Combating Poaching and Illegal Logging in Tanzania: Voices of the Rangers-Hands-on Experiences from the Field

Rangers examining Baobab tree used by honey gatherers in Tarangire National Park, November 2014

poachers. More systematic operations planning is necessary to avoid spontaneous operations against the least challenging types of poachers, at the expense of the more challenging pursuit of professionals. The evaluation relied on participant observation in training sessions and on patrol during 2014 and 2015. Conversations and unstructured interviews on foot patrols and around the campfire are conveyed particularly in chapter 5 on wildlife crime, and chapter 6 on illegal logging. Chapter 7 shows the scale of the increasing reliance on charcoal as a household energy source, and its implications for Tanzania in the near future and medium term, while chapter 8 offers the principal Tanzanian trainer’s view on the effectiveness of the training methods.

to one of his teams over a week in November 2015. Other observations and interviews have been made during earlier (and one later) visits around the country (see chapter 9). A follow-up to the November 2015 session was scheduled for April 2016, but was interrupted by large-scale cattle trespassing in protected areas in the Lake Zone area of responsibility. This occupied all of the key personnel during our visit in a key trial, and in administrating the cattle. The Lake Zone evaluation aimed to gauge the degree to which the methods taught were subsequently applied in the field. It also hoped to identify possible improvements and expansion of training necessary to achieving significant progress against

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