Abstract:
Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) are member village-based conservation co-operative
organization(s) set up of socio-economic aims with user rights of wildlife resources within it. In recent
years increasingly featuring as one of economic sub sectors contributing to economic and socioeconomic prosperity of a village or groups of villages surrendered its land for conservation of wildlife
resources adjacent to core protected areas in Tanzania. However, the sub-sector is fragile subject to
many internal and external shocks making it prone to social, political, ecological and climatic changes
for its sustainability. The areas depend entirely on tourism both consumptive and non-consumptive
already established in core protected areas as its strongholds that also in tum vulnerable to very
shocks. The outcome of the global climatic changes and economic financial meltdown ascertain that
Tanzania largely depends upon international tourism-driven revenues for its maintenance of her
tourist attractions including WMAs. The effect of economic recession on the growth of the industry
also undermines the financial basis of natural resources conservation measures. All these shocks lead
to the conclusion that Tanzania is not ready to overcome these external events which are catalysts for
internal shocks. This paper suggests and calls for concerted efforts for sustainable financing
mechanisms like establishment of "WMA Trust Fund" to guarantee the continued maintenance of the
WMA 's attractions and productions to minimally off-set shocks, and save as savings and Credit Cooperative Schemes (SACCOS) to individual villager.
