Rugemeleza Nshala
Yale University
School of Forestry and Environmental Studies / Tanzania
Research Topic: Fishing Industry Management in Lake Victoria: Reforming Shared Natural Resources' Governance

I am a Tanzanian by nationality and an environmental lawyer by profession. I did my primary, secondary, and undergraduate studies in Tanzanian. In 1993 I obtained a bachelor¹s of law degree (LL.B) from the University of Dar es Salaam. In April 1994 I co-founded Lawyers¹ Environmental Action Team (LEAT) which is a premier public interest environmental law organization in Tanzania. I was its President and Executive Director for nine years until September 2003. In 1996-97 I pursued a Masters of Laws (LL.M) at Harvard Law School. In 1998 I returned to Tanzania and continued working with LEAT on various environmental and natural resources management campaigns. One of many campaigns I was involved in, and which was the highlight of my environmental law carrier, was the campaign against the prawn-farming project in Rufiji River Delta. The Tanzanian government approved this project despite serious environmental issues and violation of the country¹s laws. In this campaign, LEAT and other environmental organization obtained an injunction against the project which led to the voluntary winding up of AFC. Rufiji River Delta is now a Ramsar Site.

In September 2003 to June 2004 I was a Human Rights Fellow at the Human Rights Program Harvard Law School. The fellowship enabled me to expand my understanding of human rights principles and international treaties and how they are applied at international and local levels. In September 2004 I joined Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies to pursue a Masters of Environmental Management (MEM). From September 2005 to June 2006 I will be at Harvard Law School as a first year doctorate student (S.J.D) my area of concentration is on extractive industry in Africa and how the World Bank induced policy reforms have affected the sovereignty of African countries on mineral resources on one hand and denied deprived them mineral revenues through abolition of all forms of taxes and payment of miniscule royalty on the other. I expect to go back to Yale in September 2007 to finish my MEM studies.