Resource managers' and users' perspectives on factors contributing to unauthorised hunting in western Tanzania

Unauthorised use of natural resources is one of the challenges facing protected areas in Africa. Understanding factors influencing this behaviour can help improve the efficiency of conservation efforts. We conducted focus group discussions with authorised resource users and managers in the Ugalla ecosystem of western Tanzania to determine factors facilitating and motivating unauthorised hunting. The two groups of study participants had different perspectives on the subject. Resource managers dwelt on factors facilitating hunting, for example, inadequate patrol resources and impassable patrol roads. On the other hand, resource users discussed both motivating factors, for example, limited income-generating opportunities; and facilitating factors, some of which were also mentioned by resource managers (e.g., poorly managed hunting cases). There was also variability in how study participants perceived the importance of different factors. Some factors were perceived as highly important but mentioned less frequently and others were mentioned often but ranked low. Some were mentioned by both resource managers and users with the same frequency but ranked differently (e.g., the management of unauthorised hunting cases). Overall, we suggest considering the views of people with different interests in natural resources to comprehensively understand the factors that influence unauthorised hunting for improved conservation outcomes.