Overview
Vision: We envision a future in which rural communities have economic stability and resilient livelihoods while maintaining rich biodiversity in Tanzania.
Mission: Our mission is to partner with rural people adjacent to wildlife and forest areas to produce and market environmentally friendly products to achieve both biodiversity conservation and economic empowerment.
Goals:
- To bring the economic value of wildlife and forest areas directly to individuals
- To reduce the illegal consumption of wildlife and forest resources
- To support rural communities to improve crop productivity per household
- To strengthen the connection between rural communities and urban markets
- To empower rural communities to generate income from environmental friendly activities
ECOWICE supports Tanzanian farmers in producing environmentally friendly products across all aspects of the value chain, from production to marketing.
This has helped 475 farmers to shift from engaging in environmentally destructive activities like charcoal production and illegal hunting. ECOWICE staff are skilled in both wildlife management and economic development, meaning we create solutions that benefit both people and planet.
One example of this is mediating the human wildlife conflict that exists between farmers who border national parks and elephant populations who frequently cross park boundaries to raid crops. ECOWICE supported farmers in creating “living fences” out of hanging beehives that are connected with a wire, so that when elephants bump into the wire, the bees are disturbed and fly out to sting the elephant and encourage it to leave.
Additionally, these farmers have gained a new profit center in the sale of honey from these hives. This is just one example of how ECOWICE creates innovative solutions that preserve wildlife and create economic resilience for communities.
