National Parks Management

Contrary to a widespread belief among first-time visitors, Tanzanian national parks are not vast expanses left to their own devices without human intervention. They are not gardens of Eden over which time has no hold, spared of all human presence and burden.

While enjoying the extraordinary beauty of Tanzania’s national parks, it is worth remembering that they are human institutions run by highly motivated people dedicated to their preservation. The areas within these parks are deeply integrated in local and national cultures and economies:

• The landscapes and ecosystems of national parks are the result of a long coexistence of nature and human activities (farming, tree growing, cattle raising, mineral extraction, building activities, etc.).
• National parks are included in local and regional economies. It is a central goal of the management of each park to let the neighbouring villages benefit from the positive effects of national parks in order to increase their acceptance and compensate for the loss of access to valuable natural resources.
• National parks are an important source of revenue for the entire country. One of the goals of TANAPA, the administration in charge of tanzanian national parks, is thus to find mechanisms allowing a fair sharing of profit between Tanzanians and foreign investors.
• Each national park is staffed by a team of motivated professionals who manage it and make strategic choices about its development. Below is an overview of their daily work, which shows that there is always much maintenance work behind what seems to be unmanaged nature.

Park administration

Mission

TANAPA is a public institution under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism. Established in 1959, it was empowered by an act of Parliament to manage and regulate the use of areas designated as national parks in order to preserve the country’s heritage, which encompasses cultural and natural resources. Included in this goal is the provision for human benefit and enjoyment of these resources in ways that will leave them unimpaired for future generations.

Organisation

Key responsibilities of the Park Warden In Charge:

1. Planning strategies for ensuring that natural and park resources are well secured
2. Supervising park staff
3. Overall management of the park, ensuring smooth operation of TANAPA policies and objectives
4. Annual budgets and plans for the park
5. Providing a link between the park and TANAPA’s headquarters in Arusha
6. Spokesman of TANAPA in the park

Key responsibilities of the Resource Protection Officer:

1. Protection of resources
2. Aerial and undercover surveillance within the park and nearby villages
3. Ensuring that park rangers are well disciplined and fully equipped with appropriate field gear and arms
4. Ensuring that arms and ammunitions are ordered in time and are managed properly
5. Combating banditry and poaching and ensuring that cases are prosecuted

Key responsibilities of the Park Ecologist:

1. Ecological monitoring in the park (monitoring habitats and maintaining biodiversity inventory)
2. Environmental impact assessments of any developments in the park
3. Fire management
4. Pollution control and monitoring
5. Supervising research work in the park
6. Reports and databases on ecological findings in the park

Key responsibilities of the Tourism Promotions Officer:

1. Tourist promotion, disseminating information material and overseeing tourist activities
2. Information about park regulations, tariffs and fees
3. Visitor services centres
4. Collaboration with stakeholders in the tourism industry to share visitors' experiences in terms of needs and wants in order to continuously improve the handling of visitors
5. Code of conduct for park guides, rangers and operators, and monitor compliance
6. Exploit all income-generating opportunities

Key responsibilities of the Outreach Programme Officer:

1. Establishment of community-level environmental education programmes (including distribution of educational material such as calendars, leaflets, brochures and newsletters)
2. Supporting the park’s neighbouring communities’ initiatives in project development and establishment of social services
3. Collaborating with NGOs and CBOs in conservation education
4. Promoting establishment of school clubs
5. Participating in communities’ land-use planning

Key responsibilities of the Accounts and Administration Officer:

1. Administrative and personnel policies, rules and regulations
2. Administering all operational regulations and standing orders as well as government and TANAPA’s financial orders
3. Proper management in all parks
4. Maintaining office facilities and ensuring park’s estates are well kept
5. Providing all administration and staff facilities

Threats and challenges

Katavi National Park is one of the least known parks for its scientific and tourist potential. Its potential is hinged from a combination of factors including its extensive size, diversity of habitats and abundant number and variety of mammal and floral species. However, lack of basic infrastructure and technical support for scientific work in the park has derailed its attractiveness for research work for long time. The following document presents potential research topics in the area.

Further reading

• Mlengeya, T., Balozi, J., Qolli, S., Shanyangi, M., Joseph, N. & Meyer, B. (2006). Katavi – A Landscape Crying For Science. Katavi National Park, TANAPA.
• Katavi National Park Management plan
• TANAPA’s Schemes of Services, 2002