Trend and extent of environmental and rangeland degradation in farmer-agropastoralist villages in Morogoro region, Tanzania

Abstract

The scarcity and degradation of land resources in rural African environments threatens human security, leading to conflicts. Despite the economic importance of pastoralism, most economic development policies in Tanzania, based on inconclusive evidence, perceive pastoralism as unproductive, unorganized and environmentally destructive. Therefore, agropastoralists are persistently evicted and/or forced to move to marginal areas, leading to serious land use conflicts between agropastoralists and farmers due to conflicting goals and interests over overlapping land resources. This research employed multi and interdisciplinary approaches including rangeland assessment indicators, both quantitative (GIS and Remote Sensing applications) and qualitative (interviews and focus group discussions) to assess the trend and extent of environmental and rangeland degradation, perceived to be caused by the increasing numbers of humans and livestock in Morogoro region. Results demonstrate that there are huge changes in land cover and use in the study areas with associated links to environmental and rangeland degradation. The areas covered by forests, woodland/grassland and water have decreased, whereas bare land has increased. These changes were largely associated with a combination of factors such as increased population density of both humans and livestock, and subsequent economic activities including but not limited to charcoal business, timber harvesting, mineral mining, and extensive and large-scale cultivation. In conclusion, if agropastoralists continue keeping large numbers of stock, and more forests and wetlands are converted into cultivation fields, then farmers and agropastoralists’ long-term well-being and sustainability are also in jeopardy – leading to more land resource use conflicts. It is recommended that firstly, strengthening of informal conflict resolution mechanisms (i.e., Elders’ Tribunal) which include members from the two communities and, secondly, provide education that will create greater awareness of the impacts of individual and collective choices of livelihood activities for both their own well-being and the well-being of the natural resource base.