Community Wildlife Management Area Consortium (CWMAC), Tanzania

Supporting sustainable use of wildlife resources for improved local livelihoods in Tanzania  

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The Community Wildlife Management Area Consortium [CWMAC] was established in 2010 to support and unify Tanzania’s Community Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs). These areas are conservation spaces designated and managed by communities for the benefit of people, wildlife, and nature. Today, CWMAC has active 21 member WMAs responsible for managing more than 2 million hectares of key community lands adjacent to protected areas.

What is a Community Wildlife Management Area?

Community engagement in Wildlife conservation outside core protected areas is advocated by the Wildlife Policy of Tanzania (2007). The policy states that the management of wildlife outside core protected areas shall be devolved to rural people and the private sector. Community Wildlife Management Areas are community managed areas that foster sustainable rural livelihoods that go in line with conservation and living with wildlife. It is an area that is designated, owned, and managed by a community for conservation benefits. Once established as a community WMA, the communities form an Authorized Association, which is the governing body for that particular WMA. This body is responsible for the overall management and governance of the WMA, but is ultimately held accountable to all members of the villages who contributed their land for conservation benefits. WMA use and management is guided by a land use plan, which may allow for grazing and habitization within the WMA. Benefits, such as carbon or tourism, derived from WMA conservation efforts, are shared between local and national government as well as the communities themselves.

CWMAC aims to benefit the communities living with wildlife by ensuring they can play a role in conservation and fully reap the benefits of wildlife and other natural resources found in these WMAs. Communities are crucial in developing a mutually beneficial relationship between themselves and wildlife. If the communities can benefit from protecting wildlife, then there are likely to be less human-wildlife conflict incidents.

As a consortium, CWMAC seeks to be the voice of WMAs in Tanzania, helping to represent them in national-level dialogue and advocating on their behalf.

CWMAC has had the following achievements

• The consortium has enabled WMAs to generate over 10 million USD through tourism. WMAs are also famously used as hunting grounds for a lot of tourists from within and outside the country. Hunting for some of these WMAs is the biggest source of revenue as they get money from fee payments and the employment of community members during this period. CWMAC has played a big role in the negotiations to increase the value of the hunting grounds for many of the WMAs, taking them from grade 3 to 2.

• CWMAC played a crucial role in lobbying the government for WMAs to get more rights to manage their land without government interference. Although the land is community-owned and the WMAs are said to be community-led, there is constant conflict on the limits of the WMAs. New guidelines show that the WMAs have more land ownership due to the work that CWMAC has done to advocate for them.

• CWMAC supported WMAs in attracting investors in tourism and carbon offset businesses. Some WMAs have begun carbon harvesting projects, which have increased their revenue.

Some WMAs, such as Burunge and Randilen, which are adjacent to Tarangire National Park, play a key role in wildlife conservation. They are located in important dispersal areas and migratory corridors, and thanks to community engagement, investment, and support, have become thriving ecotourism spots generating growing revenues for the WMA communities.