Bureaucracy and Biopolitics of Multispecies Relations in South-Central Tanzania

Bureaucrats including agricultural officers, wildlife managers, livestock extension workers and veterinarians are involved in the management of multispecies relations in Tanzania. Tanzania, an African country with significant livestock and wildlife resources, and currently advocating for neoliberal policies, continues to grapple with contestations in the management of its ecosystem services. These include human–wildlife conflicts, rodent infestations and land-use challenges. Based on two ethnographic studies that focus on the human–animal–environment interface, this article delineates the knowledge flows, interests and politics of managing multispecies entanglements in an important ecosystem in Tanzania, the Kilombero wetland. First, this article demonstrates how professional knowledges are applied to control the bodies of animals and people. Second, it explores the dynamics of multispecies relationships within the framework of existing policies, laws and regulations. Third, the article illustrates how local communities are marginalised and excluded in favour of promoting capitalistic models of production and conservation. The article argues that the role played by government officials in the governance of interspecies relations in Tanzania, although currently understudied, forms an important lens for understanding the current conservation and development narratives and practices.