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

CORRUPTION AND WEAK GOVERNANCE As in many developing states, corruption is relatively pervasive in Tanzania. It is found in society all the way from local police officers and bureaucrats to high government. Tanzania was the third biggest African recipient of overseas development aid in 2013, with USD 3.4 billion according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). 19 Annual growth of gross domestic product (GDP) has averaged

at 6.7 per cent for the last 13 years. 20 At the same time, the country is ranked as 119th worst out of 175 in Transparency International’s corruption index. 21 In African countries the state bureaucracies are often weak, and different actors see their chance to abuse the system for personal gain through illegal activities, including drug trafficking, the illicit

Improvised set-up for illegal logging, Ugalla Game Reserve, September 2015

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