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Issue 00407 |
Feb 1 - 24, 2006 |
issn 0856 - 9135 |
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Features |
 MANYARA
RANCH: DEMONSTRATING SUCCESSFUL CONSERVATION AND PASTORALIST
DEVELOPMENT. By Dr. Alan Rodgers, Treasurer & Trustee, TLCT As Manyara Ranch enters its fourth year of management under the Tanzania Land Conservation Trust (TLCT), it is instructive to look at the lessons learned from this Integrated Conservation and Development (ICD) venture. The Manyara Ranch, 45,000 acres of freehold title, lies between the Dodoma and Manyara Roads, due west of Makuyuni in Monduli District. It was first acquired in 1956 and developed as an open cattle ranch by George Dam, combining both livestock and wildlife. It is still run as livestock ranch with objectives of benefiting the Maasai people of the adjacent villages of Esilalei and Ol Tukai, and supporting wildlife conservation. The conservation interest stems from the ranch's position astride the migratory corridor between Tarangire and Manyara National Parks (Fig 1) with significant movement of wildebeest, zebra, elephant and resident populations of giraffe, gazelle, lesser kudu, impala, dik dik etc. Lions, hyenas and wild dog are also frequently seen. The mobility of the wildlife between the two national parks is of considerable strategic importance to Tanzania as it is this wildlife that draws the tourists that contribute so much to the government revenue streams each year  After
George Dam's death the ranch was taken over by the National Ranching
Company (NARCO) and the cattle herd declined over the next 30 yrs from
12,000 to some 1,200 animals. Government Policy changed to divest
parastatal ownership and privatize the ranch. Interest was expressed
from private investors (which scared wildlife interests!); and Tanzania
National Parks declared an interest in the area as an extension to
Manyara Park (which understandably scared the pastoralists!). The African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) based in Arusha sought a multi-purpose land use compromise; a win-win solution between pastoralist interests and conservation interests. The Tanzania Land Conservation Trust (TLCT) was registered with a goal of acquiring and owning land for integrating Conservation and Development (ICD). The Member of Parliament for Monduli, Hon. Edward Lowassa, now Prime Minister, was instrumental in persuading the Parastatal Divestment Committee NOT to sell the ranch to commercial interests, but to transfer title to TLCT. The President himself, HE Benjamin Mkapa, signed the letter authorizing the transfer of Land Title. Minister Lowassa became Chairman of TLCT, together with some eight trustees from conservation and other stakeholder interests. AWF provide the Secretariat, and I have the honor to be Treasurer. In retrospect that was the easy bit! We inherited a large piece of real estate with extremely run down infrastructure; no capital, unpaid staff and competing land use interests. All dams were broken, housing was almost uninhabitable, there was one ancient tractor and a very inefficient borehole. The first jobs were fund raising and securing management. This of course is one of AWF's strengths and their contacts in North America led to many funding commitments (e.g. Brown Foundation). Most original staff were retrenched with full benefits. New staff (herders, scouts and community support) were hired from the adjacent villages providing welcome income to these communities. An experienced Ranch Manager was hired (with farming, and conservation background), and we started to turn the Ranch around from a status of neglect and disrepair, to a functioning organization fulfilling its objectives. One immediate problem was the need to overcome all the rumors about the change. Some people thought the ranch was going to be given to the villagers. Others thought it was to become a private cattle ranch. Such rumors do unfortunately, still exist and the past 15 months of electioneering at village, ward and parliament levels, have added fuel to an unnecessary fire.  The
TLCT has a constitution which governs how the ranch is to be used. The
three main principles are:To practice sustainable land and wildlife management and conservation which includes the promotion of eco-tourism, cultural tourism and sustainable pastoral practices for the benefit of village communities and other stakeholders. To ensure that benefits, whether financial, technical or material, from the Trusts activities, accrue to local communities within its areas of operation To demonstrate, promote and publicize techniques that preserve land and open spaces and that encourage appropriate land use This means no fencing (so keeping migratory wildlife pathways open); maintaining some of the dams for support to resident wildlife and livestock; allowing village livestock access to peripheral grazing in dry seasons, and providing capacity support to the pastoralist communities of Esilalei and Ol Tukai.  The
ranch established an advisory Steering Committee with the two villages
to agree on issues of grazing; water and veterinary support together
with relationships between the ranch and these two communities.External funding has allowed new vehicles, pumps, renovated buildings and repaired dams. Improved Boran bulls are upgrading livestock, and quality beef and lamb sales are now made to high end Arusha outlets. We have overcome disease outbreaks and put in place stronger control measures. There has long been a "government" primary school in the centre of the ranch which now has over 900 boarding children housed in totally dilapidated structures. Manyara Ranch gave essential support to enable the construction of toilets and a kitchen block. Recently AWF identified a donor to give $650,000 to construct an entirely new school on the edge of the ranch – as a model pastoralist boarding school. Buildings are scheduled for completion by end 2006; another donor has given money for support to community primary schools peripheral to the ranch. AWF secured support from UNDP Small Grants for village community capacity building and the development of enterprises such as bee keeping. Other donors provide support for land use planning, community conservation on village land, and eco-tourism. Oltukai is the site of a major trial in improved soil water conservation for enhanced, perennial dry land forage production. So; in the first three years TLCT has upgraded management and infrastructure; wildlife have increased, livestock numbers have increased and initial off takes show a promising market for quality beef and mutton in Arusha. Self regulated measures are being put in place for community use of ranch rangeland resources around the periphery; and a variety of community support measures have been initiated. The ranch however is far from achieving financial sustainability; a cattle herd of over 5000 quality animals may allow us to balance the books; but without significant investment in breeding stock that target is at least two decades away, should we go that route. A more immediate opportunity comes from up-market tourism and establishing a tourist enterprise on part of the ranch for a fixed income, plus bed night fees, plus employment opportunity. The ranch can offer walking, bike and horse back tourism; plus linkages to cultural tourism and lake tourism via the villages. We expect an identified investor to agree contracts in 2006. Challenges do exist but we hope the reduction in election fever will allow the ranch social outreach programmes to agree on mutual ventures. The movement of the school will reduce an enormous human pressure on the centre of the ranch; and the beginning of tourism will increase revenue and provide employment. In conclusion, it has been, to date, a relatively successful experiment. We are grateful for the political support in these formative years from our Chairman and from the Monduli authorities. We now seek to increase technical and financial expertise to the TLCT and the Ranch. Manyara Ranch was the first pilot property for TLCT; but other sites are being sought in Kilimanjaro and Coast Regions.
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Updated:
January 07, 2006 . |
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