Adjacent local communities’ involvement through meetings with VNRCs
Southern Tanzania Elephant Program (STEP)
Increased Community Involvement
Community Benefit Assessment at Kipanga Village (among 19 villages adjacent to USNFR)
Southern Tanzania Elephant Program (STEP)
NTFPs’ access in the village forests and along the buffer of USNFR
Southern Tanzania Elephant Program (STEP)
The purpose of the community engagement was to increase partnership and community involvement in the management of the USNFR. This led into achieving conservation goals and also increased benefits to local communities through:
- Meetings with Village Natural Resources Committees (VNRCs) which resulted in exploration of the means of collaboration, and a way forward in intervening the issues faced by them.
- Conducting Community Benefits Assessment (CBA) to assess the perceived benefits of the forest reserve by local communities, which revealed that a majority of respondents agree that using the forest reserve brings them benefits.
- The results of CBA led into the solution to facilitated access to non-timber forest products and social services provided by the USNFR through special permits supervised by VNRCs.
- Existing structures at the village level such as good village leadership and the VNRCs help in building trust and good relationships with local communities to encourage their participation and support
- Actors (village leaders, local communities, local government, and TFS) willingness to support the solution
- Continuous involvement of the adjacent local communities
- Meetings with local communities (the VNRCs) were essential to build trust, and means of communication and establish partnerships between them and the USNFR’s management
- Conducting CBA provided valuable insights into local perceptions of the Joint Forest Management (JFM) and needs in terms of benefits accrued from the USNFR
- Collaborating with adjacent local communities enhanced project outcomes and increased the means of sustainability
- Access to Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) and social services was an important incentive for local communities to support conservation efforts