African Wildlife Livelihoods

Essays on the policy, practice, and theory of community conservation in Africa.

The area of eastern Africa, which includes Tanzania and Kenya, is known for its savannas, wildlife and tribal peoples. Alongside these iconic images lie concerns about environmental degradation, declining wildlife populations, and about worsening poverty of pastoral peoples. East Africa presents in microcosm the paradox so widely seen across sub Saharan Africa, where the world’s poorest and most vulnerable populations live alongside some of the world’s most outstanding biodiversity resources. Over the last decade or so, community conservation has emerged as a way out of poverty and environmental problems for these rural populations, focusing on the sustainable use of wildlife to generate income that could underpin equally sustainable development. Given the enduring interest in East African wildlife, and the very large tourist income it generates, these communities and ecosystems seem a natural case for green development based on community conservation. This volume is focused on the livelihoods of the Maasai in two different countries - Kenya and Tanzania. This cross-border comparative analysis looks at what people do, why they choose to do it, with what success and with what implications for wildlife. The comparative approach makes it possible to unpack the interaction of conservation and development, to identify the main drivers of livelihoods change and the main outcomes of wildlife conservation or other land use policies, while controlling for confounding factors in these semi-arid and perennially variable systems. This synthesis draws out lessons about the successes and failures of community conservation-based approach to development in Maasailand under different national political and economic contexts and different local social and historical particularities.

This volume discusses the complex relationship between Protected Areas and tourism and their impact on community livelihoods in a range of countries in Southern Africa. Protected areas and tourism have an enduring and symbiotic relationship. While protected areas offer a desirable setting for tourism products, tourism provides revenue that can contribute to conservation efforts. This can bring benefits to local communities, but it can also have a negative impact, with the establishment of protected areas leading to the eviction of local communities from their original places of residence, while also preventing them from accessing the natural resources they once enjoyed. Taking a multi-disciplinary approach, this book addresses the opportunities and challenges faced by communities and other stakeholders as they endeavour to achieve their conservation goals and work towards improving community livelihoods. Case studies from Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe address key issues such as human–wildlife conflicts, ecotourism, wildlife-based tourism, landscape governance, wildlife crop-raiding and trophy hunting, including the high-profile case of Cecil the lion. Chapters highlight both the achievements and positive outcomes of protected areas, but also the challenges faced and their impact on how protected areas are viewed and also conservation priorities more generally. The volume gives these issues affecting protected areas, local communities, managers and international conservation efforts centre stage in order inform policy and improve practice going forward. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of conservation, natural resource management, tourism, sustainable development and African studies, as well as professionals and policymakers involved in conservation policy.

The area of eastern Africa, which includes Tanzania and Kenya, is known for its savannas, wildlife and tribal peoples. Alongside these iconic images lie concerns about environmental degradation, declining wildlife populations, and about worsening poverty of pastoral peoples. East Africa presents in microcosm the paradox so widely seen across sub Saharan Africa, where the world’s poorest and most vulnerable populations live alongside some of the world’s most outstanding biodiversity resources. Over the last decade or so, community conservation has emerged as a way out of poverty and environmental problems for these rural populations, focusing on the sustainable use of wildlife to generate income that could underpin equally sustainable development. Given the enduring interest in East African wildlife, and the very large tourist income it generates, these communities and ecosystems seem a natural case for green development based on community conservation. This volume is focused on the livelihoods of the Maasai in two different countries - Kenya and Tanzania. This cross-border comparative analysis looks at what people do, why they choose to do it, with what success and with what implications for wildlife. The comparative approach makes it possible to unpack the interaction of conservation and development, to identify the main drivers of livelihoods change and the main outcomes of wildlife conservation or other land use policies, while controlling for confounding factors in these semi-arid and perennially variable systems. This synthesis draws out lessons about the successes and failures of community conservation-based approach to development in Maasailand under different national political and economic contexts and different local social and historical particularities.

This book examines the connections between natural resources, tourism and community livelihood practices in Southern Africa, highlighting the successes and constraints experienced over the last 50 years. Questioning how natural resources, tourism and community livelihoods relations can positively contribute towards development efforts, this book adopts an interdisciplinary approach to understand socio-ecological systems that characterize the dynamics for sustainable development. It explores the history of conservation and natural resource management in Southern Africa and traces the development and growth of nature-based tourism. Boasting a wide range of tourism landscapes, including national parks, wetlands, forests and oceans, the book draws on case studies from a variety of Southern African countries, including Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, and considers the political challenges for implementing policies and practices. Furthermore, it analyses broader issues such as the impact of climate change, human–wildlife co-existence and resulting conflicts, poor access to funding and poverty in local communities. The book argues that the links between conservation and livelihoods can be best understood by considering the different approaches to reconciling the demands of conservation and livelihoods that have evolved over the past decades. Containing contributions from natural and social sciences the book provides guidance for practitioners and policymakers to continue to shape policies and practices that are in line with the key tenets of sustainable development. It will also be of great interest to students and scholars researching Southern Africa, sustainable tourism and conservation.

The area of eastern Africa, which includes Tanzania and Kenya, is known for its savannas, wildlife and tribal peoples. Alongside these iconic images lie concerns about environmental degradation, declining wildlife populations, and about worsening poverty of pastoral peoples. East Africa presents in microcosm the paradox so widely seen across sub Saharan Africa, where the world’s poorest and most vulnerable populations live alongside some of the world’s most outstanding biodiversity resources. Over the last decade or so, community conservation has emerged as a way out of poverty and environmental problems for these rural populations, focusing on the sustainable use of wildlife to generate income that could underpin equally sustainable development. Given the enduring interest in East African wildlife, and the very large tourist income it generates, these communities and ecosystems seem a natural case for green development based on community conservation. This volume is focused on the livelihoods of the Maasai in two different countries - Kenya and Tanzania. This cross-border comparative analysis looks at what people do, why they choose to do it, with what success and with what implications for wildlife. The comparative approach makes it possible to unpack the interaction of conservation and development, to identify the main drivers of livelihoods change and the main outcomes of wildlife conservation or other land use policies, while controlling for confounding factors in these semi-arid and perennially variable systems. This synthesis draws out lessons about the successes and failures of community conservation-based approach to development in Maasailand under different national political and economic contexts and different local social and historical particularities.

Natural resource governance is central to the outcomes of biodiversity conservation efforts and to patterns of economic development, particularly in resource-dependent rural communities. The institutional arrangements that define natural resource governance are outcomes of political processes, whereby numerous groups with often-divergent interests negotiate for access to and control over resources. These political processes determine the outcomes of resource governance reform efforts, such as widespread attempts to decentralize or devolve greater tenure over land and resources to local communities. This volume examines the political dynamics of natural resource governance processes through a range of comparative case studies across east and southern Africa. These cases include both local and national settings, and examine issues such as land rights, tourism development, wildlife conservation, participatory forest management, and the impacts of climate change, and are drawn from both academics and field practitioners working across the region. Published with IUCN, The Bradley Fund for the Environment, SASUSG and Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs