Fidelcastor Kimario, Tanzania

1. Please describe your (scientific) work/research in a short way.

I am Fidelcastor Kimario. I work as a Senior community-based conservation Officer in the Wildlife Department at the  Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism in Tanzania.  I am responsible for community wildlife management areas and wildlife corridors. Prior to this post, I taught nature based tourism at the College of African Wildlife Management, Mweka. My focus of research is on wildlife tourism and community conservation. I studied Environmental Governance at the University of Freiburg. I am currently at the chair of Geography at the Julius-Maximilians-University of Würzburg working on biodiversity conservation and community livelihoods in the rural periphery of Tanzania for my PhD. 

2. Which aspect of a sustainable life, work and research is especially relevant for you and why?

Social – ecological imbalances are not rooted in nature, but in human-environmental interactions. I believe that it is crucial to find ways, through work and research, to improve how we live with our natural environment and incorporate nature into all spheres of human life.

3. What would be your wish for the future (and why) with this regard?

I wish collaborations between global nations and conservation partners could focus on designing and implementing bottom up approaches that seek solutions to natural environments and local livelihoods while ensuring equality in access and use of natural resources.

4. How is the Corona crisis affecting you in your every-day life and work?

Corona crisis has hampered my work in different ways. At the beginning of this crisis, it was difficult for me to coordinate meetings and workshops with community projects. Responding to challenges facing rural communities from different wildlife management areas was difficult. More so, the crisis negatively affected the community I work with due to lack of tourism business, which is a fundamental aspect for revenue generation in community conservation projects.