At the 2025 World Wildlife Day celebrations on March 3 in Dodoma, the Community Wildlife Management Areas Consortium (CWMAC) made a resounding call for sustainable conservation financing and stronger policies to support Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs). As the umbrella body for community-led conservation nationwide, CWMAC represents 24 WMAs that collectively cover over 30,000 square Kilometers of Tanzania’s land area and benefit hundreds of thousands of rural residents. CWMAC stressed that without long-term financial investment and policy backing, the hard-won gains in balancing wildlife protection with community development are at risk.
Leading a group of WMA chairpersons and community representatives from Nalika, Ikona, Chamwino, Randilen, Waga, and Makame WMAs, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mohamed Kamuna, met with the Minister of Natural Resources and Tourism, Hon. Ambassador Dr. Pindi Chana (MP). Kamuna explained the urgent need for committed funding to keep WMAs thriving and ensure communities reap conservation benefits.
“The success of WMAs proves that wildlife conservation can drive economic empowerment. However, to sustain these gains, we need policies that secure long-term funding and ensure communities continue to benefit,” Kamuna said.
Minister Chana’s encouraging response reaffirmed the government’s commitment to supporting WMAs. She pledged to streamline income disbursement processes and directly address challenges facing these community areas. To demonstrate this commitment, the Minister presented revenue-sharing cheques totaling over one billion Tanzanian shillings (approximately USD 430,000) to three WMAs—Burunge, Ikona, and Randilen. This injection of funds, spurred by CWMAC’s advocacy, provides vital resources to local communities and signals a robust government endorsement of community-led conservation.
The World Wildlife Day event, hosted by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, brought together key stakeholders to reflect on the future of Tanzania’s wildlife protection. It served as a platform uniting community conservation leaders with government officials to brainstorm solutions. CWMAC’s prominent participation ensured that grassroots voices were heard at the highest level, setting the stage for stronger public-community partnerships in conservation.