Impact of State Controlled Consumptive Management Approach on Community Economic Benefits from Conserved Natural Resources in Tanzania: Case of the Great Mahale Ecosystem

Abstract

This paper tried to answer the core question of whether protective management policies of natural resources can sustain the economic benefits expected from them by communities living around the natural resources in Tanzania. The paper is based on multiple linear regression analysis of cross-sectional data collected from 400 community members selected from 10 purposefully selected villages surrounding the Great Mahale Ecosystem in Western Tanzania, where a 3 A 1-4 scale questionnaire was administered. The findings revealed that, state-controlled consumption of firewood, logging and timbering had negative effects on potential community economic benefits from the natural resources. State-controlled access to firewood was the only variable that was found insignificant. The state-controlled consumptive policies on tourism and hunting, farming practices proximity to the conserved natural resource, wildlife games and wild fruits as well as access to medicinal plants were found to be beneficial to surrounding communities. The development of tourist hunting blocks would improve consumptive utilization not only under government-managed natural resources but also under communal-indigenous approach. There should also be an integration of consumptive and non-consumptive approaches such as sustainable timber harvesting to maximize community economic benefit.