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 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, focusing on the human-animal-environment interface, this paper delineates the knowledge flows, interests and politics of managing multispecies entanglements in an important ecosystem in Tanzania, the Kilombero Wetland. First, this paper 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, this paper illustrates how local communities are marginalized and excluded in favor of promoting capitalistic models of production and conservation. This paper argues that although the role that government officials play in the governance of interspecies relations is understudied in Tanzania, it forms an important lens for understanding the current conservation and development narratives and practices.