M B O M I P A Association (Tanzania) - Home page

MBOMIPA is Tanzania’s leading community wildlife management association, formed by 19 villages in Iringa District which border Ruaha National Park. This website comprises an introduction to the history and ongoing activities of MBOMIPA and the people and wildlife resources that the association serves. We hope that you will enjoy it and welcome you to contribute any comments and information that may help us to improve the site by e-mailing suggestions@mbomipa.info.

Page updated 23rd April, 2003.

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M B O M I P A - the MBOMIPA Association

153kb MBOMIPA map [pdf version] DOWNLOAD

(source: MBOMIPA Project and Ecosystems Ltd.)

The MBOMIPA Association (Asasi ya MBOMIPA) represents all of the people living in the 19 villages of Idodi and Pawaga Divisions in Tanzania’s Iringa District. Idodi and Pawaga border Ruaha National Park and many of their residents once lived within the park area. Others are immigrants from other areas who have come to grow crops and/or graze livestock in this easternmost branch of the Rift Valley.

Until recently most villagers benefitted little from the proximity of the park and the presence of wildlife on their lands - though there were illicit benefits to be had from both commercial and ‘subsistence’ poaching. And the villages received no income at all from the legal hunting that did take in the game controlled area (Lunda-Mkwambi) that borders the park. Poaching and poverty went hand in hand.

With the help of successive projects supported by the Tanzanian and British governments this has now changed. The Ruaha Ecosystem Wildlife Management

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M B O M I P A - the MBOMIPA Association

Project (REWMP, 1992-96) initiated community wildlife management in villages neighbouring the park, and this work was consolidated and developed further by the recently concluded MBOMIPA* Project (1997-2003).

The 19 villages of Idodi and Pawaga now derive most of their income from wildlife management, income which helps to pay for the development of basic village services (including clinics and schools) and reduces the burden of village taxes on individual households. Community members have been empowered to take their own decisions about the wild resources on their lands and the incomes that these can generate. This is especially significant for women, who have a much greater say in these matters than they once did. And it is women and children who benefit most from the provision of basic healthcare and education that community wildlife management allows.

REWMP and the MBOMIPA Project also made important contributions to the development of national policy and legislation. The new Wildlife Policy of Tanzania, emphasising the future role of community wildlife management, was published in March 1998. The MBOMIPA Project played a key role in the subsequent development of Guidelines and Regulations governing the establishment and operation of community-run Wildlife Management Areas. These were finally launched in February 2003, and owed much to the example of MBOMIPA.

Community wildlife management in Idodi and Pawaga was first established through individual Village Natural Resources Committees, each employing its own Village Game Scouts. In May 2000, however, the participating villages voted to pool their resources and form a single association for the purposes of wildlife management. In June 2001 each village elected two representatives to the fledgling MBOMIPA Association, and in September they worked together with a lawyer to draft the association’s constitution and other legal instruments. On 28 January 2002 the MBOMIPA Association was legally registered under the Societies Ordinance, the first indigenous conservation and development organisation of its kind in Tanzania.

*MBOMIPA is an acronym from the Swahili name Matumizi Bora ya Malihai Idodi na Pawaga, translated in official documents as ‘Sustainable Use of Wildlife Resources in Idodi and Pawaga’. This name was coined by participants in a project planning workshop held by REWMP in March 1996.

Page updated 25th April, 2003.

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M B O M I P A - partnerships

The MBOMIPA Association recognises that partnerships are essential to enhancing its capacity to meet the challenges ahead. The conversion of village lands into a gazetted Wildlife Management Area, following steps outlined in the new Regulations and Guidelines (which were published in December 2002), will be a difficult and time-consuming process that requires special resources. Negotiating with potential investors, including tour operators and hunting companies, requires experience and skills that are still developing. And the Association is still young and needs advice on how to manage its own financial and business affairs.

To help it meet these challenges, the Association can draw on the assistance of its Board of Trustees, whose members include prominent members of government and the local business community. The Board met for the first time in December 2002, electing the Chief Park Warden of Ruaha National Park as its first chairperson.

The Association also has the support of a new District Natural Resources Advisory Body, which was formed in Iringa in March 2003 to take over from the MBOMIPA Project’s District Steering Committee. Iringa District Council was a key

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M B O M I P A - partnerships

partner for the MBOMIPA Project, and its continuing support will be even more important for the MBOMIPA Association.

Equally important are partnerships with the major government wildlife authorities, TANAPA (Tanzania National Parks) and Ruaha National Park, and the Wildlife Division in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism. The Wildlife Division has retained the MBOMIPA Project Manager in Iringa and there are also many links between Ruaha National Park and the MBOMIPA Association. One of these is through the park’s Community Conservation Service and its benefit-sharing programme, SCIP (Support for Community-initiated Projects).

Partnerships and contracts with private sector investors are essential to ensure the growth of the Association’s income and therefore its capacity to generate profits for its village members. The development of game viewing and tourist facilities outside of the park promise much for the future if they can be managed responsibly and for the benefit of both people and wildlife.

Many of the MBOMIPA Association’s hopes for the future rest upon it being able to establish fruitful partnerships with other organisations in the voluntary sector, both large and small. In addition to working with overseas volunteer and student programmes, the Association has an excellent relationship with the local NGO Friends of Ruaha, which has initiated an environmental education programme in village primary schools and has other collaborative work in the pipeline. It has also worked with In March 2003, as the MBOMIPA Project came to an end, the Association was also looking forward to possible collaboration with the Iringa office of CONCERN, with WWF Tanzania, and with the Living Landscapes Program of the Wildlife Conservation Society (formerly the New York

Zoological Society).

Most important of all, the MBOMIPA Association is committed to partnership with the people it represents. The Association belongs to the people of Idodi and Pawaga, and exists for their benefit. It recognises that the conservation and sustainable use of wildlife resources are critical to the maintenance and development of livelihoods in Idodi and Pawaga, as well as in other rural areas of Tanzania that are learning from the MBOMIPA experience.

If you would like to learn more about the possibility of entering into partnership with the MBOMIPA Association, or would like to visit Iringa and learn more about its work, please write to the Secretary of the Association or contact the Secretary

of the Board of Trustees.

Page updated 24th April, 2003.

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M B O M I P A - people & wildlife

The 19 member villages of the MBOMIPA Association are located in the broad valley of the Great Ruaha River, part of Tanzania’s Eastern Rift. The villages of Pawaga Division follow the course of the Little Ruaha, a tributary of the Great Ruaha. Most of the Idodi villages are sited at the foot of the rift escarpment, south-east of the Great Ruaha River and Ruaha National Park boundary. Access to water for domestic and agricultural uses has been especially important in the development of these villages, some of whose inhabitants once lived within the park area, along the Great Ruaha and its seasonal tributaries.

Ruaha National Park and the MBOMIPA village lands straddle two major ecological zones, the Brachystegia-dominated ‘miombo’ woodlands characteristic of southern Tanzania and countries further south, and Acacia-Commiphora woodlands typical of the Rift Valley and areas to the north. The park and surrounding wildlands host plant and animal species adapted to each of these zones, some of them at the limits of their natural distributions. Ruaha is known for its large elephant (Loxodanta africana) and buffalo (Synercus caffer) herds and one of its principal attractions lies in being able to see greater (Tragelaphus angasi) and lesser (Tragelaphus imberis) kudu as well as the majestic sable (Hippotragus niger) and roan (Hippotragus equinus) antelope within the same area. As well as an abundance of lion (Panthera leo), leopard (Panthera pardus) and cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) it is also home to the increasingly rare and endangered African hunting dog (Lyacon pictus).

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M B O M I P A - people & wildlife

Water is a critical resource for the large mammals that attract most tourists to the park, and the seasonal drying of the Great Ruaha since 1993 has been a source of growing concern.* This is just one of a number of threats to wildlife in and around the park. Thanks to the work of the park and wildlife authorities in collaboration with successive projects (REWMP and MBOMIPA) the threats from commercial poaching and unsustainable hunting have been considerably reduced, though the destruction of natural vegetation and consequent habitat loss remain to be brought fully under control.

Both REWMP and the MBOMIPA Project conducted wildlife surveys in the area (for the concluding report which summarises earlier surveys see the final 2002 game survey report) and the MBOMIPA Project also experimented with a participatory monitoring system conducted by Village Game Scouts.

Variable Final 2002 game survey report

[pdf version] DOWNLOAD

Variable

Final participatory wildlife monitoring report [pdf version]

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The relation between people and wildlife in the MBOMIPA area is a complex one and can’t be captured entirely by the simple contrast between sustainable and unsustainable forms of utilisation and/or exploitation. Plants and animals also play important roles in the thought and knowledge systems of MBOMIPA villagers with different backgrounds and life experiences. REWMP and the MBOMIPA Project also initiated efforts to record and understand local understandings of wildlife and the wider environment, and it is hoped that future updates of this website will report on some of these. More importantly, it is hoped that this knowledge can be used in local programmes of environmental education.

*For detailed discussion of this problem and its upstream causes and consequences connect to www.usangu.org, the website of the DfID-supported SMUWC project (Sustainable

Management of the Usangu Wetland and its Catchment). A documentary film ‘Ruaha: Hell or High Water?’ was recently made by Simon Trevor (for Anglia Survival) and an educational

film made in Swahili.

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M B O M I P A - people & wildlife

Page updated 3rd May, 2003.

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M B O M I P A - reports & papers

The MBOMIPA Project (1997-2003) and its predecessor, REWMP (the Ruaha Ecosystem Wildlife Management Project, 1992-96) produced numerous reports and papers relating to their work in the Idodi and Pawaga villages. Many MBOMIPA reports were written in Swahili, reflecting their intended audience. A small selection of English language MBOMIPA project reports and papers are provided here as pdf files. We hope in future to make more REWMP and MBOMIPA Project reports available in electronic form.

653kb

MBOMIPA: From Project to Association and from Conservation to Poverty Reduction (2003), the final report of the MBOMIPA Project.

DOWNLOAD

* New! *

150kb

Notes for MBOMIPA Project Visitors (1998), prepared in advance of the visit to the project by Clare Short, the U.K. Secretary of State for International Development, in August 1998

DOWNLOAD

54kb

Mafuluto Village: Report of Participatory Land Use Planning Activities Carried Out in Mafuluto Village, Idodi Division, 19-22 May 1999 (1999), the first in a series of 19 participatory studies

DOWNLOAD

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M B O M I P A - reports & papers

49kb

Mboliboli Village: Report of Participatory Land Use Planning Activities Carried Out in Mboliboli Village, Pawaga Division, 25-28 May and 4-5 June 1999 (1999), the second in this series of studies

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133kb

Key Issues for the MBOMIPA Project (2000), prepared in advance of the project’s Output-to-Purpose Review in February and March 2000

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90kb

Review of Government of Tanzania/DFID MBOMIPA Project, 1-11 March 2000 (2000), Marshall Murphree’s independent contribution to the project’s Output-to-Purpose Review

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182kb

The Development of Community Wildlife Management in Tanzania: Lessons from the Ruaha Ecosystem (2000), paper presented to a conference on ‘African Wildlife Management in the New Millennium’

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133kb

The Wildlife Conservation Act, 1974, and the Wildlife Policy of Tanzania: The Place of Local Communities (2001), a paper presented at a workshop to review the existing wildlife legislation

DOWNLOAD

Variable

Game Surveys of Lunda-Mkwambi Game Controlled Area and Adjacent Areas of Ruaha National Park: Sixth Aerial Survey 14-25 October 2002 and; Final Report (2002), the final MBOMIPA survey including summaries of previous aerial survey

DOWNLOAD

Variable

Participatory Monitoring of Wildlife Resources for MBOMIPA Project Villages: Final Data Analysis and Performance Review (2003), report evaluating MBOMIPA’s experimental monitoring programme

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52kb

Full list of MBOMIPA Project reportsDOWNLOAD

The experiences of REWMP and MBOMIPA also fed into many independent studies and evaluations. Unfortunately most of these are unavailable online. However, the following key DfID reports are available from DfID and also below:

Variable

Wildlife and Poverty Study: Phase One Report, (2000). (Annex B devoted to a case study of MBOMIPA)

DOWNLOAD

507kb

Wildlife and Poverty Study:Final Report, (2002).DOWNLOAD

Page updated 16tb July, 2005.

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M B O M I P A - contact us

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The headquarters of the MBOMIPA Association are in Tungamalenga village in Idodi Division. This is the last village on the road into Ruaha National Park, and is a good two hours’ drive from Iringa town and many more by local bus service. You can write to the MBOMIPA Association at the following address - but don’t expect a quick reply!

The SecretaryThe MBOMIPA AssociationP.O.Box 398IringaTanzania

The Secretary of the Association’s Board of Trustees, who is also the Wildlife Division’s Project Manager, is based in the Iringa District Natural Resources Office (Maliasili Wilaya) on Boma Road in Iringa town. He can be contacted at the same postal address (P.O.Box 398, Iringa) and also by telephone (255-26-2702686), fax (255-26-2702807), and e-mail manager@mbomipa.info. If need be he can also facilitate communication with the MBOMIPA Association and its constituent villages.

This site was developed in April 2003 by Andrew Williams of University

College London and Martin Walsh of the MBOMIPA Project. To contact the

webmaster please e-mail webmaster@mbomipa.info. It is maintained with

the voluntary help of members of the MBOMIPA Association’s Board of Trustees.

Page updated 25th April, 2003.

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M B O M I P A - contact us

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M B O M I P A - links

The Wildlife Conservation Society ...developing capacity to manage landscapes and wildlife in Tanzania - including a new project - the Ruaha-Rungwa Landscape Conservation Programme

Friends of Ruaha SocietyA registered society formed in 1984 with the aim of raising funds to support the conservation of the flora and fauna of the Ruaha National Park and the surrounding game reserves. Now also working with communities outside of the park.

Sustainable Management of the Usangu Wetland and its Catchment (SMUWC) project...working to meet the government's commitment to restoring flows in the Great Ruaha River in Tanzania by 2010.

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M B O M I P A - links

Ruaha Water ProgrammeWWF Tanzania and stakeholders in the Great Ruaha River and its catchment are working together to ensure sustainable use of natural resources and restore year-round flows in the river.

Wildlife Working Group - Tanzania The Wildlife Working Group's (WWG) purpose is to promote stakeholder communication, collaboration, and information-sharing about wildlife conservation and management in Tanzania.

German Assistance to the Wildlife Sector in Tanzania Conservation of natural resources and protection of the environment and biodiversity are priorities of German development policy. Support to the natural resources sector is one of three focal points for GTZ (the German bilateral aid agency) in Tanzania.

Lawyers' Environmental Action Team (Tanzania)The Lawyers' Environmental Action Team (LEAT) is the first public interest environmental law organization in Tanzania. It was established in 1994 and formally registered in 1995 under the Societies Ordinance. Its mission is to ensure sound natural resource management and environmental protection in Tanzania.

The African Conservation FoundationA Not-For-Profit Educational Foundation and a very useful portal for the Conservation of Africa's flora and fauna.

CBNRM Net ... networking for community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) practitioners worldwide.

Nature Kenya Nature Kenya is the business name (in Kenya) of the East Africa Natural History Society . The Society was established in 1909 and is the oldest conservation organisation in Africa. The aim of Nature Kenya is to promote the study and conservation of the natural environment, in eastern Africa.

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M B O M I P A - links

East African Wildlife Society For over forty (40) years, EAWLS has been at the forefront in the efforts for protecting endangered, rare or threatened species and habitats in East Africa. EAWLS's goal is to promote conservation and wise use of wildlife and the environment in East Africa.

Tanzania's Poverty Monitoring Website This web site contains information about the progress and outputs of Tanzania's Poverty Reduction Strategies and Poverty Monitoring System.

Page updated 4th September, 2004.

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