The challenges facing resident hunting in western Tanzania: the case of the Ugalla ecosystem

Abstract

The legal subsistence hunting scheme (resident hunting) in Tanzania was temporarily banned in 2015 because it was considered ineffective. So far, no attempt has been made to understand the challenges facing the scheme, especially from the hunters’ perspective. This study used 8 hunter focus groups (in total, 73 hunters) and 26 key informants in the Ugalla ecosystem of western Tanzania–from June to September, 2017–to determine the challenges faced by the resident hunting scheme before the ban, and the areas of the scheme that participants felt required improvement. Focus group discussions and key informant interviews were digitally recorded. In general, study participants perceived that resident hunting regulations were poorly enforced, leading to a number of incidents such as the killing of unauthorized game, hunting outside specified areas, false reporting of animals killed, and overshooting of quotas. They noted that hunting areas were under pressure from poaching, and encroachment by pastoralists and subsistence farmers. Conflicts over hunting areas and hunting rights between resident and trophy hunters were common. Participants recommended capacity strengthening to effectively administer resident hunting, through ensuring availability of human and financial resources. They perceived active hunter engagement as the best way to deal with poaching and non-compliant behaviour by hunters. Measures to guarantee coexistence between resident and trophy hunters were recommended, for example, a thorough review of hunting area boundaries to minimize hunting area conflicts. Further study should consider the impact of hunting on wildlife in hunting areas in relation to the issues reported in this study.