In the 90’s the Tanzanian government piloted Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) as a national policy framework for community-based conservation. To date, not one of the more than 20 WMAs across Tanzania has generated enough funds to cover management and wildlife protection costs.

For the last decade, Honeyguide has played a vital role in developing successful models of community-based conservation in Tanzania. Since Honeyguide started working, not a single elephant has been killed for its tusks within Honeyguide’s priority sites and crop damage has reduced by 70%.

Our major goal in the next 5 years is to achieve ecological viability and financial independence for our priority sites by 2021 and establish them as strong models of Tanzanian community-based conservation.

Honeyguide understands that delivering this overarching goal will require significant investment in its own institutional strengthening and will dedicate resources and funding over the next five years to building the capacity of its team, diversifying funding streams and solidifying its internal systems.

Read our strategic plan for 2017- 2021 where we cover our strategy, vision and mission for a Tanzania whose community and wildlife coexist peacefully.

Our Theory of Change: In order for wildlife to thrive over vast landscapes with open migratory routes, communities need to take the lead in managing natural resources and in realizing more benefits from those resources. Honeyguide, along with our partners, use a five-program integrated approach to empower communities to realize such positive changes.

Environmental Education: If communities and young people have increased opportunities to receive education about environmental issues, then they will develop a deeper appreciation for conservation initiatives and also be more likely to participate in natural resource management.

Enterprise Development: If communities not only receive greater benefits from tourism but also actually own and manage tourism camps and products and, additionally, enter into clear and transparent agreements with responsible tourism and hunting companies, then their livelihoods will be strengthened and complementary of wildlife conservation.

Management & Governance: If management and governance bodies in WMAs and related community areas can become transparent, accountable, professional, performance-driven, and sustainable, then communities themselves will take greater ownership in striving to ensure the success of community-based conservation programs.

Wildlife & Habitat Protection: If community-based wildlife and habitat protection efforts can be strengthened and scaled through training and data-driven, intelligence-led strategies of VGS teams, then wild animals and their habitats will have a much greater opportunity to thrive and overcome poaching and degradation threats.

Human-Wildlife Conflict Prevention: If communities no longer see wildlife as a threat to their livelihoods, due to a dramatic reduction in human-wildlife conflict through innovative participatory prevention methods, then they will make the first critical step in taking greater management over their natural resources.