are created and meet on a regular basis.
• Strategy for improved wildlife and livestock animal health and their consequences with regard to land use planning developed. Two workshops are organised.
• Six village land use plans developed in the framework of the “Land Use Planning Fora”. Land use plans will improve sustainable allocation of resources among various stakeholders (e.g. croppers, pastoralists, agro-pastoralists, conservation, and tourism), taking into account the non-equilibrium environment concept and its consequences with regard to sustainable range management. In addition, the project will ensure that the land use plans do not undermine poor socio-economic strata's access to resources, and especially to wild products. Ten participatory meetings are held to support the development of each plan. All plans are described in a report including results of consultation, maps, description of land use categories, implementation guidelines, and process for continuous updating.
• The six land use plans are co-funded by local communities and government and implemented
• Community members introduced to the WMA concept and regulation. They are trained for their active and efficient involvement in the process. Four training sessions are organised (twenty to twenty-five participants each).
• The establishment of two Wildlife Management Areas (WMA) is facilitated by the project. The involvement of local communities is supported. Two WMA established, 6 meetings organised.

2. Innovative mechanisms to harness wildlife values designed.

• Participatory assessments are made (400 households) to assess livelihood strategies of pastoral and agro-pastoral communities in the project area at the beginning and the end of the project. Particular attention will be paid to current and potential income-generating activities for pastoralist communities from various land use types, as well as to the current and potential importance of wild products (including wildlife) in the livelihood strategies of different socio-economic categories. A specific report, including raw data and analysis, is prepared and disseminated.
• The benefit-sharing strategies identified in the framework of the Regional component are evaluated in the particular context of the Tanzanian site. The pro-poor benefit-sharing arrangements will be tested for social feasibility. Six workshops are organised and a specific report is prepared and disseminated.
  Community Groups supported to manage income-generating activities from wildlife. Six training sessions are organised (twenty to twenty-five participants each).
• Community members are trained to establish fair and lasting partnerships with private operators (Conservation Business Venture –CBV). Four training sessions are organised (twenty to twenty-five participants each) .
• Three fair partnerships are established between communities and private operators (Conservation Business Venture –CBV). Three CBVs established.

3. Decision support tools to strengthen rational resource-access and management developed.

• Participatory assessment of needs for and capacity to use decision-support tools by different stakeholders. Two workshops are organised to decide upon the content and the form of the decision support tools. Two workshops are organised and a specific report is prepared and disseminated.
• Existing models and monitoring systems (eg SAVANNA) adapted for the Tarangire-Manyara ecosystem to explore alternative land-use management scenarios. In this respect, existing information will be synthesised into databases, knowledge gaps identified, new data on wildlife corridors, traditional grazing systems, wildlife and livestock distributions, and hotspots of interaction between livestock and wildlife collected. The adapted version of SAVANNA is available (including a user manual), and it is used to assess land use scenarios.
• Two graduate studentships established to support the decision support tools preparation and to build capacity of researchers at national insti tutions and NGO's.
• Two Spatial analysis training workshops are held (twenty to twenty-five participants each). Local decision-makers and technicians attend.
  The decision support tools are prepared and distributed . At least five hundred copies (support to be defined) distributed to targeted users.
• Two workshops are organised to sensitise decision-makers at local and national levels to the wildlife – livestock interaction issues (early stage of the project).
• Decision-makers at local, regional and national levels are trained in the use of the decision support systems prepared by the project (last year of the project). Four training sessions are organised (twenty to twenty-five participants each) .
• Guidelines are prepared on “Decision making processes for natural resource management and drought preparedness in dryland pastoral systems”. They build on experiences from this project and other initiatives. Three specific workshops are hold (South, East and West Africa), and a specific report is prepared.
• Guidelines are prepared on “bio-diversity value investigation in the drylands and mechanisms which will enable pastoral communities to benefit from these values” They build on experiences from Tanzanian and other countries. Three specific workshops are hold (South, East and West Africa), and a specific report is prepared.
• Publication and dissemination of guidelines and standards. A National Conference is organised, 500 copies of each guidelines (support to be defined) are distributed to targeted users.

Funding

The project is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) with cofinancing from LEAD and Fond Français pour l'Environnement while in kind support is provided by Wildlife division, Livestock Division, Simanjiro and Monduli District Councils, AWF, ILRI and MAA.

Partners

The project is jointly proposed by FAO and the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF).

Within FAO, the LEAD Initiative is an inter-institutional initiative supported by the World Bank (WB), the European Union (EU), the Ministère de la Cooperation (France), German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development via GTZ (Germany), the Department for International Development (DFID-United Kingdom), the US Agency for International Development (USAID-USA), the Danish Agency for International Development Agency (Danida-Denmark), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (Switzerland), the Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE), the Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD), The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and FAO. The work of the initiative targets the protection and enhancement of natural resources as affected by livestock production and processing, while alleviating poverty. LEAD has identified, at a global scale, the consequences of increased pressure on grazing and mixed farming systems and the shift to industrial modes of production as the main areas for its support. It highlights the close interaction between government policies and technology adopted at farm level, and seeks to disseminate available technologies to mitigate negative effects in different production modes, provided the appropriate policy framework is in place. LEAD has particular strengths in decision support systems, technical expertise on livestock and environment interactions, spatial analysis, and knowledge management.

The Maasai advanced Association (MAA - an emanation of interests of the Ol Maa speaking pastoral peoples across northern Tanzania) is at the origin of the project identification, and provided substantial input during the design phase, ensuring that pastoralists’ needs are properly addressed. With a focus on appropriate (modern, but culturally sensitive) and sustainable socio-economic development, MAA is strategically placed, and institutionally well established, to undertake activities that will have a direct impact on both livelihoods and ecological health within the Tarangire-Manyara landscape. MAA argues that an equal and opposite emphasis on using rangelands for livestock production, rather than encouraging land degradation through unsustainable cultivation, will benefit both the economy and ecology of the country. MAA would contribute significant strengths in PRA approaches to the project area in the context of land use planning, community sensitization and mobilization and the development of benefit sharing mechanisms.

The African Wildlife Foundation has over 40 years of conservation experience focused entirely on the continent of Africa. AWF is registered as a 501(3)c PVO in the U.S., and is an international NGO with the Government of each African country where it has an active program. In Tanzania, AWF has recently updated its Country Agreement with the Government of Tanzania (February, 1999) governing its scope and operations, and program specific MOUs with relevant Tanzanian national institutions and District Councils. AWF primarily focuses on helping wildlife thrive and people prosper, linking conservation in key African landscapes to improved livelihoods for communities living within those landscapes. AWF achieves this by linking landscape conservation processes with community enterprise development.

Executing Agency
FAO, hosting the secretariat of LEAD will be the executing agency of the project, under a contractual arrangement with the World Bank.

AWF will be delegated responsibilities for execution in Tanzania.