Tanzania’s national parks advance gender equality as women secure 37 per cent of leadership roles
The share of women in senior decision-making positions at Tanzania National Parks now surpasses the global benchmark
WEDNESDAY June 24, 2026
By Adam Ihucha
The Tranquillity News Correspondent, Tanzania
At first light, elephants move across the savannah with unhurried certainty, their silhouettes cutting through a haze of dust and pale gold light.
Safari vehicles idle along the tracks as visitors from Germany and Tanzania watch in near silence, cameras raised but momentarily forgotten.
It is an image that has come to define Tanzania’s conservation success: Intact ecosystems, stable wildlife populations, and a tourism economy that remains one of the country’s most reliable sources of foreign exchange.
Yet, inside the institution tasked with safeguarding these landscapes, a quieter transformation has been taking shape, one measured not in wildlife counts or visitor numbers, but in leadership charts and boardroom decisions.
Women now hold 37 per cent of senior decision-making positions at the Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA), up from 22.6 per cent in 2020/21.
Female representation in leadership positions has increased from 22.6 per cent to 37 per cent over the past five years,” the Tanzania National Parks Conservation Commissioner, CPA (T) Musa Nassoro Kuji.
The figure exceeds the global average of under 28 per cent for women in senior leadership roles, according to data from UN Women and the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
For TANAPA, the shift is framed not as symbolic progress but as institutional design.
“Female representation in leadership positions has increased from 22.6 per cent to 37 per cent over the past five years,” said the TANAPA Commissioner for Conservation, CPA (T) Musa Nassoro Kuji.
“This reflects deliberate institutional strategies aimed at achieving gender balance in leadership.”
A change from within
In conservation agencies, leadership composition often translates directly into how resources are allocated, how enforcement is prioritised, and how communities around parks experience the state.
Within TANAPA, women now occupy 23 of 62 senior commissioner-level positions — roles that determine budgets, staffing, procurement systems, communications strategy, and long-term planning.
Among them are Moreen Mwaimale (Finance), Cecilia Mtanga (Human Resources), Catherine Mbena (Corporate Communication), Jully Lyimo (Business Development), Catherine Mwamasage (Procurement), and Sekela Mwangota (Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation).
Their portfolios sit at the administrative core of Tanzania’s protected-area system, where financial discipline and operational efficiency often decide whether conservation goals are achieved or deferred.
The leadership shift extends beyond headquarters.
Dr Beatrice Kessy leads the Northern Zone.
This reflects deliberate institutional strategies aimed at achieving gender balance in leadership.” the Tanzania National Parks Conservation Commissioner, CPA (T) Musa Nassoro Kuji.
Neema Mollel heads the Dar es Salaam liaison office, Dr Halima Kiwango oversees Zanzibar, and Noelia Myonga is based in Dodoma.
At park level, women now lead eight of Tanzania’s 21 national parks — including Kilimanjaro, Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Arusha, Saadani, Mkomazi, Udzungwa Mountains, and Saanane Island.
Those parks include some of the country’s most economically significant conservation areas, shaping tourism flows, concession revenues, and employment networks across northern and coastal Tanzania.
Leadership at the front line of conservation
In Kilimanjaro, Angela Nyaki oversees Africa’s highest peak and one of its most visited protected areas.
In Tarangire, Dr Tutindaga George manages a landscape known for its elephant herds and seasonal migration corridors.
Dr Yustina Kiwango leads Lake Manyara, Eva Mallya heads Mkomazi, Witness Shoo runs Arusha, Gladys Ng’umbi oversees Saadani, Theodora Batiho manages Udzungwa Mountains, and Upendo Massawe is responsible for Saanane Island.
Their responsibilities extend far beyond wildlife protection.
Each park operates as a hybrid institution — part conservation authority, part tourism enterprise, part community negotiator — balancing ecological preservation with economic pressure and local land-use dynamics.
In that context, leadership decisions are rarely technical alone. They are political, economic, and social at once.
Performance gains — and institutional claims
TANAPA says the rise in women’s leadership has coincided with measurable performance improvements.
An inclusive leadership culture has strengthened responsibility, teamwork, and operational effectiveness across the organisation,” the Tanzania National Parks Conservation Commissioner, CPA (T) Musa Nassoro Kuji.
Operational efficiency has improved from 65 per cent in 2020/21 to 87 per cent in 2025/26, according to the agency figures.
Revenue collection also surpassed targets: In the 2024/25 financial year, TANAPA collected 500 billion Tanzanian Shillings (about$191 million), exceeding a target of 430 billion (about $164 million).
The agency has also received international recognition in recent years, including awards such as the World Travel Awards and the European Society for Quality Research Best Practice Award for tourism service delivery and conservation management.
Mr Kuji attributes the gains to broader governance reforms as much as gender inclusion.
“An inclusive leadership culture has strengthened responsibility, teamwork, and operational effectiveness across the organisation,” he said.
A broader debate in global conservation
International research has long suggested correlations between gender diversity in leadership and organisational performance.
Institutions, including World Bank, International Labour Organisation, and McKinsey & Company have found that more diverse leadership teams often outperform less diverse ones in governance, problem-solving, and financial outcomes.
In conservation, however, such findings sit within a more complex reality.
Protected areas are not corporate entities; they are contested landscapes where state authority intersects with local livelihoods, tourism markets, and global environmental expectations.
That makes attribution difficult.
Improved revenue or efficiency may reflect leadership diversity — or parallel reforms in enforcement, tourism recovery, or budgeting systems.
In Tanzania’s case, officials emphasise that multiple institutional changes have unfolded simultaneously.
Still, the visibility of women in decision-making roles has altered internal culture in ways that are harder to quantify.
Staff within TANAPA describe shifts in communication styles, consultation practices, and administrative coordination, particularly in departments tied to human resources and community engagement.
Symbolism and structural change
Across Africa’s conservation sector, leadership remains heavily male-dominated, particularly in field operations and enforcement roles.
Against that backdrop, Tanzania’s 37 per cent share in senior leadership positions stands out less as a final milestone than as an institutional departure point.
It also raises a deeper question: Whether representation is driving performance, or whether both are outcomes of a broader modernisation push within TANAPA.
The answer may lie somewhere in between.
Gender inclusion appears to be reinforcing a wider administrative restructuring — one focused on accountability, digitisation, and revenue optimisation — rather than operating as an isolated reform.
A changing institution in a stable landscape
On the plains of Tarangire National Park, little of this is immediately visible.
Elephants continue to follow ancient routes. Tourists continue to arrive in convoys. Rangers continue their patrols along dusty tracks.
But inside the institution that governs this landscape, the architecture of authority is shifting, not abruptly, but, steadily towards a leadership structure that increasingly reflects both national policy priorities and global governance trends.
For Tanzania’s conservation system, the change may ultimately be judged not only by who leads it, but by how effectively it continues protecting one of Africa’s most valuable ecological and economic assets.
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Adam Ihucha is a prominent Tanzanian journalist and author recognized for his extensive coverage of tourism, wildlife conservation, and economic issues in East Africa. Based in Arusha, he serves as a senior correspondent for The Tranquility News and is a long-time contributor to eTurboNews (eTN), where he provides global insights into Tanzania's travel industry.
Throughout his career, Ihucha has written for several major publications, including The Guardian (Tanzania) and The EastAfrican. His work frequently highlights the intersection of environmental conservation and economic development, covering critical topics such as anti-poaching initiatives, national park management, and regional trade within the East African Community. His journalism is noted for its advocacy for sustainable tourism and its role in documenting the achievements of Tanzania's tourism sector.
Email contact: ihucha@tranquilitynews.com
