Introduction
This paper is all about the environmental crisis as
related to population growth, Poverty and rapid urbanization in
Tanzanian contents. Major environmental crisis in Tanzania includes Land
degradation, Pollution management and Urbanization, Agricultural and
Range Land Resource Management, Management of forest Resources,
Management of Wildlife resources, Management of mineral Resources ,
Excessive voice and Hazardous wastes.
THEORETICAL LITERATURE REVIEW
Major Environmental Problems in Tanzania
1 Land Degradation
Human
impacts on deforestation, soil erosion, overgrazing, and degradation of
water resources and loss of biodiversity have all resulted into land
degradation. Poor agricultural practices such as shifting cultivation,
lack of crop rotation practices, lack of agricultural technology and
land husbandry techniques exacerbate the problem.
Liviga (1999),
contends that the effects of overstocking, which are localized, give
rise to serious degradation in places such as Shinyanga and Mbulu where
livestock units have exceeded the carrying capacity. This situation is
seen as a good indicator of each of capacity for the decentralized
institutions at the local level to enforce laws and instruments which
are meant to ensure sound environmental management.
2 Pollution Management and Urbanization
Pollution
is a major problem in urban areas of Tanzania. Improper treatment and
disposal of solid and liquid wastes are the major contributors to urban
area pollution. The combined results of these problems are that both air
and water have been contaminated with pollutants, which are detrimental
to human health. In Dar es Salaam, for example, less than 5% of the
population is connected to a sewage system. Where a sewage system
exists, raw sewage is discharged directly into the Indian Ocean without
prior treatment. Thus a workable water supply and sewage treatment is
needed for the urban areas.
3 Agricultural and Range Land Resources Management
Agriculture
and rangeland resources are the backbone of Tanzania's economy. It is
estimated that about 55% of the land could be used for agriculture and
over 51% for pastoral lands. However, only about six percent of the
agricultural land is cultivated with the practice of shifting
cultivation which causes deforestation and land degradation on the
pastoral land. Lake Manyara basin, Geita Gold Mines, Usangu Wetlands and
Ngorongoro.
The main cause for these problems is due to lack of
proper instruments of enforcement of the existing legislation, policy
and by-laws by local authorities. Again where the mandates of central
and local institutions on environmental management are weak, conflicting
and confusing; enforcement of laws and implementation plans becomes
difficult if not impossible.
4 Management of Forest Resources
Forest
resources provide both direct products and by -products. The forest
reserves are also linked with agriculture, beekeeping, energy, water
uses and biodiversity. It is estimated that fuel wood and agricultural
residues account for 92% of the total energy consumption in the country.
As a result, the mismanagement of fuel resources significantly
contributes to deforestation and environmental degradation. Hence,
highlighting the central and local governmental institutions inability o
solve the problem.
5 Management of Wildlife Resources
Tanzania is
one of the few countries with vast number of wildlife resources. For
example, Tanzania's "protected areas" cover about 25% of the total land
(Nshala: 1999). The protected land is comprised of national parks, game
reserves, game controlled areas and the Ngorongoro Conservation
Area.Unfortunately, communities living around these protected areas do
not benefit from the wildlife industry. They live in uncertain
conditions visited by persistent attacks by the wild animals and
destruction of their crops. This has resulted in an antagonistic
relationship between the wildlife authorities and the local populace.
Local communities resort to activities like poaching to gain access to
and benefits from the wildlife and other natural resources. This is a
direct result of the central government excluding local communities from
wildlife management.
6 Management of Mineral Resources
With
respect to mineral resources, a Joint Appraisal Mission Report (1999)
noted conflicting authorities on matters regarding mineral prospecting
and mining. Additionally, local authorities have a minimal role in the
mineral resource management process, despite the fact that mineral
depletion is occurring in the local communities area. Any attempts made
by local authorities to make by-laws imposing mineral levy such kind of
by-laws have been met with an "outcry of double taxation" by mineral
concessionaires against both the central government and the local
authorities. The Tanzanian economy depends upon mineral resources for a
major source of its revenues. However, mineral exploitation is often
done without regard to environmental and social impacts. Thus the Mining
Act of 1998 addressed this problem and required mining companies to
conduct environmental impact assessments. Mining activities a major
cause of environmental degradation by deforestation, destruction of
habitat, loss of biodiversity and general damage to the land.
Urbanization
Dubey (1990:17) defines urbanization as a community
consisting of a large concentration of population in a relatively
limited geographical area. This is activated by the production of
manufactured goods and distribution of various types of goods and
services involving high degree of specialization and complicated
technology
Pollution Management and Urbanization
Pollution is a
major problem in urban areas of Tanzania. Improper treatment and
disposal of solid and liquid wastes are the major contributors to urban
area pollution. The combined results of these problems are that both air
and water have been contaminated with pollutants, which are detrimental
to human health. In Dar es Salaam, for example, less than 5% of the
population is connected to a sewage system. Where a sewage system
exists, raw sewage is discharged directly into the Indian Ocean without
prior treatment. Thus a workable water supply and sewage treatment is
needed for the urban areas.
Population Increase
Population refers
to number of people residing in a certain geographical area over a
specific period of time. In the recent years, human population increase
has made it necessary to increase the rate of production of materials
such as manufactured goods to sustain human life. This has increase the
rate of resource utilization. Both renewable and non renewable resources
are being exploited to the maximum. For example, forests and wildlife
are being used without limit in order to meet human needs for food
production, manufacturing and processing of finished goods and
packaging. All these increased rates of use have raised the rates of
waste generation and regrettably the present technologies can not cope
with the increased rates of disposal.
Population and Environment
The Tanzanian population increased from about 7 million people in 1948 to 34 million in
2002 (Madulu, 2004). The present annual growth rate of the population is 2,8%, and the
population
is expected to further increase to about 44 million people in 2015
(World Bank,2003). Although linkages are complex, the population
increase increases pressure on the natural resources in Tanzania. The
population issues are not explicitly assessed in
MKUKUTA.
The
rural-urban migration in Tanzania is high. The urban population
increased from 15 % of the total population in 1980 to 33% in 2001(World
Bank, 2003) and it has been estimated that by 2025 more than half of
the population in Tanzania will live in urban areas. Today the urban
planning is inadequate. Consequently, the urban expansion lacks
consideration of environmental issues (water quality and supply,
sanitation and solid waste management) or urban-rural development
effects. The poor are the most vulnerable since they are obliged to
reside in the most marginal areas. The urban expansion put immense
pressure on surrounding forests to support the need for charcoal.
MKUKUTA recognizes the increasing problems related to urban poverty and
include several operational targets related to integrated urban
planning, water, sanitation, waste management15. Sustainable energy
development is also mentioned, albeit in rather vaguely defined cluster
strategies. The urban migration has its root cause in the inability of
agriculture to sustain the livelihoods of a growing population. The
MKUKUTA recognizes the growing rural-urban divide and the high levels of
un- and underemployment as critical challenges. The strategy notes that
“the opportunities for expanding and diversifying rural incomes,
particularly for the vulnerable groups, from the sustainable use of
natural resources is under-realized…” and that “…on and
off-farm earnings need to be supported both by a strong agricultural
Human
impacts on deforestation, soil erosion, overgrazing, and degradation of
water resources and loss of biodiversity have all resulted into land
degradation. Poor agricultural practices such as shifting cultivation,
lack of crop rotation practices, lack of agricultural technology and
land husbandry techniques exacerbate the problem. Some
environmentalists, from rich nations especially, also raise concerns
about increasing populations placing excessive burdens on the world’s
resources as the current major source of environmental problems.
Thus,
putting emphasis on population growth in this way is perhaps
over-simplistic. However, this does not mean we can be complacent about
future population burdens. Sustainability is critical for the world’s
majority to develop without following the environmentally damaging
processes of the world’s currently industrialized nations. Also adding
to the complexity is that resource usage is not necessarily fixed. That
is, while there may be a finite amount of say oil in the ground, we may
have not discovered it all, and further, overtime the use of those
resources may increase in efficiency (or inefficiency). This means a
planet could sustain a high population (probably within some limits) but
it is a combination of things like how we use resources, for what
purpose, how many, how the use of those resources change over time.
This
makes for a worrying situation for third world development and poverty
alleviation. However, an environment-only approach risks “blaming the
victims.” While humans are largely responsible for many problems of the
planet today, not all humans have the same impact on the environment. It
is important to consider, for example, that the consumption of just the
worlds wealthiest fifth of humanity is so much more than the rest of
the world, as highlighted at the beginning.
Poverty
Refers to lack
of physical necessities, assets and income it includes but is more than
being income poor. Poverty can be distinguished from other dimensions
of deprivation such as physical weakness, isolation, vulnerability and
powerlessness.
Isolation refers to being peripheral and cut off. Poor people can be isolated geographically living in remote areas.
Empirical literature Review
Rural-Urban Migration: Migratory trends in Tanzania form a very
interesting pattern. The 1978, 1988 and 2002 National censuses of
Tanzania indicated that urban population was about 2.3 millions, 4.0
millions and 7.9 millions, respectively. The censuses indicate also that
the urban population increased from 13.3 percent in year 1978 to 17.9
percent (1988) and further to 23.1 percent by year 2002. It is evidenced
that Tanzania is experiencing rapid urbanization in the same manner as
other Sub-Saharan countries and Africa in general. The big rush is for
the Dar es Salaam City whose population has increases ten fold since
independence in 1961. The census data for year 2002 reveals the trend
that Dar es Salaam Region still continues to have positive net migration
of 1,131,457 people, followed by Manyara Region (161,251 people),
Tabora (129,965 people), Arusha (89,295 people), Rukwa (57,688 people)
and Morogoro (49,990 people). Other regions that have positive net
migration include Mbeya and Kagera (9,290). On the other hand,
Kilimanjaro, Iringa, Tanga, Dodoma, Kigoma and Mowers regions are the
six largest losers. Dar es Salaam is a primate city, endowed with the
best services of any urban centre in Tanzania. As such living in Dar Es
Salaam has become the dream of all who can afford to leave their
ancestral homes. To many, it is the only place to earn a living. The
development of urban centres in Tanzania, and Dar es Salaam City in
particular, is driven by rural-urban migration that in turn is fuelled
by the imbalance in lifestyles between rural and urban centres and
between regional towns and the Dar es Salaam City. This dual migration
syndrome has overburdened housing and all other services in the Cities
and Towns of Tanzania. Jobs have dwindled fuelled by retrenchments of
the same period, in the public service, shut downs in parastatal
organizations and industries as well as marginal finance for emerging
private sector of the novice market economy. Consequently, the
population increase is far ahead of what the urban economies can afford
on a narrow tax base and poverty of its taxpayers. Eastward Population
Shift: On the other side of the process are migrations away from the
central plateaux and similar agro-economic zones to the eastern coastal
strip as reported by Prof. Mtatifikolo in a study conducted in 2004. The
unfriendly drought conditions of the past post el-nino decade, has
favored migrations to the higher rainfall and on into urban centers in
the same areas. The net effect has been a population shift eastwards.
Population shifts involving pastoralists moving away from ancestral
areas in search of pasture has been a source of untold land-use
conflicts as has been the refugee problem in the north western Tanzania
The 2002 census shows that the highest average population growth rate in
Tanzania by Region is in Kigoma Region at 4.8% per annum as a
consequence of refugees. In a historical note it is seen that the four
coastal urban centres, Dar es Salaam, Tanga, Lindi and Mtwara alone
increased their share of population in Mainland Tanzania from 2.2% in
1957 to 7.4% in 1988. The picture would be more conspicuous if the other
minor settlements on the coastal belt were included, as there is
evidence that the growth rates of Kibaha and Bagamoyo in Pwani, Muheza
and Korogwe in Tanga, are higher than average. Other Exogenous
Challenges in a SPILL Perspective: The strategic plan, SPILL documents
acknowledge the following to constitute other issues falling under the
exogenous dynamics category: (i) Massive growth of irregular
settlements. There are housing constructions springing up in unplanned,
unsurveyed and unserviced areas of most urban areas including settlement
in hazardous lands as well as open spaces and way leaves or for
recreation and public land-use; (ii) land administration authority is
far detached from land users and a call is therefore to decentralize
down to the Districts so as to also give easy and prompt access to
records, maintained at headquarters in Dar es Salaam, and to the various
authorizations stated in law; (iii) Land administration system is part
of Government that operates a dual system of services, i.e. in the lands
sector Ministry and in local government. The latter often undertakes
land delivery activities in a relatively weak institutional framework;
(iv) The New Land Laws and supporting sub sector laws are not always in
sync with other sectoral laws on minerals, water, agriculture,
infrastructure developments, etc and need to be harmonized, bearing in
mind the primacy of the former; (v) The market in land is not regulated
and still operates as an informal activity. The wide spread sale of land
without a framework to guide such sales and protecting the vulnerable,
including regulation of real estate agents and making provision for
leasing agricultural lands; (vi) continuing patronage and corruption in
the procurement and delivery of services. This study paper was
researched, developed and prepared by Dr. F. N. Lugoe for the Dar es
Salaam Institute of Land Administration and Policy Studies, DILAPS.
Liviga
(1999), contends that the effects of overstocking, which are localized,
give rise to serious degradation in places such as Shinyanga and Mbulu
where livestock units have exceeded the carrying capacity. This
situation is seen as a good indicator of each of capacity for the
decentralized institutions at the local level to enforce laws and
instruments which are meant to ensure sound environmental management.
Agriculture
and rangeland resources are the backbone of Tanzania's economy. It is
estimated that about 55% of the land could be used for agriculture and
over 51% for pastoral lands. However, only about six percent of the
agricultural land is cultivated with the practice of shifting
cultivation which causes deforestation and land degradation on the
pastoral land. Lake Manyara basin, Geita Gold Mines, Usangu Wetlands and
Ngorongoro Conservation areas have been affected the most by inadequate
control and land management.
POVERTY
Refers to lack of
physical necessities, assets and income it includes but is more than
being income poor. Poverty can be distinguished from other dimensions of
deprivation such as physical weakness, isolation, vulnerability and
powerlessness.
Isolation refers to being peripheral and cut off. Poor people can be isolated geographically living in remote areas.
Forests
in the country face increased pressures from timber companies,
agricultural businesses, and local populations that use forest
resources. Forest resources provide both direct products and by
-products. The forest reserves are also linked with agriculture,
beekeeping, energy, water uses and biodiversity. It is estimated that
fuel wood and agricultural residues account for 92% of the total energy
consumption in the country. As a result, the mismanagement of fuel
resources significantly contributes to deforestation and environmental
degradation. Hence, highlighting the central and local governmental
institutions inability o solve the problem.
Both environmental
degradation and poverty alleviation are urgent global issues that have a
lot in common, but are often treated separately. Consider the
following:
Human activities are resulting in mass species extinction
rates higher than ever before, currently approaching 1000 times the
normal rate;
Human-induced climate change is threatening an even bleaker future;
At the same time, the inequality of human societies is extreme:
However,
there is often a mainstream belief that for poor countries to develop,
environmental concerns have to be sacrificed, or is a luxury to address
once poverty is alleviated.
Therefore, the approaches to such issues
require rethinking. The overloaded phrase “sustainable development” must
recognize the interconnectedness between human beings and the
environment if true environmental and social justice is to be obtained.
POLICY REVIEW
The
main cause for these problems is due to lack of proper instruments of
enforcement of the existing legislation, policy and by-laws by local
authorities. Again where the mandates of central and local institutions
on environmental management are weak, conflicting and confusing;
enforcement of laws and implementation plans becomes d 7.
Policy framework for Environment and Natural Resources Management
Tanzania
is in many ways progressive and active with regard to environmentally
sustainable development issues. The legislative and policy framework for
environment and natural resources management is fairly well developed,
and there are legal provisions for decentralized and local management of
natural resources. Over the past decade the legal framework for
environment and natural resources management has developed considerably
in Tanzania.
The Environmental Management Act was finally passed
(2005). Other key environmental policy documents are the National
Environmental Action Plan (NEAP) the National Environmental Policy (NEP)
(both from 1997), the National Conservation Strategy, the National
Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (1999), and a National Action Plan
to combat Desertification (NAP).
There is presently no separate national Strategy for Sustainable Development (NSSD) in
Tanzania.
Tanzania is party to the key international conventions on protection of biodiversity,
endangered species, the ozone layer, wetlands (Ramsar), and climate (Kyoto protocol),
combat desertification, and follow the international Law of the Sea. The Convention on
Biological Diversity (CBD) is a convention of major importance for Tanzania. Its main
objectives
are conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and equitable
sharing of the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources.
At
the national level, there is an institutional recognition of the
relationship between poverty and environment, through the positioning of
both the Division of Environment (DoE) and the Poverty Eradication
Division (PED) in the Vice President’s Office (VPO). A cross-sectoral
Government Environmental Working Group has also been established which
is coordinated by the VPO.
However, implementation of this policy and legal framework is lagging far behind and is
being
undermined in practice by the many cases of mismanagement of the
natural resources sectors. Besides policy failures and corruption, lack
of financial resources and capacity are also major obstacles to the
implementation of the policy and legal framework for sustainable
management of natural resources.
The Public Environmental Expenditure
Review (PEER), conducted in 2004, concluded that“While environmental
resources contribute significantly in terms of revenue collections and
national income,…the environmental sectors are financially under
resourced” (URT, 2004b).
The MKUKUTA may provide some leverage to increase government spending on
environment, but this remains to be seen.
There
are potentials to increase the much needed national revenues from the
natural resource sectors by for example introducing tendering and
auctioning for highly valuable and marketable resources such as timber
logs, black wood and hunting blocks. Economic
instruments such as market creation, safeguard of property rights, information and
government
taxes are also important mechanisms to correct for imbalances in
environmental resource utilizations and environmental degradation.
Local
access to and sharing of benefits from natural resources are key issues
for both poverty reduction and environmental protection. This point is
strongly underscored in the
MKUKUTA and the policy and legal framework for promoting local and participatory
management of the environment and natural resources has been clearly developed in
Tanzania, with the Wildlife Act, the Village Forestry Act and the Land Act (devolving
management and decision making rights over village land and forest areas to villages) as
good
examples. There is however very limited capacity at district, province
and local levels to assume the responsibility of sustainable natural
resources management. The Local Government Reform process entails a
fairly far-reaching decentralization of planning and implementation to
the Districts, Municipalities, Towns and Cities. However, at this level,
no specific provision has yet been made to stimulate a pro-active and
sustainable management of natural resources.
Moreover, PEER recommends that the VPO and NEMC18 formulate and implement
Environmental Training Programs for local governments and wards.
There
is a need among other sectors (such as health, education, water, roads
and energy) to (i) broaden the understanding of the role of the
environment, and (ii) shoulder a larger
responsibility for environmental management. There is accordingly a need to promote
capacity
building at the sector level. For this purpose PEER proposes that
sector ministries should be allocated funds to facilitate establishments
of Environmental Managements Units and recruitments of environmental
coordinators. There is also a need for further understanding of how
different crosscutting issues are linked (gender-environment)
1. Environmental Management and the NSGRP
The Tanzanian National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty (NSGRP), or
MKUKUTA1 in Kiswahili, clearly high-lights the important role of natural resources and
environment
to combat poverty. Environment and natural resources management have
been mainstreamed in the document, with strong emphasis on the role of
natural resources for income generation, the importance of good
governance, and the need to emphasize local involvement and
participation. There are environmental targets under all three
clusters2; 14%of the targets directly or indirectly relate to
environment and natural resources management. There are further a
considerable number of environmental interventions under no environment
targets. This represents a significant improvement in relation the first
PRS.
1 Mkakati wa Kukuza Uchumi na Kuondoa Umaskini TaifaEnsure. The MKUKUTA is organised around three main clusters:
a) Growth & Reduction of Income Poverty,
b)Quality of Life and Social Well-being, and
c) Governance & Accountability. Under each cluster a set of 5-6 goals are defined.
3)Under each goal there are operational targets, strategies to achieve targets, intervention
packages/s, sector or area/s of collaboration, and actor/s who will implement.
4)As part of the consultation process during the development of the MKUKUTA, CSOs,
natural
resource sectors and the Environment Working Group made submissions
related to environment and natural resources. Environment has also been
addressed into the Public Expenditure Review (PER) and the Medium Term
Expenditure Framework (MTEF), and the environment related indicators
within the Poverty Monitoring System will be further developed.
The MKUKUTA clearly high-lights:
• the key role natural resources play for economic development and poverty alleviation,
• the need to address bad environmental governance and corruption in natural resources
sectors, and
• the importance of participatory and decentralized management of natural resources and
the environment.
The MKUKUTA hence strongly acknowledges the importance of poverty-environment
linkages,
and also provides several important entry-points for how to address
them. However,at the same time it is clear that most targets and
interventions are very general (not only those related to environment).
Operationalising the strategy is a key challenge. This includes
(i)developing the Poverty Monitoring System, (ii) costing the strategy,
(iii) strengthening the links to the budget process, and enhancing the
(environmental) budgeting and planning Process at District level.
Economic development and the Environment
Tanzania’s
rich natural resources constitute a major wealth asset which is
fundamental for growth and economic development. Although natural
resources are fundamental to the economy and the livelihoods of the
rural population, their value and potential is frequently
underestimated. This underestimation is partly based on missing markets
in the case of public goods, imperfect competition in the case of
distorting government interventions as well as pricing of natural
resources below market value. Widespread market- and policy failures
lead to sub-optimal economic decision making and loss of income to the
country. As long as these weaknesses are not addressed, a substantial
base of economic growth will be slowly eroded and poverty reduction
objectives are unlikely to be achieved. All the main economic sectors -
agriculture, mining, tourism, wildlife, forestry and fisheries –are
based on natural resources. In all sectors there are important links
between management
of the environment and natural resources, sustained growth and poverty reduction:
Agriculture
has been described as “the back-bone” of the Tanzanian economy and
accounts for about 45% of GDP, 60% of export earnings and 80% of the
population’s livelihoods.
Increased productivity within the agricultural sector is key to achieving the 6-8 % annual
growth
rate targeted in the MKUKUTA. The growth in the agricultural sector is
targeted to increase from 5 % in 2003 to 10 % in 2010 – a target which
may prove very difficult to
achieve. Modernizations and expansion of agriculture call for careful consideration of the
adverse
affects that intensified irrigation, pesticides, fertilizers and
changed crops may have on the environment (e.g. water pollution, reduced
water flows, deforestation, land
Degradation) (URT, 2004c).
The MKUKUTA includes several measures to mitigate potential negative environmental
Impacts from increased agricultural growth. A failure to implement these and similar
Measures may aggravate poverty, environmental degradation and the prospects for long run economic growth.
The
mining sector has experienced double digit growth during the last
years, but only accounts for about 2 % of total GDP. Only 10 years ago
the mining industry in Tanzania was still basically artisanal. Today
Tanzania is Africa’s third largest exporter of gold, and produces a
number of other valuable minerals for export. The description of the
mining sector as a success growth story has however been questioned on:
(i) the contribution of the sector to government revenues4, (ii) the
effects on employment as technology intensive large scale mining
replaces labor intensive small scale mining and (iii) the local impacts
on poverty and environment (e.g. soil erosion, land degradation,
deforestation, pollution of air, drinking water and water bodies).
The
MKUKUTA notes that “serious poverty concerns [of mining] have been
raised regarding the impacts on environment, tensions over land rights
and labor relations in areas where these activities have risen
dramatically. The challenge ahead is to ensure that investments benefit
the wider economy giving particular attention to disadvantaged regions”.
However, these concerns are not picked up in the targets and
interventions for the mining sector in the MKUKUTA. The government has
integrated several environmental safeguards in its policies, such as
calls for Environmental Management Plans and Environmental Impact
Assessments as a condition for Special Mining Licenses, but the
implementation of these safeguards have been questioned. The
issues related to mining are complex and hence merit considerable more analysis than presently outlined5.
The tourism industry has grown at an average rate of more than 6% during last years and
Accounts
for roughly 5% of GDP. To maintain growth in the sector, it is
necessary to manage the natural environment sustainably. Moreover,
future growth of the tourism sector may involve significant
environment-poverty related trade-offs.
Since natural resource based
tourism happens at the expense of other use of the resource, the sharing
of benefits from tourism by local communities is a key issue. The
MKUKUTA states that “barriers to communities gaining increased benefits
from natural resources (e.g. wildlife) need to be removed”, but is not
explicitly addressing how environmental safeguards will accompany
tourism sector development.
The Wildlife sector has potential for
increased growth and revenue generation and is important for the food
security, nutrition and income of rural communities6. However, the
sector suffers from mismanagement, under-pricing, over-use of resources,
loss of revenues and limited sharing and participation of rural
communities. Well managed, the game-hunting industry is one of the few
non-farm industries with potential for economic development in remote
rural areas of Tanzania. According to the follow-up regulations to the
Wildlife Act (from 1998), local communities should receive at least 20%
of hunting revenues, but this has not been implemented in practice.
Mining is connected with substantial tax breaks and relatively low royalties.
The impact of Extractive Industries (such as mining) on poverty and
environment have been documented by the Extractive Industries Review by
the World Bank Group (www.eireview.org)
Well over two-thirds of the
population eats wild meat, and according to one source, 95 % of the
rural population claim wild meat to be their most important source of
protein.
The Tanzanian forests provide goods and services of
crucial importance to poor households and the national economy. 95 % of
the energy supply, 75 % of the construction materials and almost all
indigenous medicinal products are estimated to be directly derived from
forest biodiversity. In addition, eco-system services, such as soil
conservation, watershed protection and carbon sequestration, have a
large indirect economic value. However, since markets are poorly
functioning or non-existent for many of these products and services,
they are not accounted for in the national accounts. Consequently the
forestry sector officially accounts for only 2-3 percent of GDP.
To
increase the contribution from forestry to the incomes of rural
communities, the MKUKUTA calls for (among other things) a scaling up of
Participatory Forest Management, harmonized natural resource sector
policies, and the development of a rural energy master plan including an
extension of rural electrification7. A new framework for forestry
management has also been developed and implementation is ongoing8. With
sustainable management and good governance the potential for pro poor
growth and revenue generation from the sector is considerable. There are
also many good examples of agro forestry at the village level.
The
rapid deforestation constitutes a serious threat to rural livelihoods as
well as lost opportunities for growth and revenue generation. For
example, turning the “illegally” operating charcoal industry into a
major employment and income generating sub-sector in rural areas may
have a huge potential, indicated by current annual incomes from charcoal
amounting to 40% and more in rural households. It is also claimed that
royalties within the sector are presently set arbitrarily and that only
5-10% of the potential revenue is actually collected.
Fisheries represent a significant source of revenue and foreign exchange, and sustain
Livelihoods,
in the form of food security and employment and income, of poor people.
The Tanzanian fisheries are at or near a state of full development, and
sustainable and equitable management is a key challenge. While the
inland fisheries, and specifically the Victoria Lake fisheries, are
overexploited, the marine fisheries may have potential for growth. In
both the inland and marine fisheries, there are conflicting interests
between communities reliant on fish resources for their livelihoods and
the export oriented commercial fisheries. Good governance which secures
maximizing and equitably sharing of benefits, sustainability of
extraction levels and maintaining productive marine and inland water
ecosystems, is thus a key issue. Today potential revenues are not
captured, and negative impacts for poor people are experienced. These
developments call for a change in focus from attraction of foreign
direct investment to a broad-based, equitable and environmentally
sustainable fisheries development. Key policy reforms would include (i)
developing the regulatory framework, (ii) strengthening the management
capacity, and (iii) securing the livelihoods of the poor in the sector.
OWN PERSPECTIVE
There
is a big relationship between environment and human activities in the
world. The environment depends on man and the man also depends much on
environment in order to survive and exist. There fore, despite of the
environmental crisis facing Tanzania today, the Government should
prepare a well implement able strategy for environmental Conservation to
make sure that the current generation utilize it but with great caution
to make sure that the future generation will also find the good
environment for them to survive. This is to say that we have to make
sure of the sustainable utilization of environmental resources such as
land, wildlife animals, forests and water sources.
There
should be policies and planning to conserve the environment although it
seems to be challenging for Tanzania to reverse the loss of its
environmental resources unless a significant progress is made in the
reduction of poverty levels because poverty is the biggest source of
environmental degradation in Tanzania. Lack of alternatives to fuel
sources has made it difficult for people especially in rural areas to
stop using fire wood.
However. both environmental degradation and
poverty alleviation are urgent global issues that have a lot in common,
but are often treated separately. There should be an integrated plan to
deal with environment and poverty together.
REFERENCES
In:
Dangerous intersections: feminist perspectives on population,
environment, and development. A project of the Committee on Women,
Population, and the Environment, edited by Jael Silliman and Ynestra
King. Cambridge, Massachusetts, South End Press, 1999. :89-107.
© Centre for Science and Environment
Campaign on Forests
Process Notes On The Stakeholders Feedback Meeting 13th May 2002.
Dr. F. N. Lugoe for the Dar es Salaam Institute of Land Administration and Policy Studies, DILAPS.
Vice Presidents Office ( VPO ):Poverty and Environment :Vol 1, December 2005
