The United States supported the Second Annual Wildlife Corridor Forum in Arusha to highlight the collective progress achieved by government, local communities, and international partners to ensure that people and wildlife thrive in Tanzania. Through USAID, the U.S. has invested $10 million annually in recent years in Tanzania for community-driven conservation. Wildlife corridors are critical to sustaining communities, conserving wildlife habitats, and reducing human-wildlife conflicts. Community leadership and involvement in decision making is key to lasting success.
“Balancing the well-being of humans and wildlife using finite resources is a complex challenge, requiring inclusive and collaborative solutions. USAID’s work in conservation is grounded in elevating community involvement in and ownership of land-use planning,” said USAID/Tanzania Environment Team Lead Nathan Sage, during the conference. “Our approach has been guided by the principle that conservation is most effective when local communities have ownership over the management of the resources they depend on.”
Highlighting the importance of community involvement, Zakaria Faustin, the Executive Director of the community-focused Tanzania Natural Resources Forum, said, “Securing landscape connectivity may involve more than one village and requires a community-driven process where the community becomes the centre of the process. The community should be well-informed to make decisions about the use of their land through joint land use plans. We tried that in Kiteto, and it worked. The community supported the work because they have seen a tangible benefit.”
Despite progress in wildlife protection, clarity about land tenure for local communities in Tanzania remains a concern. USAID/Tanzania is committed to supporting wildlife corridor guidelines which safeguard community land and grazing rights in line with international best standards such as Free, Prior, and Informed Consent. Since 2018, USAID has supported the issuance of over 20,000 Certificates of Customary Rights of Occupancy (CCROs), providing communities legal tenure over their lands and resources.
“The United States believes it is essential that designated corridors are based on village land-use plans including existing grazing rights, provided that there are sustainable management plans, and that these village plans are recognized and upheld so that communities retain ownership and control over corridor area natural resources,” said Sage.
The Forum underscored the need for conservation to be a collaborative process, involving the government, the private sector, and civil society. With biodiversity contributing 15 percent of Tanzania’s economic output, sustaining wildlife corridors is both an ecological and economic priority, securing Tanzania’s natural heritage for future generations.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of U.S. Embassy in Tanzania.
