In early August 2025, Morogoro became the stage for a crucial conversation about power and responsibility in wildlife conservation. CWMAC, together with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism and the President’s Office – Regional Administration and Local Government (TAMISEMI), facilitated a workshop to craft model by-laws for all Wildlife Management Areas across the country.
These model bylaws are essentially a blueprint for community empowerment. They offered communities the legal tools to manage wildlife confidently, make legal decisions openly, and ensure that the rewards of conservation reach the families living alongside wildlife. The drafted bylaws outline how resources can be used responsibly, curbing unsustainable practices, while also safeguarding the traditional rights that communities depend on every day.
By the end of the workshop, a clear vision had emerged: WMAs should not just preserve nature; they must become engines of opportunity for local people. The consensus was that when laws put communities in the driver’s seat, conservation stops being an obligation and becomes a path to prosperity for those communities.
Thanks to the support of WWF Tanzania through the BMZ-Unganisha Project, this workshop set a new benchmark for strong, community-led conservation in Tanzania. We demonstrated how government, NGOs, and community leaders can collaborate to build a future where governance is transparent, wildlife is protected, and local people truly prosper as a result.