Living Close to Forest Reserves

Conservation areas (CA) cover massive parts of land across Africa and have shaped land governance systems since their establishment under colonial rule. In Tanzania 40 % of land is currently under con-servation. This is the case for 17 % of land in Uganda. They were established by the colonial admin-istration to improve conditions for larger game animals, ivory trade, hunting, and safari by keeping people and agriculture out of these areas. Conservation remained a priority for independent African governments due to prestige and revenue. After 2010, CAs gained importance as climate change miti-gation, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity protection moved to the forefront of policy discussions. Increasing emphasis is on possible neighbouring benefits from biodiversity, livelihood activities, and sustainable foraging. Using unique spatial and household level data from the border region between Tanzania and Uganda this study investigates the effect of living near CAs on income and food securi-ty. CA policies are quite similar in enforcement and layout on both sides of the border. The biggest cross border conservation area is implemented in a joint project called Sango Bay–Minziro Conserva-tion Investment Plan between Tanzania and Uganda. The border area between Uganda and Tanzania therefore also provides a unique setting for exploring how varying country level agricultural policies mitigates this effect. Investigating the potential positive and negative effects of living near Cas, and what mitigates it, is crucial, as CAs are expanded and consolidated across Africa and increasingly mentioned in Nationally Determined Contributions.