Ecological evaluation for wildlife corridors and buffer zones for Lake Manyara National Park, Tanzania, and its immediate environment

Abstract

Conflicts between wildlife conservation and rural communities raise great concern regarding the long-term viability of conservation areas in the face of increasing human population growth and demand for land resources. This paper discusses the shortcomings in the conservation of migratory game animals in ‘island’ parks when they also utilize adjoining private/public lands as part of their seasonal migration pattern, using Lake Manyara National Park as a case study. The Park is very small, but important biologically, economically, and aesthetically, and is of great tourist interest. It may not be viable in the long term because of increasing isolation by agricultural settlement. A strategy involving corridors and buffer zones, and economic incentives for conservation, is proposed in order to reconcile conservation and development.