1. Alex W. Kisingo College of African Wildlife Management, Mweka
Governance and compliance failures in fighting illegal ivory trade: Perspectives from Tanzania
Alex W. Kisingo
College of African Wildlife Management, Mweka

2. Introduction to the plight of African elephants
The African elephant (Loxodonta africana) is facing a greatest crisis due to a surge in illegal ivory trade despite a ban by CITES
Growing concern that Tanzania is a leading source and a trafficking route for ivory to South-East Asian markets
Population declining in major strongholds eng. Selous ecosystem from > 60,000 in 2006 to about 13,000 in November 2013 (TAWIRI, 2010, 2013)

3. Positive efforts by Tanzania
Protected areas covering nearly 40% of the land cover
Establishment of anti poaching units in protected areas and in 8 zones
Some efforts into decentralization of wildlife management “CBNRM” into a collaborative management with communities outside core PAs

4. Lack of capacity by PA agencies to police wildlife resources
Area
Size of area to be covered
Number of personnel in protection departments
Number of vehicles
Ngorongoro District Council
Over 4000Km2 of Game Controlled Area and Forest Reserves 9 1
Antipoaching Unit – Western Zone
Four regions of Tanzania 16
3 working out of 8
Rukwa-Ukwati Game Reserve
8700Km2 including the Katavi National Park 40
Only 2 working for field works for Rukwa-Lukwati GR
Udzungwa-Mountains National Park
1990Km2 62
Source: Key informant interviews 2013

5. Protected Areas in the Serengeti ecosystem, Tanzania

6. Eeffectiveness of governance approaches in Serengeti as perceived by communities
Most of the PAs scored weakly on governance
Even what is considered Community-based PAs did not perform any better on governance than more traditional Pas suggesting lack of governance authorities by the community

7. Governance linkages are mixed
Disconnection of communities from wildlife resources More linkages between PA management agencies than with the communities
Serengeti National Park
Ngorongoro Conservation Area Management
Game Reserves
Game Controlled Area
Wildlife Manageme nt Areas
District Council and Administration
Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism
Forest Division
Prime Minister’s Office for Regional Administration and Local Governments
TANAPA Management and Board of Trustees
NCAA Board of Trustees
Ngorongoro Conservation Area Pastoral Council
Village Council and Committees
Wildlife Division
Ward Developmen t Committees
Communicative relationship that is formal. Thickness of the line indicates the strength of communication
Collaborative relationship, not necessarily formal. Thickness of the line indicates the strength of collaboration
Governance linkages are mixed
Strong presence of bio-physical connectivity but weak governance connectedness

8. Challenges & way forward
The problems in Tanzania are not with the strictness of the laws but rather on their implementation
Wildlife is still considered a state property thus discouraging/disconnecting communities from fighting poaching and illegal ivory trade unlike the past when wildlife was in the hands of local tribal leaders and some were sacred
This disconnection of wildlife ownership from communities has resulted into proliferation of corruption from the arrest of poachers to their acquittal in courts of law
Improve capacity for law-enforcement through decentralization of wildlife and protected area governance to communities to tap on community support in these efforts