- Khamis Ali Khamis has a long career in community-led conservation in Tanzania’s Zanzibar archipelago, the last six years of them in charge of Ngezi Forest Reserve on the island of Pemba.
- He says the main challenge facing the 2,900-hectare (7,200-acre) reserve is maintaining a balance between nature conservation and resource extraction by the growing human population living around it.
- “The use of natural resources is always increasing, so we need to find an alternative way” to provide local livelihoods, Khamis tells Mongabay in an interview.
- He emphasizes the importance of planting the message of conservation in youths to help build a community that ultimately supports conservation.
The people living around the Ngezi Forest Reserve on Pemba Island, off the coast of Tanzania, depend on its resources for many things: timber for building materials, a place to gather firewood and hunt animals for food, and sometimes pasture for cows or goats. Khamis Ali Khamis is the acting chief-in-charge of the 2,900-hectare (7,200-acre) reserve. Leading a small team of forest guards, he has the difficult job of protecting the reserve from illegal activity, while also balancing the needs of tens of thousands of local villagers who depend on it.
Khamis was born on the Zanzibar archipelago’s biggest island, Unguja, where he trained as a teacher, obtained a diploma in forestry, and ran his own butterfly farm. Later, he spent 10 years as a volunteer guide at Unguja’s Jozani Chwaka Bay National Park. He moved to Pemba Island to take up his current role six years ago.
Khamis spoke to Mongabay about the challenges of the work and his vision for the forest. The conversation was lightly edited for length and clarity.
Mongabay: How do the needs of surrounding communities affect your work as a forest guard? Because it’s your job to protect the forest, and yet the community depends on the forest for resources. So is there conflict?
Khamis Ali Khamis: That is a big challenge facing us because we have some trees which are very good for furniture, like iroko (Milicia excelsa), like intsia (Intsia bijuga) — these are the trees that local people like to cut for timber. Some people sell them to get money to support their family members.
I can say we have some conflict, but we try our best [to mitigate]. For those felling trees for logs, normally we catch them and we punish them, either by imposing fines or jail terms. But for the poor, especially those cutting poles, sometimes we try to raise awareness about the importance of this forest.
And these people, in turn, sometimes help us by giving us information whenever they find big issues inside of the forest [like illegal logging]. So, that way they help us to plan on how we can fight [to defend Ngezi].
Mongabay: I understand that there is a new hotel planned for inside Ngezi Forest Reserve. Does that worry you?
Khamis Ali Khamis: Yes, it’s worrying me. I hope the government will find the best way on how that hotel can be established.
Which kind of hotel will it be? Will it be the kind of hotel that is going to destroy the forest? If so, that is a big problem. Or will it be the kind of hotel which will favor forest conservation? That is the best way.
We have different examples: the hotels or bungalows that are found inside of the forest, [where] tourists are coming to enjoy nature, and the forest and other animals enjoy that environment without any distraction.
Mongabay: What is your personal vision for the forest? What do you want to see happen here?
Khamis Ali Khamis: First of all, I want at least to see a reduction of around 80% in the numbers of local people coming inside the forest.
We try to think about how we can reach that point, because the people need natural resources. Oikos has come up with some solutions, starting with hiring some local people as forest guards, and according to their plan, they will support some community members or groups with alternative incomes, mostly women and youths.
Now, the number of people is very high. The use of natural resources is always increasing, so we need to find an alternative way [to provide livelihoods]. Instead of the forest resources, what we are going to use are other resources, either for fuel or for other income for the community, which at least will reduce the pressure of the people going inside of the forest.
We want to see more local people employed, either as forest guards or as forest guides. For example, in Zanzibar, especially at Jozani Chwaka Bay National Park, the large number of tour guides there are volunteers who come from surrounding villages. So, I want to see that situation as well in this area.
Mongabay: How often do children come here? Because it seems to be a very good place to educate youngsters on the benefits of nature.
Khamis Ali Khamis: Over the past three months [October, November and December] we’ve had around 1,000 students who have come to visit and study in Ngezi Forest. This is because it is a time when the schools are going to close and so the teachers, after finishing exams, are coming to Ngezi with their students, to see what they can learn from here in support of the curriculums that they have in their classrooms.
Also, the Ngezi Vumawimbi Heritage Organization [a local NGO] has programs every month where they collect students from the villages, and teach them about the importance of the forest and conservation of both marine and forest environments.
Mongabay: How do you think that education can help protect Ngezi for the future?
Khamis Ali Khamis: We believe we are planting something new in their minds. We have the young: we believe that if we plant it [the message of conservation] well at this stage, it will protect us in the future.
We have the youths: this is a time when they are thinking about getting something in their pockets. That sometimes makes it very difficult for us to change their minds, because sometimes they say, “OK, you told us to stop using the forest, what are we going to do [instead]?” For this age group, I think it’s better to find another alternative way [to earn a living].
Some, they understand, especially the elders, but for others, who are aged around 30, 35, 40, who still have energy, it is very difficult sometimes, because they believe everything [is] found inside of the forest [and can be extracted]. The number of these [people] is not high, but they can teach either the youth or the children to follow them to the forest.
So if we plant something for the kids, and if we stop the youth from going inside the forest, I think after five to 10 years, we will get a community that supports conservation.
Banner image: Khamis Ali Khamis, the acting-chief-in-charge of Ngezi Forest Reserve. Image by Ryan Truscott for Mongabay.
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