Institutional development at the local level can be seen in the districts and villages participating in the CBC scheme. To secure the sustainability of the programme and not to build parallel administrative structures, SCP is implemented through existing government structures and has forged strong links with development and natural resources staff in the districts within which they operate. SCP has facilitated the formation of committees, provided training and has put in place procedures and modalities for district level facilitation. At district level, the District Game Officer (DGO) took over the function as a Community Wildlife Management Officer (CWMO) to assist villagers in conservation and sustainable utilisation of natural resources. A Village Development Officer (VDO) further assists and trains the villages in basic management tools such as bookkeeping, planning, and budgeting.'·
At village level, Village Natural Resources Committees (VNRC) have been established. These VNRC comprise 10 to 12 members elected by the Village Assembly, namely a Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer and ordinary members. The responsibilities of the VNRC include":
• Prepare village land use plans;
• Supervise and coordinate patrol including crop protection;
• Oversee communal hunting and distribution of meat;
• Manage and keep records of the profits earned from wildlife-related enterprises;
• Prepare work plan and budget;
• Formulate village by-laws;
• Educate the community on sustainable use of natural resources; and
• Use funds according to the wishes of the entire community.
Observations in the villages suggest that the management institutions established show success. The VNRC of Nambecha village has, besides wildlife management, further taken over additional activities. The community members have approached the District Natural Resources Officer asking for assistance for the establishment of a
19 Interview with D. Kaggi. GTZ-SCP.
20 Interviews with VNRC in Kitanda and Nambecha villages, Songea District.
nursery. The VNRC now successfully runs the nursery planning to use the trees for the purpose of afforestation.
The Village Assembly is responsible for selecting - strong and energetic, usually six, village game scouts (VGS).
The duties of the VGS include":
• Schedule and undertake patrol activities in the village wildlife areas at least 10 days a month;
• Arrest and apprehend poachers;
• Monitor game populations;
• Prepare hunting trails for hunting, camping sites, prevent encroachment and boundary demarcation;
• Supervise resident and tourist hunting;
• Conduct problem animal control;
• Conduct hunting for meat for the village; and
• Carry out bush fire management.
Both the village scouts and the village officials are trained in the Community Based Conservation Training Centre (CBCTC) in Likuyu-Sekamaganga, Song ea District.
The centre provides training in natural resource legislation and basic management tools like bookkeeping, budgeting and planning for the VNRC and further hunting skills training for the VGS.
A District Natural Resources Management Committee (DNRMC) for villages with WMAs has been established to facilitate district level involvement in the programme. The committee comprises the District Natural Resource Officer, District Game Officer, Forestry and Beekeeping Officer, Fisheries Officer, Agricultural and Livestock Officer, the District Executive Director and the SGR Sector Warden, as the representative of the game reserve. Committee meetings are held biannually and are chaired by the District Commissioner. The DNRMC is responsible for settling disputes and conflicts, developing guidelines for wildlife management, proposing
21 Interviews with VGS in Kitanda and Nambecha villages, Songea District.
hunting quotas for utilisation and overseeing the overall natural resources management.
Observations at the district meetings in Song ea and Tunduru suggest that village representatives have developed a good understanding of CBC and have strengthened knowledge about their rights in recent years. Most of the villagers openly raise their questions and state their problems towards the district officials and the project team. The district officials seem to be committed to CBC and recognise the potential benefits it holds for future development. The DC for example, encourages villagers to raise questions and to discuss their problems and conflicts they face in regard to natural resource management. He also emphasises the importance of the sustainable use and management of natural resources for securing the future livelihoods of the people:>2
In Morogoro District north of SGR, 19 villages, with a population of about 45,000 people, bordering the Gonabis Game Controlled Area have jointly registered a non- governmental organisation (NGO) called JUKUMU Society in 1996.23 In order to improve the management of their small wildlife areas and to reduce overhead costs the villages opted to form a NGO, which is administering the Wildlife Management Area. JUKUMU is composed of a ten-member central committee, which is the central administrative body. The committee is elected by the council made up of three representatives of all 19 villages. A five-member board of trustees is further elected.
After the joining of the individual areas the common WMA has a size of 750 sq. km ..
It is further interesting to mention that villages south of SGR, in the corridor to Mozambique, have organised themselves without any support of SCP. As the news of CBC activities has been spreading, the communities have collected mussleloaders and snares, formed VNRC and selected village game scouts themselves. Afterwards, they have approached SCP to join the CBC scheme.
22 Personal partiCipation in district meetings and interviews with D. Kaggi, GTZ-SCP and N. Madatta, CWMO of Songea District.
23 JUKUMU stands for JUMUtA YA KUHIFADHI NA MATUMIZI BORA YA MAlIASllI UKUTU or translated ~Society for Conservation and Wise Use of Natural Resources in the Ukutu Area".
As the above analysis illustrate, participation in the villages studied can be best characterised as functional, according to Barrow and Murphree's typology (see Table 1.2).