Wildlife is Our Oil: Conservation, Livelihoods and NGOs in the Tarangire Ecosystem, Tanzania Hassanali Thomas Sachedina St. Antony‘s College Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford Hilary Term, 2008 Abstract The Tarangire ecosystem of northern Tanzania is proclaimed a site of global biodiversity significance. The economic value of wildlife in Tarangire and Lake Manyara National Parks is substantial and growing. Maintaining the health of these parks is important to Tanzania‘s overall tourism industry and macroeconomic health. A considerable proportion of Tarangire‘s wildlife leaves the park for approximately six months a year, migrating onto village lands under the jurisdiction of local communities. Of particular importance are grazing and calving areas in the Simanjiro Plains. Conservation of the ecosystem‘s migratory wildlife populations largely depends on maintaining these habitats on communally owned lands. However, populations of most large mammal species have declined by over fifty percent in the last decade. The progressive conversion of pastoral rangelands to agriculture is believed to be a major contributing factor to this decline. Community-based conservation (CBC) interventions in the Tarangire ecosystem aim to increase the combined economic returns from wildlife and pastoral livestock production in order to reduce incentives for non-wildlife compatible agricultural land-use change. Increased State investment in CBC, continued growth in photographic and hunting tourism revenues, and large infusions of funding from international conservation organisations suggest that substantial potential exists for CBC to play a significant role in poverty reduction and biodiversity conservation. This thesis examines the fortunes of CBC in the Tarangire ecosystem. It uses a household survey conducted in a village earning substantial wildlife tourism revenues to show that wildlife benefits are concentrated in the hands of the elite, and have limited livelihood or conservation impacts. By documenting the root causes of local resistance to conservation, this thesis explains the failures of new conservation strategies in Tanzania. i Acknowledgements Generous funding for my doctoral research was provided by the University of Oxford through the ORISHA Studentship, Kirk-Greene Africa Travel Grant and Stahl Travel Fund of St. Anthony‘s College, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Save the Rhino International, The Ann and Robert H. Lurie Foundation, Eureka Tents, and African Wildlife Foundation (AWF). I am extremely grateful to all these sources of support. In addition, I am grateful to the School of Geography at the Oxford University Centre for the Environment (OUCE) for supporting this research. In particular, I would especially like to thank Mrs. Ruth Saxton for her wonderful administrative support. Permission to conduct research in Tanzania was graciously granted by COSTECH, the Commission for Science and Technology, with review of my application and further permission to conduct research in Simanjiro granted by Manyara Region and Simanjiro District Council. I thank both COSTECH and local government authorities, and acknowledge in particular the assistance of Simanjiro District officers who were willing to share their thoughts and experiences with me, greatly enriching my research as a result. I thank Dr. Hussein Sosovele at the Institute of Resource Assessment who as my local supervisor, provided advice and institutional affiliation. Several people guided me at the beginning of my doctoral research: In Nairobi, Ms. Rosalind Aveling and Dr. David Western were intellectually challenging mentors and helped to refine my ideas. In Oxford, Dr. Eamonn Molloy assisted at the beginning of my thesis and Professors Gerard Bodeker and William Beinart provided encouragement ii and guidance at various points during my thesis. I am indebted to the staff at ILRI in Kenya who provided me with constant support and mentorship throughout this process. I especially would like to thank my ILRI supervisor, Dr. Patricia Kristjanson, and Ms. Maren Radeny and Dr. Robin Reid. For institutional support at AWF, I thank Ms. Joanna Elliott, Dr. Helen Gichohi, Dr. Patrick Bergin and Dr. James Kahurananga. I am grateful, in particular, to David Williams who assisted me in the development of the maps which enhance this thesis. I expect that at least some would have preferred me to take my analysis in a somewhat different direction than I have here, but I hope that they will see that my intention is to facilitate a process of self-examination and strengthen conservation NGOs. My greatest debt of all, though, is to the people of Emboreet village. Without them, this project truly would not have been possible. Villagers were remarkably welcoming, hospitable and willing to share their knowledge and experiences with me despite their suspicion towards outside actors. I am particularly grateful to the families of Clemens Njui; Julius Olodonjilalo; Lemtunde Kasonde; Kisau Ole Kilel; Orkeyaroi Ole Ndikon; and Mtoto Ng‘ong‘en for their warm hospitality and generous assistance. I thank the Village Chairmen, Parkepu Kundua then Marias Lemwaande, and Divisional, Ward and Village Executive Officers for granting me access to archival material, providing constant administrative support, and indulging me in my efforts to probe quite sensitive issues of financial management and equity. In particular, I wish to acknowledge Jackson Ole Teteyo, Evaresti Mallya and John Ole Ndikon. I acknowledge the invaluable support of sub-village chairpersons who facilitated access to individual households, in particular Mangeki Leiyan. I thank Esta Kurisha and Orkeyaroi Ole Ndikon for allowing me to camp on their land. There are too many debts and individual acts of kindness to iii mention here. Suffice to say, villagers taught me much about the world and I admire their courage in the face of adversity. I will forever be grateful to my research assistants, Ray Teekishe, Olterere Lemutunde and Sendu Ole Kilel for assisting me in my fieldwork. Their patience, friendship and insights made them wonderful companions and teachers, and I hope, lifelong friends. I am especially indebted to the indefatigable Ramadhani ‗Kazi‘ Kondoela. I quite simply could not have achieved this without Kazi‘s constant help and logistical organisation. Asante Kaka. Many people throughout northern Tanzania shared their thoughts and experiences about conservation with me—my debts are far too many to enumerate individually. I sincerely hope that all of those whom I spoke with will know how grateful I am to them for their time and openness. For guidance, insights and archival access, I am grateful to Clive Jones, the Peterson Brothers, Pratik Patel, Robert Allport, Charles and Lara Foley, Andrew Williams, Gary Hoops and Paul Oliver. For companionship, sustenance and conversation while in Tanzania I am grateful to James Lesikari Laizer, Fr. Eusebio Manangbao, Costa Coucoulis, Fr. Peddy Castelino, Anna Estes and Denise Bannister. I am particularly indebted to Fr. Pat Patten whose compassion and commitment fundamentally reshaped my outlook on development aid delivery. Many others in Arusha and northern Tanzania shared their thoughts and time with me – and I hope they will see themselves and their influence in this thesis. In Oxford, my debts are innumerable. During my extended doctoral research period, students and staff at OUCE and St. Antony‘s College provided collegiality and iv institutional affiliation. I would like to say a special thank you to the support staff at St. Antony‘s College, especially Mrs. Gillian Crook and Mrs. Jill Flitter. I am grateful to Dr. David Turton for his insights, companionship and advice, and Dr. Paul Jepson for sharing his office and refining my ideas. Dr. Murray Simpson, Dr. Janice Golding, Julia Hieber, Dr. David Triffitt and the late Dr. Jonathan Wilson provided invaluable companionship and conversation during the long writing up process. My primary intellectual debt is to my supervisors, Dr. Patricia Daley and Dr. Dan Brockington. I would very much like to thank Patricia for her strategic and wise mentoring and helping me to navigate the complexities that went into the doctoral process. My deepest thanks go to Dan, who was indefatigable in his support and faith in me. I underwent an intellectual and personal transformation during this thesis, one which challenged a number of my core beliefs. I will forever be grateful for the time Dan invested in me and his gentle yet challenging guidance. I have been blessed to have two such mentors. I hope that this manuscript lives up to their standard of scholarship; to the extent that it does not, it will be the weaker for it. In the United States, I wish to thank the Geography Department at the University of Kansas and the Kansas African Studies Center for providing me with an institutional affiliation, and incredible collegiality. I acknowledge the support of Professors Terry Slocum and James Shortridge in facilitating my affiliation. I owe an extraordinary debt to Professor Garth Myers—intellectually and professionally—for making his time, office, network and resources available to me in Kansas and beyond. I am grateful for the companionship of Dr. Sarah Smiley, Muhajir Makame, Hilary Hungerford, Ang Gray and Megan Holroyd. v I would also like to thank Dr. Jim Igoe and Dr. Pippa Trench who read and commented on various