The Cost of Conservation
While protecting natural ecosystems holds a certain idealistic appeal, it also requires substantial investment, so clarifying the cost and sources of funding is vital.
For most tourists visiting wildlife areas, the obvious representation of the cost of conservation is a ranger at the entrance gate. They are vital to manage the wildlife and protect the people visiting, but the infrastructure around them is so much more costly than simply putting their boots on the ground.
Money is needed to pay salaries, provide equipment, administration staff, the maintenance of buildings, roads, and in the case of conservancies and Wildlife Management Areas, paying the respective government too. Of course, the local community should also benefit financially from the protected land, whether that’s to compensate the landowners or contribute to the infrastructure of local villages by helping fund schools, health centres, or provide access to clean water.
Balancing the books isn’t easy. The truth is that despite the popularity of Africa’s wildlife with visitors from around the world, they are rarely balanced. There simply isn’t enough money flowing in to ensure it can pay for everything needed. For example, most WMAs in Tanzania don’t generate enough to cover their operating costs, let alone finance future development plans. Wildlife zones – whether large or small – must have a commercial value to the communities around them. It’s this value that keeps them in existence and ultimately will ensure their survival.
Rangers Juliana Haghai and Lomnyaki Toronley (pictured above) welcome us to their camp in Randilen WMA, Tanzania. More than gatekeepers, Rangers are pivotal in ecosystem management, their role extending far beyond visible patrols. Juliana loves being a ranger because her work protects the wildlife and in particular lions, her favourite animal.
Her family feels the financial benefit of her efforts in their everyday lives and therefore the protection of the environment is now personal to them. A wildlife guardian at work but mum at home, she is passing on her love of the environment to her children while having the opportunity to fund their education.
Lomnyaki explains the job is sometimes difficult because they lack equipment. “We don’t have enough binoculars, rifles, or vehicles,” he says. “There is never enough funding for protection.”
In a dark office lit by a single, north-facing window we meet Onesmo Kilamlya (pictured above), executive officer for the village of Mahuninga, Tanzania. He explains they see some financial benefits from tourism, but funding is still a challenge. They want to build a health centre that will serve his and other nearby villages because the one they use now is too far away, and he’d welcome better compensation for local farmers when their crops are damaged by elephants. There is a strong desire to see a better quality of life for people living in the village.
In isolation, tourism revenue cannot fill all these funding gaps. Greater investment is needed to make the progress already made more sustainable. Nawiri partner, Carbon Tanzania, recognises the need to divert more money into these large landscapes. “Carbon for conservation projects are so impactful,” they say. “They drive economic benefit to people in rural areas, and therefore help to protect the natural ecosystems”
Other approaches are aimed at advancing community resilience by diversifying incomes. These facilitate educational opportunities, entrepreneurial training, or support building up micro-enterprises. Each one helps to shift the direction of rural income, taking pressure off the land and an over-reliance on the tourism dollar.
In the future, these large East African ecosystems need to be better self-funded, and this is precisely what we are working towards. Running costs are inevitably large, but the greater cost to the planet of not finding sustainable ways to put an economic value on them is even bigger because climate change is happening now. Without protecting these spaces, the future looks challenging for both people and wildlife. However, eco-tourism, as well as carbon and biodiversity credits, can generate the income needed. These should then go towards funding area management and providing direct benefits for local people.
Revising economic models to link conservation with community welfare is crucial for sustainable ecosystem management. Working towards the creation of recurrent income streams that are directly linked to the good health of our natural ecosystems, can tip the balance. By finding ways to sustainably monetise these ecosystems, we protect individuals, rural communities, animals and plants, and the planet as a whole.