National Wildlife Management Areas Strategy (2023-2033).

This National Wildlife Management Areas Strategy is a comprehensive 10-year plan for the period 2023-2033, providing a roadmap for local stakeholders and national administrations. Its goals include maximizing the benefits of Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) for members of Authorized Associations (AAs) beyond natural resource conservation, mitigating negative impacts associated with increasing wildlife populations, and aligning Tanzania with a rewarding community and livelihood-based approach with high returns. Additionally, it aims to improve ecological and socio-economic conditions through community-based wildlife management for sustainable rural development. A Wildlife Management Area (WMA) is a Community-Based Natural Resources Management (CBNRM) approach designed to integrate sustainable rural livelihoods with improved wildlife conservation. The Strategy is structured around six interdependent strategic objectives: (1) Scaling up successful WMAs to ensure sustainability and disseminate best community-based wildlife practices nationwide; (2) Strengthening the Community Wildlife Management Area Consortium (CWMAC) as a robust national body representing WMAs; (3) Developing and reinforcing national policy and legislative frameworks supportive of community-based wildlife management; (4) Introducing landscape conservation planning mechanisms to enhance ecological connectivity and resilience, ensuring good habitat conditions for wildlife on community-owned lands; (5) Increasing community engagement in conservation and improving livelihoods by devolving full ownership and management responsibilities to rural communities for wildlife resources; (6) Addressing emerging and cross-cutting issues that could affect communal development positively or negatively, including to advocate for gender equality by empowering young people and women in conservation, improve health and education awareness in local communities, establish invasive species monitoring programs, build climate resilience capacities, and disseminate information on the effectiveness of WMAs and community-led conservation actions to all relevant stakeholders. This Strategy aims to foster wildlife conservation while promoting sustainable community development over the next decade. Working on these objectives will lead to improving community livelihoods, securing integrated landscapes, and increasing financial investments by donors and the private sector with the overall outcome of robust ecosystems that are contributing to the social and economic development of the local communities.