Browsing by Author "Kiwango, W. A."

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    Levels of community participation and satisfaction with decentralized wildlife management in Idodi-Pawaga wildlife management area, Tanzania
    (Taylor & Francis, 2018) Kiwango, W. A.; Komakech, H. C.; Tarimo, T. M.; Martz, L.
    Participatory approaches to conservation are viewed as a plausible alternative to the old ‘fortress conservation’ approach. The design and implementation of these approaches in developing countries have tended to embrace community participation through decentralized governance mechanisms in the past three decades. However, sustainable conservation approaches that maintain community livelihoods while conserving biodiversity are challenged with meeting both objectives. In addressing this challenge, little attention has been given to empirical analysis of community’s satisfaction levels on how they participated in the design and implementation of this approach. In this paper, we use a mixed method approach-using both quantitative and qualitative data to examine levels of satisfaction and participation of local communities in the Idodi-Pawaga Wildlife Management Area (WMA), south-western Tanzania. We find that social economic factors (e.g. age, household size, gender, number of years living in the same location and participation/non-participation) influence, in different ways, the satisfaction levels of community’s participation towards the WMA creation. Due to inadequate participation, we find that the WMA design and implementation process failed from the beginning to actively involve the local communities and this has resulted in the near absence of the promised economic benefits from wildlife conservation. We suggest that it is important to actively engage communities from the beginning of any WMA program, and take into consideration their levels of satisfaction with the process of decision making, if meaningful decentralized governance is to be achieved.
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    Why the Convivial Conservation Vision Needs Complementing to be a Viable Alternative for Conservation in the Global South
    (Medknow, 2022) Kiwango, W. A.; Mabele, M. B.
    Convivial conservation is presented as an anti-capitalist approach and alternative to current mainstream conservation as well as proposals for ‘half-earth’ and ‘new conservation’ approaches. This paper reviews these approaches and situates them in the global South conservation and development context. Using the Ruaha-Rungwa Ecosystem in Tanzania as a case study, it examines elements of the convivial conservation vision in relation to three critical conservation problems: path dependencies of state conservation agencies; heavy reliance on tourism revenue; and political interests in community conservation areas. The analysis draws on empirical data obtained from published studies and extensive field-based research by the first author in the study area. It demonstrates that while the convivial conservation approach may be considered a radical and plausible alternative to the ‘half earth’ and new conservation proposals, its implementation in the global South will remain challenging in the face of the existing conservation problems. The paper suggests a socio-ecological justice approach that complements the convivial conservation vision through a systemic incorporation of the rights and responsibilities of different conservation stakeholders from the perspective of procedural, recognition, distributive, and environmental justice.