Community-Based Conservation in Tanzania: A Path for Marginalized Groups to Gain Recognition

What is it about?

This research examines how community-based conservation (CBC) projects can offer strategic opportunities for marginalized individuals to assert recognition and inclusion, using the Sustainable Charcoal Project in rural Kilosa, Tanzania as a case study. Through an analysis of two villages, Ihombwe and Ulaya Mbuyuni, the study reveals how the project allowed latecomers to contest their marginalization and seek recognition by engaging with CBC institutions. The research highlights how firstcomers leveraged their historical settlement status for political, cultural, and material advantages, while latecomers used CBC governance spaces to challenge these dynamics. The research discusses the broader implications of "we got here first" claims in resource access and governance, showing how such claims contribute to intra-community differentiation and exclusion. It also critiques the Tanzanian national agenda of non-ethnic resource governance by revealing persistent ethnic and socio-political strategies. The findings underscore the potential of CBC to both perpetuate and mitigate exclusionary practices, emphasizing the importance of understanding environmental struggles as arenas of ongoing contestation and negotiation.

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Photo by bradford zak on Unsplash

Photo by bradford zak on Unsplash

Why is it important?

This study investigates the role of community-based conservation (CBC) in providing strategic openings for marginalised individuals to claim recognition, particularly in the context of rural Kilosa, Tanzania. It is significant because it explores how CBC interventions, despite their documented negative social consequences, can also offer opportunities for the marginalised to challenge existing power structures and claim their rights. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of how environmental governance can be a platform for contesting socio-political inequities in agrarian communities. Key Takeaways: 1. The research demonstrates that CBC projects can produce political benefits by opening governance spaces that allow marginalised groups to challenge their exclusion and claim recognition, particularly in contexts where ethnic-based resource access is restricted. 2. Findings reveal that historical claims of "we got here first" are used by firstcomers to exert political and economic dominance, creating intra-community differentiation and exclusion, which CBC interventions can help contest. 3. The study highlights how CBC interventions not only pose challenges but also provide opportunities for marginalised communities to engage with and transform inequitable governance structures, thereby advancing recognition and inclusivity.