Village officials grappling with the effects of multiple land uses, including farming, ranching, and wildlife-based tourism often find themselves lacking the complete set of skills required to manage their land for long-term environmental sustainability. This is an issue that has arisen frequently in meetings of local environmental committees, particularly where villagers are establishing conservation areas like the Mwambesi Wildlife Conservation Concession. Recognizing the importance of a well-informed leadership, APW has facilitated the training of village leaders from seven villages at the Likuyu Community Based Conservation Training Center.

In 2007 and 2008, APW facilitated the training of 12 village officials from our southern Tanzania project site. In 2009, we expanded this project to include our northern village partners in the Maasai Steppe, bringing our total number of people trained to 18.