Benefits being distributed at village celebration
Ruaha Carnivore Project
Transparent benefit distribution
To incentivise conservation, the benefits must be locally meaningful and transparently distributed. Here, we worked with the communities to identify priority areas (healthcare, education and veterinary medicines) and translated points into benefits every 3 months. The village requested the benefits and the project sourced and delivered them. They were distributed at a large village celebration, where the programme was explained again. Then the number of points was reset to zero and the process began again.
Funding for the benefits, a process for ensuring that the benefits are meaningful and equitable for different groups of people. For example, in our area traditional pastoralists are often overlooked, so we ensured that a third of the benefits were allocated to them.
Transparency at all levels is vital. The images were scrutinised together, the points allocated together, and the village decided between themselves on their priorities. They chose their desired benefits, and the notice was displayed publicly in the village centre. The benefits bought and distributed were also listed publicly.