ST.
AUGUSTINE UNIVERSITY OF TANZANIA
DEPARTMENT
OF GEOGRAPHY
GE 352: NATURAL
RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
BAED
3RD YEAR 2013/2014
TEACHING
MANUAL
By
CHRISANT
EMMANUEL
B.A with
M.A
in Geog (Maseno University-Kenya)
FEBRUARY,
2014
INTRODUCTION
The
course introduces students
to the concept
and importance of
natural resource and environmental conservation. It provides students with knowledge
about the principles, approaches and tools for natural resources management.
Specifically the course deals
with aspects of
natural resource governance;
integrated natural resources management, establishment of
protected areas, biodiversity conservation, property rights and regimes, and
policies on natural resources management.
Learning Outcomes
At
the end of the course students should be able to:
§ Define
the concept of natural resources and natural resources management
§ Describe
the principles of natural resources management
§ Discuss
different approaches to natural resources management
§ Apply
the skill of inventorying and monitoring forests rangeland and wildlife
management.
§ Identify
the resource use conflicts and conflict management
§ Discuss
the integrated natural resources management
§ Describe
the rationale for establishment of protected areas
§ Identify
categories of protected areas
§ Describe
criteria for selection of areas for protection
§ Prepare
management plans for National Parks
§ Describe
policies and practices for protected rights and regimes
§ Discuss
natural resources policies, legislations and conventions
§ Identify
management regimes and practices
PRINCIPLES
AND APPROACHES TO NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
Overview
Environmental resources (natural
resources) are the materials that occur naturally in the environment and
they have use
value naturally or
after being subject
to certain degree modification or process.
They are sources
of raw materials
used by the
society (McKinney and Schoch,
1996).
On the other hand Waugh (1995)
defined natural resources as features which are needed and used by people.
Literally the term resources is synonymous
to natural resources,
some individuals broaden
the meaning to
even accommodate human resources.
These materials include all types
of matter and energy that are used to build and run society such as soil, minerals,
water, coal and all other naturally occurring materials. Materials that have
been located and can profitably
be extracted at
the present market
price form a
subset of natural resource termed
Reserves. The resources are
exploitable under current economic and technological conditions. The materials
that have been located but cannot be extracted profitably at the present time
are simply called resources which are as good as undiscovered raw materials.
These are tangible and non- tangible elements of the
bio-physical environment necessary for the production of certain basic
commodities or necessary for the livelihoods of human beings. They consist of
all things that do not fall under man- made creations, thus what we see around
us that take the course without the interventions of human beings is what would
account as natural resources. A natural resource should be of a good quality
and able to be transformed into values that satisfy human needs.
They
include the components of the Mother Nature like: Land / Soil, Water, Air,
Minerals/ Precious Stones, Forests / Vegetation, Wildlife/ Animals.
Natural
resources are also considered as commodities which are valuable and they occur
in nature and can be used to create wealth. Therefore; a commodity
becomes a natural resource when a primary activity associated with it is
extraction or purification.
Resources
Refer
to all means of satisfying human needs at a given time and place. Resources
include; Air, Land, Water, Minerals, Forests, Wildlife, Living things including
human beings, Non-living things etc. Are
means of attaining individual or social welfare and they vary over time and space. They are the attribute of the environment appraised
by man to have value within the social and economic constraints.
How does a resource become a
resource?
Elements
of the environment become resources when human beings appraise them to have
values and these values depend on :-
·
Human needs and desires
·
Socio - Cultural
·
Economic Conditions
·
Political
·
Biological
This means that, to make an element of
the environment to be a resource, man has to employ his/ her technological and
organizational abilities. His / her actions to make the elements of the
environment to be resources will be constrained by:-
v Ecological resistances-
which demand that a harmonious
equilibrium should be maintained when exploiting the resources
available in the environment. This means that, whenever you utilize resources,
you must not deplete them; therefore, there is a need to balance between
exploitation and regeneration/reproduction of natural resources.
Exploitation of
non- renewable resources should consider the developmental aspect of the
country and its exploitation should be in a way that is friendly to the
environmental ecosystems. The renewable resources must be utilized without
damaging their capacity to regenerate themselves.
The decision to use a resource and the rate of
resource exploitation depends on the Supply
and Demand.
|
Resources Exploitation Rate
|
|
Quantity of Resources/Units
|
|
S
|
|
D
|
|
Equilibrium
|
CATEGORIES OF NATURAL RESOURCES
-
Natural resources are generally
classified into three categories (this is according to abundance and
availability)
i.
Continuous
natural resources
ii.
Renewable
natural resources
iii.
Non-
renewable natural resources
i.
Continuous
Natural Resources
These are resources which continue
to be available and cannot be degraded even with gross mismanagement. Example:
Wind, Gravity, Geo- thermal energy (heat energy from ground water circulating beneath
the earth’s crust).
Note:
Solar energy: belongs in this group though its reception can be affected by
atmospheric pollution.
ii.
Renewable
Natural Resources
These
are resources that can be replaced within few humans generation. These
resources have ability to replenish themselves after use. These are resources which are capable of
natural regeneration into useful condition within a time span. These resources
are potentially renewable and could be indefinitely available provided that
their capacity to regenerate is not damaged by natural catastrophe or human
beings.
Once these renewable resources are degraded beyond a
certain critical point, they may not recover thereby become non- renewable
resources.
Renewable resources are classified into:-
·
Living/biotic renewable resources such
as ; Plants, Fish, Wildlife etc
· Non
living/abiotic renewable resources such as; Soils, Air etc
iii.
Non
Renewable Resources / Stock resources
These are the resources that cannot replenish
themselves within a few human generations.
The phrase ‘few human generations’ here is very
essential because some resources are replaceable over a very long geologic time
scales. For example oil, soil, coal and
some
metallic
mineral deposits may
form again if
we wait for thousands
to hundreds of millions of years. However, these rates of
renewal are so many thousands of times slower than the rates of use that, for
all intents, they are nonrenewable on a human time scale.
These resources are available in finite/ limited
quantities or their rate of renewal is so slow that they may be regarded as
available in a fixed quantities. These resources once used are lost forever, as
they are not restored.
The concept of renewability is sometimes blurred.
Very old ground water in desserts may
take
centuries or even
many years to
replace themselves, while
ground water in
rainy tropical areas may
be replaced in
a few days.
Thus deep ground water in desserts is sometimes termed ‘fossil ground
water’ which is in a way non-renewable resource.
NOTE: The major concern of the earth as whole
currently is to switch from the use of non-renewable resources to use of more
environmental friendly renewable resources i.e
use of wind
energy as opposed
to fossil energy
which is so unfriendly into
the environment. Their use therefore pollute environment. Since non-renewable
resources have time
limit in terms
of their use,
prices tend to fluctuate a great deal and hence
destabilizing many economic processes.
Note
:- ANOTHER WAY OF CLASSIFYING THE NATURAL RESOURCES
Natural
resources can be classified according to their :-
a.
Chemical
Nature
i.
Inorganic resources:- Air, water,
metallic minerals
ii.
Organic resources:- plants, animals,
micro-organisms
iii.
Mixed resources:- soils
b.
Abundance
and Availability
i.
Inexhaustible/Renewable
ii.
Exhaustible/Non renewable
iii.
Continuous
c.
Distribution
i.
National resources; Confined to national
boundaries e.g. Minerals, land (soil)
ii.
Multinational resources; Shared by more
than one nation e.g. some rivers, lakes, migratory animals.
iii.
International resource; Shared by all
nations e.g. air, solar energy.
Another
way of describing Natural Resources include:
a.Geological resources
These
include –Minerals, Oils, Gas, Rocks
b. Hydro-geological resources
Example;
-Underground water, Surface water, Ice
c. Atmospheric resources
For
example; -Air, Sunlight, Rainfall and its pattern
d. Edaphic resources
Example;
-Soils, Vast biological wealth in the soil (fertility)/elements /nutrients
e. Forest resources
These
are such as Vegetation/ plants and their products
f. Marine and aquatic resources
Example; -Plants, animals,
and minerals in marine areas.
g.Animal resources
For
example; -Wild animals, Domesticated animals
h. Microbial resources
-Different
types of microbes (microscopic organisms)
(c)
NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
Natural resource management is a concept that encamp
wise use of natural resources i.e. use that does not compromise the quality of
the resources. Such a use ensures that yield and quality of resources in
question are not compromised in course of their use. When resources are used
caution should be taken not to degrade the same since some resources are non-elastic
(cannot replenish ones
exhausted), ones exhausted
they are gone. Resources should be well timed in terms
of conservation to avoid the risk of overuse and hence exhaustion which equal
to disappearance on human time scale.
Natural Resources management also refers to a
process of decision making whereby natural resources are allocated over space
and time to meet certain needs, desires or aspiration of man/ human being in
particular society. It is the process of decision making that involves the
exploitation of natural resources overtime and space in a particular society/
country with respect to needs and desires of the members of the country. This
is done within the frame work of man’s technological innovations, political and
social institutions, legal, administrative arrangements.
Each
society / country has its own rules and regulations which have to be observed
during decision making for natural resources management.
In our modern societies we have several policies and
legislations governing resources use.
Therefore, decision making for natural resources use
should abide to the policies and legislations of the society concerned.
- The
exploitation of any resource depends on the technological framework of the
society or country.
For
instance, many rural dwellers depend on fuel wood as the
source of energy, but with change in technology, they may adopt other sources
like electricity, use of stoves, and gases.
Example; In Kilimanjaro Rural Area,
Kagera Rural Areas, Mbeya Rural Areas etc
- Natural
resources management is considered as the New Observation/ approach:
Why
Considered as New Observation?
1. It
emphasizes on Rationality in
the utilization of natural resources.
i.e. - Utilizing while thinking on the future
- Ability
to reasons (logical thinking) for the sustainable use of the resources
available, rather than being governed solely by instinct and personal appetite/
preference.
2.
It emphasizes on Ethics over economics when
utilizing the natural resources
- This
means that we should not aim at making
profit only, but the quality of resources to be reserved for future use.
- Think
of the sustainable use of natural resources through abiding to the principle
and standards set (policies, laws) for N.R use.
3. It
emphasizes on Ecological conservation over
Engineering activities
- We
have to use the resources within the ecological limitations posed by the
environment in a way that we do not deplete the available resources.
Ecology:
study of the relationships between living organisms and their interaction with
the environment. The ecological aspect of the environment should not be
disturbed unnecessarily due to application of science and technology in
designing various infrastructures/ things unless otherwise, example; Construction,
use of machines etc.
4.
It emphasizes on involvement of strategies and Legislations or Acts to
achieve certain objectives for the betterment of all people in the society/
country. The strategies, laws and acts are changing over time and place,
therefore, NRM is considered to be a new observation
5. Resources management
emphasizes on the protection of
environmental quality and its enhancement (i.e. the natural resources
existing in the environment).
Therefore,
the strategies designed aim at promoting wise exploitation and restoration
of resources (utilization and conservation). We need to make serious
attempts to use natural resources in an efficient manner, or else they would be
depleted as the result of careless use of the Resources.
The
seriousness of the problem can be understood from the words of one of the
American President (Theodore Roosevelt;
26th President in 1900’s) that:-
“…The conservation of natural resources is
fundamental problem, unless we solve that problem, it will avail / help us
little to solve all others…”
Resources
value
Various values
are ascribed to the resources
that occur in
the environment. The care given to any environmental resource
is subjective to the value that the resource users put on such a resource.
For example, huge trees and forests
in some villages in Tanzania are highly valued for their local religious
functions they play. The communities in which such trees or forests occur
accord them maximum care.
The
values are drivers
of conservation because
these values force
the individuals to aspire for longevity of the resources concerned.
In most cases individuals refers to
only economic benefits when looking at the value of environmental resources.
There are some other values that are attached to environmental resources
summing up to five. Sometimes these are referred to as five E’s as explained
below;
i. Ethical value referred to as
Intrinsic value
This is the value of resource unto
itself, regardless of its value to humans. This justifies existence of mountain
scenery, worm in the wastes etc. If these resources have a right of
existing, then
high intrinsic value
should be ascribed
to them. Intrinsic values are environmental oriented. The rest of the E’s are referred to as
extrinsic values.
The extrinsic values are the ones
which are external to resources own right to exist, refer instead to the
resource’s ability to provide something for human beings. Such values are
anthropocentric (human centered). Extrinsic values are more utilitarian or
practical, than intrinsic values and therefore tend to be more widely discussed
in political and economic debates on resource management.
ii.
Esthetic value (Aesthetic value)
This is the value of resource in
making the world more beautiful, more appealing to the senses and generally
more pleasant. The value one place on a mountain hike in the cool morning air
is an example. Some people place no value to this and would pay northing for it
while others find it indispensable.
iii. Emotional values
This is the value resource beyond
sensory enjoyment. Some people for example develop very strong emotional bonds
to certain natural areas or certain animal or plant species.
This is sometimes called sense of a
‘‘place’’. Many psychologists consider nature to be important for mental
health, especially children.
iv.
Economic value
This is
type of value
involved with tangible
products that can be bought
or sold. For example food, timber, energy etc. Society
needs to focus more on long term
economic values, which actually provide more income over the long run. The
value of resources for tourism, native fruits, or other sustainable products is
ultimately much greater than the value
of their destructive uses.
v.Environmental
service values
This is
the value of
resources in providing
intangible services that
allow humans (and other life) to exist on earth. Plants
help to purify air, produce oxygen and plant roots and soil microbes purify
water.
Some people put all the five values
on all environmental resources. Others put different values on resources like
beach etc.
Logging, mining and other types of
harvesting that destroy the resources are called direct values. Most
environmental problems arise when the resources are appreciated for only their
direct value. Placing only ‘‘direct’’ short term economic value on natural
resources artificially ‘‘discount’’ their true value to society and to the
future generations.
Environmental service, emotional,
esthetic and ethical values are referred to us indirect
values, meaning
that they are in ways
that do not
involve direct harvesting
or other destruction of the resources.
More sustainable uses of
resources, such as
extractive forestry and ecotourism,
will be encouraged
and rewarded. As long as
only short term
values are
considered, overuse and
exploitation will be
encouraged and rewarded.
Incumbent in the resource
utilization is sustainability. Thus most often environmental natural
resource managers tend to stress on sustainable utilization of resources. This
is as crucial to natural resources as it ensures longevity and persistent
quality for generations who depend on resource in question.
APPROACHES
TO NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
-
The process towards natural resources
management requires several approaches including:-
i.
Economic approach
ii.
Legal approach
iii.
Institutional approach
iv.
Administrative approach
v.
Pedagogic approach
vi.
Ecosystem approach
i.
Economic
Approach
-
This is one of the approaches used in
natural resources management and it is the most common among others. It is all
about the use of the following issues:
a)
Applying
Taxation so as to reduce the use of such a resource; example
tax imposition to; charcoal making, fishing, small scale mining etc.
b)
The
use of Polluter pays Principle (PPP)
-
This requires one to pay the real cost
of pollution that he / she is causing to the environment due to resources
exploitation.
-
The polluter pays principle is the
commonly accepted practice that those who produce pollution should bear the
costs of managing it to prevent damage to human health or the environment.
Example:
A
factory that produces a potentially poisonous substance as byproducts of its activities
is usually held responsible for its safe disposal.
c)
Applying
user fees Principle
-
This requires one to pay the user fees
that have been calculated and set according to the prevailing standards.
-
The user is required to pay the fees for
the use of a particular resource in a specified time. This reduces high
pressure over resources exploitation.
d)
Benefit
sharing Principle
-
This involves preventing people from
using some reserved areas like forests, national parks, game reserves etc, and
at the end of the day you share the benefits obtained from such reservation.
e)
The
use of Permit System
-
This needs the user to get the permit
from the recognized institution/ ministry before using a certain resource.
-
This means that the resources concerned
are restricted towards a random use/ exploitation unless the user gets the
valid permit from the recognized authority.
f)
Conservation
System
-
This is all about convincing people to
do away with the use of a certain resource in a specified time under the name
of conservation for future benefits.
ii.
Administrative
Approach
- This
is all about the use of ministry/ ministries and other organs in
environmental resources protection and Natural resources management.
For
example: in Tanzania, this involves the use of the Ministry of Environment which
is in the office of the vice- President. It also touches; Ministry of energy
and minerals/natural resources, Ministry of water and irrigation, ministry of
livestock development and fisheries, National environmental management council
(NEMC) which established as an
institution/ organ for environmental management in Tanzania, etc
- In
this approach, therefore, there is the need to establish the Ministry /
ministries in which all environmental / natural resources management issues are
delt upon. Different organs can also be established to facilitate the
monitoring and implementation of environmental guidelines and natural resources
management.
iii.
Pedagogic
approach
Pedagogy
simply means the science or art of teaching/ providing education using the
specified methods/ procedures. It is concerning with environmental education
provision and environmental awareness creation to the people.
-
It entails the use of SEMINARS and WWORKSHOPS to discuss the environmental
resources management. Also through: Classroom
teaching/ curriculum, Conference, Public meetings etc
iv.
Legal
Approach
- This
is all about the use of LAWS and BY-LAWS to guide natural resources use thereby
conserving them (natural resources).
- It
involves the use of Laws made and accepted to guide the natural resources
exploitation.
v.
Institutional Approach
- This
is all about the natural resources
management regimes. It is about
v
Accessibility
v
Utilization
v
Ownership
-The Natural
resources management regimes include;
a.
Common property
b.
Public / state property
c.
Private property
d.
Open access property
vi. Ecosystem Approach
- It
is also known as Ecological management
it refer to the holistic view of the environmental components and the
inter- relationships among them (components)
-It is one of
the new ways/ approaches of managing natural resources that takes into account
the entire ecosystem (Ecosystem; A community of living organisms; plants,
animals, and microbes; in conjunction with non living organisms
interacting/linked to each other in the environment)
-It balances
recreational use, economic development and conservation of natural resources in
a way that all the needs are met in a sustainable manner.
-It integrates
the scientific knowledge of ecological relationships within a complex
socio- economic and Political frameworks towards the general goal of protecting
the native ecosystems integrate over the longtime.
-It is the
integration of ecological, economic, and social concerns towards the management
of biological and physical systems in order to safeguard the long term ecological
sustainability, natural diversity and production. i.e.
It deals with 3 concerns namely:
a)
Ecological concerns
b)
Economic concerns
c)
Social concerns
a.
Ecological
Concerns
-Ecology refers to the relationship of the environmental
organism and their environment including human beings.
This means that
when planning for the better natural resources management so as to satisfy
the ecological concerns, these is a need
to consider human beings, environment and other Organisms
You have to take
into account that an interaction of several components within the bio- physical
environment can tell much on the management or sustainability of the mentioned
components.
For
example:
·
Interaction between human beings and the
environment can lead to either Positive or Negative impacts to
the natural resources found in the environment.
Therefore, there
is a need for scientific ecological knowledge on the relationship human beings/
living organisms and the environment before planning for natural resources
management.
b.
Economic
Concerns
This means that
the production and management of material wealth like farming, industry
and other activities should balance with the ecological overview/ aspect of the
environment.
Simply, it means
that “ the rate of economic exploitation of resources, should balance with the
natural resources available in the environment”
c.
Social
Concerns
This is all
about the people living together in communities, human history
(lifestyles), population trends, past and future activities (e.g.
Agricultural trends), the Natural resources trends, conflicts between NR.
User’s tec.
Therefore, for
better natural resources management we look critically at the mentioned aspects
of social concerns.
Both social and
economic concerns are mostly not in favor
of the ecological concerns because: they degrade the environment(economic activities and
social / aspect)
They deplete the
Natural resources (Renewable and Non Renewable Resources).
The ecosystem
approach requires the natural resource management to be observed beyond the
observable factors at the present time.
It is a more
away from the approach of serving the endangered species at the time when they
are at brink of crisis to conservation and management of ecosystems at all times.
PRINCIPLES
OF NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
Under
this, we shall have a critical look at the Ecological
Principles of Natural Resources Management.
Ecological
principles of NRM include all the principles that are related to land use and
the resources found on it (Land)
It
is obvious that human activities have a great impact on the environment and its
resources and therefore, are the major source of change of land and its
resources. This change/transformation affects the ecological and physical systems.
Human activities have great impact on the environment, therefore, are the major
source of change of land. This change/transformation affects the ecological systems and physical systems.
Human
activities affects the earth’s efficiency to provide the goods and services. In
most cases the potential ecological consequences are not taken into
consideration when planning for natural resources management.
In
the use of resources, we usually have conflicting consequences and goals;
example; Mining and land, agriculture and forestry, fishing and water
quality/quantity of fish etc
Therefore, the critical challenge
for land use and resources management involves reconciling the conflicting uses
and goals.
Ecological
Principles are usually used in planning for Natural resources management to
meet the challenges for conflicting land/resources use, hence reducing the
conflicting consequences as the result of land use and resources exploitation.
The
ecological principles help us to understand the
limitations and potentials
offered by the environment hence proper planning for natural resources
management.
Therefore,
the ecological Principles of Natural Resources Management include:
i) The Landscape
Principle
ii) Species principle
iii) Time Principle
iv) Place Principle
v) Disturbance
Principle
I. THE
LANDSCAPE PRINCIPLE
A
landscape; Is a broad area of land with different types of landforms, life
forms, and all manner of things with regards to human activities.
In
planning for natural resources management by using the landscape principle we
should consider the land size, shape,
quantity of resources, and spatial relationship of the land cover types.
Usually,
the size, shape, and spatial relationship of the land cover types influence the
dynamic of populations, communities and ecosystems. The kind of organisms that
can exist in a particular area are limited by shape, size, and habitats across
the landscape.
For
the case of living organisms/resources, we are urged to consider their
population trend, i.e.
o
Population Increase – Immigration and
Natality
o
Population Decrease – Emigration and
Mortality
|
Natality
|
|
Immigration
|
|
Species Population
|
|
Mortality
|
|
Emigration
|
Decrease
A
small area usually have less species compared to the large area. Human beings
are also found within the landscape; their activities may fragment or even
change the cover of the land. That is to say, they have both negative and
positive impacts on the landscape.
Example; When the landscape is fragmented to
have small patches, this may reduce or
eliminate the population of organisms. Also may alter the ecosystem
process (especially through clearing of Buffer zones, and Corridors.
Landscape
fragmentation may result to positive effects; it may result to the increase in
diversity of species in a particular area; For instance; Introduction of new
species within an area i.e. edge effect.
With
an edge effect, you may have organisms that prefer the disturbed area; these
organisms may flow to the disturbed area thereby causing the increase of
biodiversity to such area.
The
large landscapes generally contain more species compared to the small ones. The
better management, therefore, should include large patches; hence the larger the area the better the
management.
II. DISTURBANCE
PRINCIPLE
There are
manmade and natural disturbances. The type, duration, and intensity
of disturbance shaped the characteristics of the populations, communities,
and ecosystem.
Whatever
disturbances that occur, on the area may affect the community / they may lead
to the following:
a.
Changing the number and kinds of species.
b.
Causing the losses of organic matter
c.
Affecting the productivity of the land
positively or negatively
d.
Affecting the habitat structure
-
Land use after the natural environment
regimes and may initiate new disturbances like soil/ land degradation/ erosion
etc.
Adjacent land
use affects natural areas and the effects may be through the introduction of
non- native land species that may also affect the resources in the environment.
The non- native
land species may be exhaustive in nature and can dominate the area and lead to
extinction of other native species.
Example: In Lake
Victoria
*Introduction of
spices to fight the hyacinths.
* Introduction
of Nile perch.
We can usually minimize the man-made disturbances,
but in most cases natural disturbances cannot be avoided.
E.g. storms, floods, volcanic eruptions, earth
quakes etc.
The ecosystems
can just adjust themselves wherever such disturbances occur; therefore whatever
action taken to the natural disturbances should aim at preventing the
impact ( adaption in the impacts).
III.
SPECIES PRINCIPLE
This principle
emphasis on species diversity and focal species in the whole process of
managing the resources.
Focal species
are those that provide indication on how the resources can be managed.
*species
diversity
The general
consideration is put towards the number kinds of species in a particular area.
The land with
more species is more productive than that with few species. This means that
whatever the disturbances will take place/ occur; in the area with many
species, not all species will die/ migrate; some will survive.
Therefore, if
you want to conserve the land / environment you need to maintain many but
considerate species.
Most of the
human activities lower the number of environmental species/ resources
diversity, therefore, there is a need to diversify the species within the
environment.
Note:
species principle implies that: in planning for management and use of resources
we need to look at the number and kinds of species (diversity), and the
indications provided by the focal species around the area.
Principle (man
and most important)
Facial species:
The species that
can provide the indication on how the resources can be managed
Keystone species
(umbrella and link species
The species
(plants or animals) that play a unique or crucial role in the way the ecosystem
functions.
They
include:
·
Indicators
·
Ecological engineers
Indicators
Provide the
management indication
Tell the status
of other resources E.g. Mangrove plants- wet area
Can be used/
managed for water related activities e.g. irrigation, fishing etc
Ecological
engineers
These include
small animals which could alter the ecological habitats thereby modify the
opportunities for other species. E.g. rodents; termites etc
IV.
TIME PRINCIPLE
When planning
for the management and use of resources in the environment we need to
consider diverse time scales for which
ecosystems pass through.
Usually
resources/ ecosystem change with time, ie
·
Seasonal changes
·
Year to year changes
·
Succesional changes (plant succession -
the way plants come up)
Human activities
may have a great role in altering the ecosystems / resources with regards to
time.
When you look at
a particular ecosystem in terms of species composition, structure and the
state, is always the function of the events that took place in the past
(overtime)
What you see may
not necessarily reveal/ show the prevailing conditions, but they may be
prevailing conditions.
Some events may
take place today but their effects may be seen much later.
For instance;
the impacts due to random land use may be experienced after a longtime hence,
the current land uses impact influence the future land uses.
V.
THE PLACE PRINCIPLE
Normally any
area or location has its own local environment.
The local
environment is the result of the variation of several factors like:
o
Soils
o
Climate
o
Hydrology
o
Biotic interactions etc
o
Living organisms
The local
environment influence the ecological processes, abundance and distribution of
species in a particular area.
Usually the
local environmental conditions lead to the natural occurrence of specific
ecosystems structure; only those species which are adapted to the environmental
constraints will strive / fight to stay in that particular area.
Therefore: the
unique conditions of a place may be more important for conservation/
management. Area with endemic species (species found within a particular
area) are always unique and they need to be conserved.
The land use
which can’t be maintained within the constraints of the environment should be
avoided because it can lead to the degradation of the environment.
Conclusion:
Generally the ecological
principles of NRM provide the basic for specifying and understanding of the
ecological concerns for ecosystem use. They are the checklists for
decision making in the whole process of natural resources management.
Resources
Utilization
Resource
utilization needs to be addressed thoroughly because even ubiquitous resources may
quickly go extinct if misused. Uncontrolled use of natural resource may result
into wastage of the
same resource and
the population that
depends on it
may easily fall
in scarcity of resources.
Key issue that
is worth to
note and that
needs consideration in resource utilization is increase in
longevity of resource use. The resource should be used for the
longest time possible
without compromising its
quality i.e sustainable
resource use.
Sustainable
Resource Utilization
Sustainable
resource utilization means resource use process that bears within it elements
of perpetual aspects of the
same resources. Some
impacts that emanate
from resource misuse are
permanent with far
reaching fatal impacts.
With sustainable resource utilization the
resource use by the present
generation should not
deny the right
for the future generation to use
the same resources. Hence sustainable resource utilization means utilization of
resources rationally on the basis that they can support the present and future
generations.
The
major aim of sustainable resource utilization is to attain sustainable
development in which resources are
used in solving
the current problems
without jeopardizing the possibility for
the future generation
to exist. In other words sustainable utilization of resources
is the utilization
of resources while
observing resource management
and conservation principles for the resources to last longer.
The
basic resources of the world that are likely to subject the earth into crisis
unless they are used with
great care are
water, air, forests,
minerals, agricultural land,
special ecosystems and tourism resources. Below is a description of how
some of these resources can be used to ensure longevity and maintain yield.
(i)
Water resources
Water must
be considered in
terms of quality,
quantity and accessibility. For
instance
lakes, rivers,
swamps, underground waters
are necessary to
support population and economic
development of the
people. The critical
shortage of water
inhibits economic development and
directly damage people as diseases may
erupt. Major economic sectors like transport, agriculture and industries depend
on water at one point for proper function.
Sustainable
utilization of water involves channeling and absorbing excess water, efficient
distribution of
the available water,
avoiding disposing wastes
in water bodies
that
interfere with
water quality, avoid
cultivation along river
banks and at
river sources.
Water reservoirs
should be constructed to tap rain water to avoid risk of shortage during dry
period.
(ii)
Minerals like iron ores
Minerals like
copper, tin, mica;
diamond, gold etc. have
greater contribution towards
economic development
hence these nonrenewable
resources need to
be managed
properly. When
managed properly mines will yield economic products for a long time.
Governments and
companies involved in
mining activities should
have proper
environmental rehabilitation projects,
like revetment of the
soil,
planting of trees,
enacting laws
and regulations to
reinforce mining companies
to rehabilitate land
when
mining
activities ceases in a particular place.
(iii)
Forests
Forests should
be used with conservation mind because careless use of trees may lead to
their disappearance. There
should be proper
reforestation programs to
ensure that
deforested areas
are rehabilitated. Only
mature trees should
be harvested. Alternative
sources of
energy should be sought to relieve forests of the pressure pressed to it by
both
rural and urban
population.
(iv)
Land
When land is
used especially in agriculture, care should be taken to maintain nutrients in
it. When
nutrient in the
soil decrease, proper
fertilization preferably by
using organic
fertilizers
should be done. Cultivation in areas which are prone to soil erosion should be
properly done
by using contours.
Proper agronomic practices
should be adhered
to in
order to avoid
land degradation in course of agricultural activities. Rotational cropping is
one of good
agricultural practices that ensure safety to agricultural land.
(v)
Air
Air is
the resource that
is available everywhere
on earth. Misuse of
atmosphere by
dumping in
it undesirable gases,
has led to
major environmental problems
facing the
world today. The
problems range from global warming, acid rain to depletion of ozone
layer. There
should be deliberate
efforts to ensure discharge of
harmful gases such
as
Chlorofluorocarbons
(CFCs) into the atmosphere.
Rational
utilization of resources for economic purposes will ensure continuous use of
the
same resource
for a long time. On the other hand a
wasteful use of resources will result
into ill-impacts
which will come back to community and harm it, soon or later.
NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT ISSUES
AND STRATEGIES
RESOURCES
DEGRADATION AND DEPLETION
Natural resource depletion is
the sum of net forest depletion, energy depletion, and mineral depletion.
Net forest depletion is the unit resource rents times the excess of
round wood harvest over natural growth.
Energy depletion is the ratio of the value of the stock of energy
resources to the remaining reserve lifetime (capped at 25 years). It covers coal,
crude oil, and natural gas.
Mineral depletion is the ratio of the value of the stock of mineral
resources to the remaining reserve lifetime (capped at 25 years). It covers
tin, gold, lead, zinc, iron, copper, nickel, silver, bauxite, and phosphat (World
Bank, 2011) .
(Source: World Bank "The
Changing Wealth of Nations: Measuring Sustainable Development in the New
Millennium" 2011)
Resource Depletion
The
pressure on the environment due to human activities has been greatly enhanced
due to the accelerated use
and depletion of
natural resources. Given the finite nature
of all resources the ultimate aim
is to achieve sustainable use of the natural capital. When the
rates at
which certain resources
are used exceed
their ability to renew (replenish) themselves these
resources are at
risk of exhaustion.
This is simply termed
resource depletion as it is further explained below. Principally there
two basic inputs from the environment, namely matter and energy
Depletion of Matter
Matter
resources are depleted
by being ‘‘lost’’
or dispersed. Ore deposits are usually
concentrated deposits
of minerals that
are normally found in dilute form
in the earth’s crust. When the minerals are mined
and processed metals are obtained they can be used to make cars and
other refined products.
The atoms contained
in the minerals
may be
dispersed i.e
wearing and tearing
of the materials
or lost to
further human use
when wastes are disposed in landfills and elsewhere, theurban ore of a
landfill may later be mined for its metal contents. Similarly rapid soil
erosion depletes the soil not because the
nutrients and
minerals in the
soil are destroyed,
but because the
soil is dispersed, ultimately into the oceans.
These are
examples of nonrenewable
matter; when dispersed,
molecules of metals
and soils will stay dispersed unless much energy and money is used to
concentrate them. In terms of renewable matter resources, dispersion still
occurs such as when houses are built out of timber relatively quickly. The
renewable resources are Oftenly biological resources that can be re-grown.
Depletion of Energy Resources
Energy
has a one-way flow through society because it is transformed to unusable form
‘‘waste heat’’ when used. Energy
resources are therefore
depleted when they
are transformed this way. This is a key difference fromsome forms of
‘‘lost’’ matter, which
could be
recollected and reconcentrated if
cheap energy is
available. In contrast
ones
energy is
transformed, it is
lost forever; waste
heat can never
be reconcentrated. For example when coal or oil is burnt to
release their chemical energy to drive
engine that energy can never be reused.
It
is because of the one way flow of energy that always an alternative form
environmental
friendly energy
which is ubiquitous
is recommended and that is
sun. This source
of renewable energy could potentially keep the societyrunning for many
millions of years.
Examples of
sun’s energy include
direct solar power,
biomass, hydropower and
wind power.
Bubble Pattern of Resource
depletion
Unsustainable use
of many resources
exhibits a bubble
pattern of depletion.
The best
known example
is the so
called Hubbert’s Bubble
of oil depletion.
King Hubbert predicted accurately
the bubble patterns
of oil depletion
in the United
States. The assumptions were
made in 1950s
and have proven
to be strikingly
accurate. U.S oil production peaked in 1970 and has been
declining since the richest reserves are steadily depleted.
The
bubble pattern has two causes:
exponential exploitation and exponential depletion. Because both use and
exhaustion are exponential, they tend to make mirror image. The
exploitation, side of
the bubble is
exponential because resources
are exploited very quickly once society discovers their
utility. The underlying cause of this exponential use is the exponential growth
of human populations and technology that
uses the resources.
All resources
on the earth
are finite, limits
to growth eventually
occur, and demand exceeds supply. At this stage, society
usually tends to intensify its efforts to obtain more of the
resources through further
exploration and increased
technological applications.
However these efforts
soon usually encounter
what is termed
Law of Diminishing
Return, in
economics, meaning that
increasing efforts to
extract resource produce progressively smaller
amounts/returns. This results into
depletion side of
the bubble. Production declines
exponentially because the most easily extracted concentrations of the resource
become exhausted.
As
supply of the resource decline, prices rise sometimes leading to unemployment
and other unpleasant changes.
Historically the society
responds to the
increase in resource prices by switching to another
resource. England switched from wood to coal as energy, when forests were
decimated and more recently to oil because it is cheaper. The series of bubbles
shown in England has often been repeated elsewhere and with other resources as societies
have tended to switch from one unsustainable resource to another. The only way to
break this ‘‘cycle of Unsustainable use’’ is to switch to sustainable uses.
What is Environment?
The word environment
commands a very broad meaning. It includes air, land, water, and plant, animal
life including human life together with the social, economic, recreational and
cultural factors that influence the lives of human beings.
It
also includes the building structures, machines or other devices made by man,
any solids, liquids, gases, heat, sound, vibration or radiation resulting
directly or indirectly from the activities of man and any part or combination
of the fore-going and the inter- relationship between man and the mother
nature.
Over
the past hundred years, the terrestrial fresh water and marine
environment have been declining.
Environmental
degradation and resources depletion have escalated/ increased over the
past three decades due to the cumulative impacts of rapid population growth,
intensive agriculture, urbanization, industrialization etc.
·
Deforestation
·
Decline of biodiversity and marine
resources
·
Water scarcity – especially clean safe
water
·
Air pollution
·
Urbanization etc
The
major reason for the adverse/ unfavorable environmental problems in Africa is
POVERTY. (What is the relationship
between poverty and environment?)
Poverty- environmental nexus.
However
the main cause of many environmental
problems include:
· Persistent
economic sector
· Agricultural
activities
· Industrial
activities
· Mining
activities etc
·
Population increase
·
Constructional activities
It
is also due to other sectoral policies which largely neglect and fail to avoid
harmful impacts on the environment and natural resources base.
Generally,
we can summarize the causes of environmental/ land degradation by using the
DISASTER CRUNCH MODEL- developed by Blackie at all 1994, although these are
some modifications.
i.e.
Underlying
cause’s -Poverty
-Population increase
-Poor governance
-Ignorance
-Technological stagnation
Immediate
cause (lack of) -Lack of income
-Lack of literates society
-Lack of democracy
-Lack of technology
-Lack of peace
Unsafe conditions -Deforestation
-Poor agricultural practices
-Civil wars
-Corruption etc
Land degradation As
a disaster
THE
KEY ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS / CHALLENGES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
1.
Increased
Food Insecurity
-
This is as result of rapid population
growth degradation of arable land and mismanagement of available water sources
combined with poor economic policies to support food production.
-
Due to such factors and other related
ones, there have been the high rate of decreasing of sufficient and good
quality of food needed to support the available number of population.
-
The population growth has acted as the
major cause of increased food insecurity;
and there have been a tremendous increase of population especially in
developing countries.
For
example:
·
In
1650 year; - 550 million This is a double increase within
200years
·
In 1850 year – 1100million
·
1850
year – 1100 million This is five times within 159 years
·
2009 year – 6790 million
If you look at
the concept of doubling time, there have been a decrease of years for (D.T)
e.g.
1930 – 2000million = 45 years
1975-
4000million= 35 years
2. Deforestation
Cutting
down of trees/ vegetation cover for various uses
-
African forests are shrinking
-
Most of the people use firewood as the
energy source
-
Also, most of people’s livelihood
depends on forests as well as land, leading to the increased deforestation.
Generally it is one the
environmental challenges in Tanzania and developing countries at large.
E.g.
-In Tanzania; about 10,000 ha. Of closed forests were being deforested annually
between 1981 to 1985.
3. Biodiversity Depletion
The
richness of African bio- diversity requires great protection and a sustainable
use that will ensure the income of
those who depend upon such bio- diversity.
Therefore,
there is a need to maximize bio diversity landscape protection. We need to give
priority to biodiversity areas which are close to areas with high population
density and to give balanced attention to such regions as arid and semi- arid.
4.
Water
Scarcity
African’s
fresh water problems are acute and worsening. It is one of the major stresses
that face the human livelihoods.
Most
of them arise from the poor management of water resources and sources, lack
of financial resources required for sustainable development and efficient
utilization of resources, absent of effective regional and basin development
plans and shared management, and underestimation of the ground water potential
to supplement irrigation and drinking water supplies.
Water
scarcity: a condition in which the annual availability of fresh water is 1000
or less cubic meters per person.
IUCN
(International union for conservation of natural) over 350 million people
suffer from water scarcity.
5.
Coastal
and Marine Resources Depletion.
There
have been a very high pressure towards the coastal areas encroachment and use
of marine resources in Lakes, oceans, seas
E.g.
they include: mangroves, coral reefs, lagoons, coastal forests, fish stocks,
sea cucumbers (overrate ) no back born –long.
Degradation
of coastal and marine resources have been caused by increased population/
urbanization and over exploitation of resources coupled with mismanagement.
There
is an urgent need for integrated coastal zone management to combat the problem.
6. Air Pollution
Has
now emerged as an environmental issue of concerns in most of major cities in
Africa including Tanzania.
-
Regulatory measures and environmental
standards need to be introduced to combat the problem.
Africans
emissions of GHG- Green house gases remain modest compared to developed countries,
despite the factor that it is modest, be regulated.
Globally,
there have been an increasing rate of CO2 emissions into the air/ atmosphere.
E.g.
1900=280 ppm (Parts per Million).
1980=335 ppm
700= 380 ppm
The
projection indicates that up to the year 2050 there will be about 400 ppm
About
90% of GHG emission is caused by the developed countries. The studies show that
china and India also contribute a lot towards GHG emission.
|
E.g. china = 22%
|
Russia =5.24%
|
Canada = 1.90%
|
|
USA= 19.91%
|
Japan = 4.28%
|
UK = 1.84%
|
|
India = 5.50%
|
Germany = 2.69%
|
South Korea 1.72%
|
Source: UN, 2008
7.
Urbanization
The
African urbanization rate is the highest in the world. This is resulting in
urban environmental deterioration.
Most
of the environmental problems in urban areas are inevitable consequences of
urbanization (pollution, slums, eruption of diseases etc).
They
can be resolved through efficient and effective urban management systems.
People
have been moving in a very high rate from rural to urban areas (rural- urban migration). This has been
caused by “push” factors working in rural areas. (ie insecurity, poor health
facilities, poor transport and comm., lack of electricity etc)
Beside
the push factors of rural areas, there are, of course, the “pull” factors (working
in urban areas): like the glamour of big
cities, good look – physical
Higher
pay urban jobs etc
There
is a challenge high population growth in urban cities- in developing countries E.g.
Dsm: 1960 = 0.15 %
1981
= 0.9 %
2000
= 4.6 %
Nairobi : 1950 = 0.14%
1979
= 0.83%
2000
= 5.3%
The proportion
of people living in urban areas in DCS’s is increasing from now and then;
E.g.
1950=17%; 1985=31%; 2000 = 39%
|
|
1950
|
1955
|
2000
|
|
Africa
|
15%
|
29%
|
39%
|
|
Latin
America
|
41%
|
69%
|
76%
|
ENVIRONMENTAL
PROBLEMS/ CHALLENGES IN TANZANIA
Tanzania is one of the developing
countries of the word, and we have already discussed in details the key
environmental problems in the developing countries.
In summary the following are major
six environmental problems in Tanzania (mostly in found rural and urban areas)
(a) Land
degradation
(b) Lack
of accessible good quality water
(c)
Environmental pollution
(d)
Loss of wildlife habitats and
biodiversity
(e)
Deforestation
All these are threatening the
availability of natural resources found in the environment, hence the need of
natural resources management.
It has been analyzed that;
(a)
Land degradation has contributed to the
reduced productivity of soils in many parts of Tanzania.
(b)
Despite considerable national efforts,
over half of the people in towns and in the country side do not have access to
good quality water for washing, cooking, drinking and bathing.
(c)
Pollution in towns and country side is
affecting the health of many people, and has lowered the productivity of the
environment.
(d)
The loss habitats for wildlife is
threatening the national heritage and creating an uncertain future for economic
development.
(e)
The productivity of Lake, river,
coastal, and marine waters is threatened by pollution and poor management.
(f)
Tanzania forest and woodland heritage is being reduced year by year
through clearance for agriculture, wood fuel, and for other demands.
POTENTIALS OF THE ENVIRONMENT IN
TANZANIA
The lives of all Tanzania are connected to the
environment.
E.g. Our
survival and survival of the future generation depends on the harmonious
relationship with the natural resources in the environment. Tanzanians
therefore, have no choice, but strive to manage the environment and its natural
resources. The natural resources should be managed in a way that enhances the
potential for growth and opportunity for sustainable development of present and
future generations.
Environmental problems in Tanzania are real and not
some one’s else problems.
The extraction of natural resources from the
environment should not exceed the natural resource generation. When should note
that, a health economy and a health environment go hand in hand; both are
needed for our survival and prosperity.
We are therefore called for the wise use of natural
resources for betterment of the present and future generations.
THE GOVERNMENT
STRATEGIES TO COMBAT ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS IN TANZANIA
Tanzania
is committed to sustainable development through long term and short term plans.
Environmental
protection is a social and economic necessity; it is an integral component of
sustainable development.
Satisfaction
of basic needs is an environmental concern of relevant natural resources
policy and environmental policy.
The
natural resources in the environment should be exploited with a great care and
any developmental investment should be done in a sustainable manner.
The
environment and its natural resources are the first victim of things like:
v
Acute poverty urbanization
v
Overgrazing
v
Deforestation
v
Mining
v
Overfishing
Natural resources extraction must aim at
eradicating poverty among the people through:
·
Eradication of diseases
·
Guaranteed food security
·
Guaranteed shelter
·
Guaranteed safe and clean water
·
Guaranteed employment
·
Guaranteed income generation.
At
the same time, the natural resources extraction should consider the ecological
concerns and the natural regeneration of resources.
The
environmental conservation strategies in Tanzania can be explained as follows:
a.Historical Overview
1929:-formation of
advisory committee on terrain after Dodoma conference.
1952:-formation
of native authority ordinance.
The local
authorities were given mandate to combat land degradation.
-Formation of
other ordinances from time to time; e.g.
·
National park ordinance
·
Forestry ordinance
·
Natural resources ordinance
·
Grass fire control ordinance etc.
b. Recent Efforts
1.
Establishment of national, regional and
district based programs and projects.
E.g.;
§
NEMC – established by an act of
parliament no.19 of 1983
To provide advisory role to the
government
§
HASHI (Shinyanga)
§
HESAWA (Lake Zone)
§
HADO (Dodoma)
§ KIGOMA-
Rukwa integrated development program.
2.
Promoting and sensitizing communities
and individual participation as a strategy to invigorate (fill something with
energy) environmental conservation and natural resources management.
3.
Environmental awareness campaigns
through media institutions (radio, TV, Press, Newspapers)
4.
Establishment of community based
organizations (CBO’S) to promote environmental conservation.
·
HASHI
·
SEMA
·
HADO
5.
Establishment of Non Governmental
organizations (NGO’S) LAVEMP
6.
Adoption of sector policies related with
forest, mineral, wildlife, fisheries, agriculture and livestock; which actually
put priority on conservation and management of resources and environment.
7.
Subjecting the issues of environmental
and resources conservation into the education curriculum/ learning programs and
courses covered into high institutions.
-
But:
The Strategies were/ are not fully implemented due to the following:
1.
Lack of good governance
2.
Corruption/ embezzlement
3.
Lack of mass education
4.
Poverty
5.
Social beliefs
6.
Gender imbalance
7.
Negligence (leaders and natives)
8.
Communication breakdown
9.
Misconception; that resources are owned
by the state.
10.
Incompetent leaders.
Natural
Resources/ Environmental Management Options
Proper resource management is
therefore based on recognition that less resource use can lead to long term
economic benefits and recued environmental costs. Such management, while recognizing
that some resource use is unavoidable thus seeks to minimize use where
possible.
Resource management is encompassed
with three basic options that can ensure minimum resource utilization; which
are; Preservation, Conservation and Restoration.
i.
Environmental Preservation
This refers to nonuse. A
‘‘preserved’’ national park or wilderness area is an ecosystem that is set
aside and (in theory at least) protected in its pristine condition or natural
state.
In this areas consumptive use of
products are prohibited.
ii.
Environmental Conservation
This is an attempt to minimize use
of natural resource. This can be attained
through efficiency improvements, recycling
or reuse and
substitution of other
resources. Environmental conservation usually ensures longevity in resource
utilization. When environment is conserved
the resources therein are conserved. Resource conservation is important as it;
(a) Slows depletion of resources
(b)
Reduces pollution by
slowing flow of
materials and energy
(throughput) through society and
(c) Saves money for example burning
less coal by increasing power plant’s efficiency not only saves coal but
produces less acid rain and other forms of pollution.
iii. Environmental Restoration
This is the
process of returning
a degraded resource
into its original
state. The rapidly growing field
of restoration ecology is attempting to return many ecosystems, such as tall grass
degraded grasslands and wetlands into their original state. Mining activities
in most cases alter the nature
of landscape and
many plants are cleared
and their existence
is therefore threatened. After mining operations especially open cast
mining deliberate efforts should be taken to restore the origin landscape i.e
scenery of the place in question and its plant population
Environmental Restoration is the
deliberate attempt to speed recovery of damaged areas. It ranges from practical
and economic attempts to simply restore some productivity to degraded grazing
lands, to the attempt to return full ecosystem function and structure in
protected ecosystems. Restoration is needed virtually everywhere humans have
been active past the hunter-gatherer stage. A third of the surface of the earth
is afflicted with land degradation or desertification and this affects almost a
billion people. Every year 6 million
an additional hectares
are completely lost
to production according
to U.N. estimates and
60% of the
rangeland, 60% of
rain-fed croplands and 30%
of irrigated croplands are at risk.
Protecting and restoring damaged lands requires an understanding of ecology,
economics, psychology and culture.
Methods
of Resource Conservation
The resources are well
managed/conserved by three basic practices/methods namely; Efficiency,
Recycling and substitution.
i.
Efficiency
Efficiency improvement
is generally most
effective and economically
sound because many technologies
and activities are wasteful and inefficient. Efficiency improvements
occur when the same task is accomplished with fewer resources.
Example, about two-thirds of the
water used in irrigation is lost through evaporation. Using micro irrigation where
water is carried
by pipes and
sprayed through small
holes decreases water loss to
less than 20%.
Inefficiency in
resource utilization is
costly to the
economy but efficient
utilization of resource results
into enormous gains as it conserves resources like minerals and others.
Besides the economic savings,
environmental saving from efficiency is also enormous.
Less depletion saves more resources
for future generations. Less resource extracted means less degradation of the
land. Less resource
use as well reduces
environmental pollution which
in a way
translates into resource
pollution.
ii.
Resource reuse and Recycling
Reuse occurs
when the same
resource is used
again in the
same manner, for
example refilling soda bottles. Recycling is more or less similar to
reuse but the resource is not used in the same form. With recycling the original materials are
made into other
devices for example
soda bottles may be remelted
to make new
bottles or other
glass containers. Reuse as efficiency, reduces resource depletion and
pollution from resource extraction and use. Reuse/recycling is useful in
reducing solid wastes. This further spares land that would be used as landfills
for such solid wastes.
Recycling scheme begins with virgin
resources which are the original resources being extracted. The recycling loop
begins just before the purchased product is discarded; the discard is
reprocessed into the same or perhaps another product. The loop is closed when someone
buys a product containing recycled material. This slows depletion of virgin
resources and reduces pollution in two basic ways.
Most basic
it reduces the
amount of solid
wastes that would
have been discarded
into landfills and incinerators.
It further reduces wastes that
would have been
processed by extraction of more
virgin resources.
Advanced form of recycling is
precycling. This is not actually recycling but conservation by increased
efficiency, the same task is accomplished but fewer resources are used. For
example reduce
of packaging materials
by concentration of
foods. Concentrated foods require
small package materials.
iv. Substitution
Substitution in terms of resources
is the process whereby one resource is used instead of the other. Substitution
can also help to reduce both depletion and pollution problems. It
helps with
depletion because when
one resource is
being depleted, a
more common substitute can be
used at a cheaper price. For example aluminum a very common metal in
the
earth’s crust can
sometimes be substituted
for much rarer
and more expensive
in making alloys, equipments
and other uses. Substitution
reduces pollution when extraction, processing
and disposal of
substituted resources produce
less pollution. For example
many plastics last
for 50 to
100 years in the environment
before they significantly
decompose. The plastics are made from nonrenewable resource, petroleum, whereas
trees are renewable. Such considerations
have led to substitution of paper for
plastic in many items, such as drinking cups and containers.
Although it
can be useful
in reducing resource
depletion, substitution is
often less desirable than
efficiency improvements and
reuse/recycle. Instead of
reducing overall
resource depletion
substitution often simply
switches depletion from
one resource to another.
This can be
satisfactory if the
new resource is
renewable, as in
paper or very abundant
as with glass made from
sand.
Furthermore, substitution does not
solve the problems of pollution, solid waste or other output problems
completely, for instance, the use of paper products offers many environmental
advantages over plastic, but it may do little to solve landfill space problems.
Paper is indeed a very big problem in urban areas currently.
It is very difficult to find
affordable substitutes for some resources i.e water for most of its uses. There
is hardly a
substitute for drinking and
agricultural water, so
increased efficiency and recycle/reuse of waste water are the common options.
Conclusion
The Need for Resource Management:
The need for resource management is inescapable. As human
population and technologies grow
inevitably the pressures
to exploit the
environmental resources will increase. Proper management can help minimize
environmental damage. Careful planning
of water use for instance could spare water for natural ecosystems that would
have been used for agriculture.
Furthermore management can help undo past damage. Elimination of alien
(introduced) species for example is a common management strategy for some
biological communities.
Thus though resource management is
not attractive concept in some ways, it is preferable to the
alternative, which is
uncontrolled resource exploitation.
Global society will
be
facing many
difficult environmental challenges
in the near
future. This being
the case therefore, making
informed decisions about how to use resources is essential for the well being
of the resource and resource users. It
is because of
this importance of
resource management that
some people have
even resolved to consider the concept of resource management as Human arrogance. They argue that viewing
natural environment as ‘‘a resource’’ is a very narrow anthropocentric approach
to nature.
Another objection
is that the
concept assumes that
humans not only
should manage environmental resources
but are capable
of managing them effectively.
Environmental ethics revolve around whether humans have a right to
tamper with nature and if so how much tampering is justified. If ethics are set
aside, the assumption that humans are able as a practical reality, to
effectively manage nature is not shown in human history.
RESOURCES
USE CONFLICTS AND CONFLICT MANAGEMENT
NATURAL
RESOURCES USE CONFLICTS
These are
disagreements and disputes over access to, control and use of natural resources
available in a particular area within a specified period of time (FAO, 2000).
The conflicts
often emerge because people have different uses for resources such forests,
water, land; minerals etc or want to manage them in different ways.
Sometimes
this occurs as the result of incompatible interests and needs or when the
priorities of some user groups/ stake holders are not considered in policies or
short- term plans, projects and programs. In recent years, the scope and
magnitude of natural resource use conflicts have increased and intensified.
These
conflicts, if not addressed can escalate (cause increase) into violence, cause
environmental degradation, disrupt projects, and undermine livelihood of the
people.
Natural
resources use conflicts have always been with us due to multiple and competing
demands on resources.
They
have been associated with the excludability of some user groups from
participating in natural resources management. Conflicts have been associated
with the contradictions between local and the introduced management systems,
misunderstandings and lack of information about policy and program objectives,
contradictions or lack of clarity in laws and policies, inequity in resources
distribution, poor policy and program implementation with respect to natural
resources use. Conflicts always exist to some degree in every community, but it
can be often managed or resolved. They vary widely by place, and overtime.
They
manifest themselves through breaking rules, or sabotage and violence.
Sometimes
conflicts remain hidden or latent (present but unexpressed) due to fear, peer
pressure, distrust, and financial constraints.
Types
of Natural Resource Use Conflicts
They include;
a.
The
interest conflicts
b.
The
value conflicts
c.
The
cognitive conflicts
d.
The
behavioral conflicts
(i)
The
Interest Conflicts
These are conflicts that result from conflicting
interests from different people on the use of a certain resource.
If the uses or interests are not compatible,
conflicts are likely to occur.
They develop when the parties/ group have
incompatible interests on the use of a particular resource
Example; Farmers v/s Pastoralists
Forest
conservationists against farmers
Investors against local
individuals etc
The
interests differ because one resource may have multiple uses.
(ii)
Value
Conflicts
These
conflicts arise when there are opposing views as to what benefit/ value the
resource shall give and who will benefit from a resource.
Human
beings usually attach different values to natural resources, and the value of
natural resources in one community can differ to the value of that very
resource to other community.
Sometimes
the value of a resource can differ among individuals in the same community.
Consider:
watershed Forests.
(iii)
Cognitive
Conflicts
They
arise when there are different understandings of resources situation and
technical information. Or
Arise
due to perceptions and altitudes associated to the use knowledge and judgment
of a particular technology over the available resources.
They
are also as the result of community perceptions over a certain resource i.e.
(The meaning they put over the resource)
For
instance: Some Maasai perceive that every cattle is theirs,
wherever they find cattle they claim to be theirs.
(iv)
Behavioral
Conflicts
They arise when human beings do not
understand or have difficulties with accepting other people’s behavior over
certain resources.
It is a result of failure of
communication to find out a practicable solution on the use of a particular
resource.
E.g. Refugees and local community
on forest resources
SOME
OF THE CAUSES OF NATURAL RESOURCES USE CONFLICTS
i.
Population
growth
ii.
Presence
of exclusion policies
E.g. 28% of Tanzania land is protected as N/Parks and G/ Reserves.
-
The local residents are forced /
alienated from their areas hence conflicts.
-
Excluding human activities in N/Parks
brings about conflicts.
iii.
Unequal
distribution of land among the people
-
The haves own large land than they have
notes.
iv.
Conflicting
sectoral objectives
E.g. When you read on urban water supply objective
or Fisheries objectives- environmental conservation objectives, there will be
contradicting ideas.
E.g
Conserving the land and land use/ activities fishing and water quality
preservation. etc.
v.
Tribalism
/Regionalism
E.g. ownership of resources and
utilization of resources among the tribes/regions
vi.
Change
of government political parties.
- Political
parties that different policies over the use of resources.
Case studies of natural resource
use conflicts in Tanzania.
Determining factors for the
continuing conflicts related to natural resources.
CASE
STUDIES OF NATURAL RESOURCE USE CONFLICTS
a) Conflicts over Natural Resources in
Simanjiro District, Tanzania
Simanjiro
District lies south of Arusha town on the Maasai steppe and is categorized as a
semi-arid zone. 85% of the 65000 inhabitants who lived here in 1995 are Maasai
pastoralists. There are also other Bantu groups, the majority recent
immigrants, living in the district and practicing subsistence agriculture.
Small groups of Ndorobo hunters and gathers are found scattered throughout the
district. They are few in numbers compared to the pastoralists and farmers and
are living in abject poverty.
In
addition to livestock and vast stretches of open land the district is also
bestowed with substantial quantities of gemstones and wildlife resources.
Because of the availability of natural resources deemed necessary for development,
various individuals and groups of people have migrated into the district in
large numbers in recent years. This situation has led to various conflicts
between the immigrants and inhabitants of the district over management and
utilization of the available resources.
Background to the conflicts
Large scale commercial farming
Land use is a key issue and the
alienation of land is a source of considerable tension in the district. By 1994
over 50 000 ha of land had been alienated in Simanjiro district for about 80
large scale farms ranging between 90 and 13 000 ha. These farms only produce
seed beans, the majority of which are exported to Holland. To discourage and
prevent pastoralists from grazing their cattle on these farms, all biomass
residues are burnt immediately after harvest.
This type of land alienation is
achieved through title deeds granted by the Government to the immigrant
settlers without any consideration of the resident Maasai's land use needs.
Although the law requires that before such deeds to public land are granted
current owners and users are consulted, this is not always the case for
pastoral lands.
In losing control of their right of
land use planning over these alienated lands, the Maasai have in fact also been
denied their livelihood which has been centred around optimum use of resources
through traditional pastoralism. The pastoral use of natural resources has an
inbuilt flexibility which takes into consideration prevailing conditions and
has proven to be an effective response to the exigencies of a difficult
environment for many generations. This flexibility is now severely taxed as
traditional grazing areas have been lost to large scale farms. Traditional
grazing patterns have been disturbed or restricted to confined places which has
led both to herd losses and to over exploitation and degradation of resources.
Land alienation inevitably includes
the loss of vital traditional water sources as the land demarcated for the
farms encompasses several natural water holes and springs to which herders are
now denied access and control. Local pastoral control of water resources works
because it is based on principles of equal and fair rights and responsibilities
to share among all herders in need of water for their stock. Control by these new
immigrants has meant exclusion of the pastoralists and this has only led to
conflict.
The combined loss of grazing and
water rights are the two most serious problems for the Maasai in Simanjiro.
These are compounded by others. Stock routes to access other resources, ea.
salt licks, livestock markets, etc. have been blocked by 'private real
estates'. The language is 'Trespassers will be prosecuted' and it is not just a
wooden law without meaning. Its active enforcement has daily implications for
the Maasai. Examples abound of the shooting of cattle and people, of fines
being levied, of cattle being confiscated and of pastoralists being imprisoned.
To add insult to injury most of the land acquired through these title deeds is
not put into immediate cultivation or grazing use but rather is held for
speculative purposes. From the perspective of the pastoralists, who are
restricted, barred and confined from the proximity of their land over which
they now apparently have no acknowledged legal rights of access and control,
this is a threat to their survival. They see this land, which they are in
immediate need of using, lying idle. The result has been that the pastoralists'
claims and immediate needs come into head on conflicts with the speculative
purposes for which this land is being held.
Mining
The second source of land use
conflicts in the district is the use of land for mining of gemstones and other
precious minerals. Mining in the district started in the late 1960s when
immigrant individual miners began digging pit mines down to 50 meters
underground using only the crudest of equipment. The realisation of the
seemingly unlimited supply of gemstones, especially the rare and precious
'tanzanite', coupled with the opening of the economy in the mid 1980s, has encouraged
both national and foreign mining companies to rush into these areas to
establish and expand mining operations. Previously small villages were quickly
transformed into 'gold-rush' towns bustling with activity mostly carried out by
and of benefit to people from outside the district and Maasai communities.
Mining companies have obtained mining concessions over large chunks of pastoral
lands from the Government to explore for and extract gemstones. Suddenly these
lands became 'prohibited lands' to the pastoralists who are no longer allowed
to use them for their own purpose. The expanding mining activities in the
district are being carried out parallel to the main land use activity for which
this area is best suited, ie. pastoralism. Mining has become a competitor
rather than a complementary activity to pastoralism and in several cases is
clearly antagonistic. These 'outsiders' have grabbed opportunities available in
the district while local inhabitants have been left unaware of the economic
value of the mining resources and have consequently been marginalised.
In addition to losing access to
large areas of grazing land and water rights, mining activities have brought
with them other hazards. These include increasing numbers of accidents when
herders and their cattle have fallen into abandoned and uncovered mining pits
and increasing numbers of livestock thefts by miners. Also there is serious
environmental degradation, ea. deforestation due to land being cleared to
facilitate mining activities and to meet the rising demand for fuelwood and
charcoal in the numerous bustling towns. Soil erosion caused by this
deforestation coupled to the underground soils being brought to the surface and
washed into the rivers during the rainy season is polluting the rivers. Dynamite
blasting is also making its contribution to environmental problems and,
together with the pit mines, marrs the countryside with ugly scars.
Equally evident and perhaps even
more harmful is the distortion of the Maasai culture. The influx of people to
pastoral lands for mining opportunities has brought along with it alien and
incompatible cultures and customs, new and previously unheard of human
diseases, and new and conflicting knowledge systems and skills concerning
nature and resource use, and conflicting interests.
Tourism
The third major area of conflicts
over land use is related to tourism and its accompanying new ideas concerning
wildlife resources management and utilization. In this regard it is important
to make clear that pastoralism and wildlife (both wild animals and wild plants)
are not in conflict with each other. In fact they have co-existed in harmony
since time immemorial and a natural balance has existed in resource use. Today,
the government's emphasis on mass tourism and top down approaches to wildlife
management involves the establishment and expansion of protected areas and the
enactment and enforcement of wildlife legislation. This has accelerated the
competitive trends and accentuated the differences between the consumptive and non-consumptive
approaches to natural resources. The modern world sees nature as something to
be owned, consumed, hunted and photographed – bush meat, medicinal plants,
hunters' trophies, the Maasai. The values of the Maasai have on the other hand
stressed the non-consumptive values of nature and the importance of respecting
the natural balances, which have included human enjoyment of these magnificent
resources but also acknowledging the need to live in harmony as part of a
whole.
The 'modern' seems to be winning and
dominates the agenda, bringing with it the destruction of wildlife resources,
now the 'property' of the state. The new rules and law enforcement practices in
the name of wildlife conservation have been instituted to replace traditional
methods of wildlife management. As a result, land has been lost to wildlife by
creating protected areas (National Parks, Game Reserves, Buffer Zones, etc.).
Households have been forced to stop their animals from grazing in these areas.
At the same time the wild animals have been allowed to graze with domestic
animals in traditional grazing areas such as the Simanjiro Plains. This
situation has enabled the transmission of diseases like malignant catarrah
fever from wildebeest to livestock. The pastoralists, to diminish the risk,
have no choice but to surrender this grazing land to the wildebeest. However,
they are not allowed to compensate this loss by grazing their herds in wildlife
designated areas during times of the year when this would be safe. Nor are they
compensated for diseases, lost fodder or damage to their crops. Rather, because
it is an offence to graze in protected areas, the local residents are now being
fined, imprisoned or having their livestock confiscated. The wildlife
conservation effort is made antagonistic to the pastoralists way of life, thus
leading to further conflicts.
Finding a way forward
In trying to find ways to address
the serious conflicts and environmental problems presently existing in
Simanjiro District it appears that a radical change is required. This change
must be based on recognition of the Maasai's rights and capacity to make an
informed contribution to the planning of all activities in their area.
Acknowledging their capacity to manage the natural resources in a sustainable
manner as well as their rights to do so implies that they must be given a
leading voice in deciding how these resources, the land and water, the
wildlife, and the minerals can best be utilized. This utilization can not only
be to contribute in a meaningful way to the short term economic development of
the country today. It must also ensure that local people, those dependent on
these resources for their survival today and in the future, will benefit and be
able to contribute to sustainable use that will help to create the kind of
world where the needs of all take precedence over the greeds of a few. The
challenge remains. Let their voices be heard.
Note
The situation in Simanjiro is
critical and for the Maasai living here it is a question of their very
survival. It is clear to us that natural resource management must be informed
and directed by local communities who are one of the central stakeholders in
these resources. Their inclusion in policy and decision making requires the
direct communication of their perspectives on the problems and solutions with
respect to land, natural resource management and tenure. We feel that the new
video technology, as it has been used by the Maasai in Ngorongoro (see article
on page 28) offers an opportunity to make this possible. We invited those who
are involved in development work in this district to support such an effort.
b)THE
NGORONGORO CONSERVATION AREA (NCA)
-
It was established in 1959
-
The purpose for its establishment was to
protect the unique blend of scenery, wildlife, human culture and pre- history.
-
The area occupies 59% of Ngorongoro district in the Northeastern part of Arusha
region.
-
It is not a national park, but a multi-
use conservation area.
I.e. managing diverse interests.
E.g. Tourism industry
Community development
Conservation of nature and wildlife
etc.
-
It is a UNESSCO world Heritage site and
considered in the eighth wonders of the world.
-
It is one the sites with great tourist
attraction and yielding the highest foreign exchange income in the tourist
sector.
-
It is a home for a population of 59,858
Maasai / together owning a large number of cattle , donkeys, sheep and goals
(national census, 2002)
E.g. cattle: 117, 300
Donkeys: 18441
Sheep and goal: 164, 490
-
The beauty of Ngorongoro is the result
of the reality that the Maasai pastoralists have co- existed harmoniously with
flora and fauna for centuries.
-
Historically, conservationists and government decision makers have tended to
look at the beauty and uniqueness of Ngorongoro area as something existing inspite
of pastoralism and human influence rather because of pastoralist land
management actions.
-
The Ngorongoro conservation area
pastoralists have been struggling for their human and civil rights since 1958,
therefore the conflicts with conservation interests have prevailed over the
last 50years.
-
In the conservation process. The Maasai
were internally displaced.
-
The scenario of the internal displacement
started when the Maasai traditional leaders agreed to sign a treaty to move
with their herds and settle to the high lands of Ngorongoro and never claim back the yast land of
Ngorongoro . they were promised by the colonialists that they would be provided with:
§ Better
education
§ Water
supply
§ Improve
livelihood.
-
The traditional leaders who signed the
contract were by that unqualified people. In legal terms it means they were not
of sound minds for the purpose of making the contracts.
-
After giving up their land, they
realized great loses of :-
·
Vast grazing area
·
Permanent sources of water
·
Salt licks.
-
Being forced to stay in the highlands of
Ngorongoro, their livestock’s were exposed to diseases like :- east coast fever
(ECF), Rinderpest ,Tick born diseases
-
Currently the Ngorongoro conservation
area worries about. Population
increase, subsistence agriculture- problem, modern human settlement structure
within NCA.
-
The population growth is not
compromising with the carrying capacity of the rangeland.
Key determining factors for the continuing
conflicts within the Ngorongoro conservation area
1.
The
Security of Land Tenure
-
Alienation of pastoral land due to
promotion of tourist services and conservation purpose.
E.g. construction of tourist Hotels like
SERENA SOPA lodges.
-
Areas like Olmoti, Lemakarot, Losirwa,
Olduvai etc are now restricted to settlement and grazing.
-
The environmental degradation was most
noted around the staff houses.
-
The land in NCA is subjected to
vagaries/ unpredictable- short- term
politically motivated changes and administrative decisions
The
land use in N.C.A is a matter of political struggle rather than scientific
planning or efficient management.
2.
Inappropriate
Policies
There
is a large body of literature examining several facts/ aspects regarding the
lives of pastoralists in Ngorongoro.
The
information have been developed into policies and laws with both negative and
positive impacts to the inhabitants of the Ngorongoro conservation area.
The
policies formulated from time to time increase tension to eliminate the local
community. The local rights of occupation are extinguished/ put to an end.
Pastoralism
has lacked support at the highest levels of government and has rarely, if even,
benefited from the institutional frameworks designed for the improvement of the
area.
3.
Increased
Level of Vulnerability And Poverty
The
ability of pastoralists to manage the ecological uncertainty and spread risks
has been reduced significantly.
These
have been a reduced mobility of herds and a change in the patterns of resources
utilization and shrinkage of the resources base.
This
has in turn led to livestock loses
§ Increased
level of poverty
§ Food
insecurity to the local inhabitants
§ Poor
access to socio- economic services
§ Social
dislocation
§ Political
marginalization
4.
Deteriorating
Water Infrastructure
Water
is a very important resource to the Maasai of NCA for the daily use and
management of pasture.
Most
of permanent water sources are under the custodianship of specific people
(hotels and lodges administration). This has been causing the continuing of the
conflicts between the Maasai and the custodians of water.
Some
water sources are naturally occurring springs, and some are managed springs or
dug wells.
The
problem of shortage of water has been as the result of the custodians of water
to regulate the livestock access to water according to the amount of water
available.
Water
quality is highly contaminated by the livestock and wildlife urines.
5.
Lack
of Vibrant Civil Society Organization
–
The vibrant civil society could help in policy formulation issues. Also to
defend and promote the interests of the indigenous Maasai.
There
is lack of organizations that can defend the interest of pastoralists.
c) Natural resources use conflicts
in Kasulu District
The main natural resources in Kasulu
district are land, water (rivers), and forests. Land is mainly used for
peasantry farming, and there is small scale irrigation in the river valleys
i.e. vegetable cultivation. The native ethnic group is “Waha” which is
dominant, whereas the “Wasukuma” ethnic group from Mwanza
and Shinyanga
regions is the minority. Generally, in Kasulu district, land is not limited –
there is big uncultivated land and adequate water sources; districts at nearby
regions land is not limited as well, but it is comparatively less fertile; it
receives inadequate and unreliable rainfall, and there are limited water
sources.
Those nearby districts are from
Shinyanga and Mwanza regions where there are many pastoralists – “Wasukuma”
ethnic group. Pastoralists (“Wasukuma” in particular) normally migrate from
their original locations to other places within and without Wikipedia:Tanzania
in search of pastures for their cattle as pastures and water from their
original localities are continuing to decrease time after time due to overuse
of natural vegetation and corresponding climate change. Natural resources use
is now causing turbulence between the local community “Waha” and some Burundi
and Democratic Republic of Congo
refugees from Mtabila and Nyagarusu camps respectively and “Wasukuma”
(pastoralists) from Shinyanga and Mwanza
regions. Refugees are cutting trees and hunting some of wild animals in
community forests while “Wasukuma” are accompanied with big flocks of cattle
which cause environmental degradation and sometimes feed on/destroy crops in
the farms.
Conflicts regarding natural
resources use in Kasulu district have been resolved amicably
through the systems in place, such as police and game reserve guards that
cooperate with community; leadership chain i.e. from Ten Cell Leader to the
District Commissioner; Experts – there are Village Extension Agents, teachers,
famous people, and others at village level who also contribute to the
protection of natural resources and conflict resolution and; there are also
scheduled conflict resolution meetings and ward tribunal councils aiming at discussing
and resolving issues related to the natural resources use since they are not
violent.[10]
Hence, further and sustainable measures should be done to stop those conflicts
from growing from non violent to violent stage.
RESOURCES
USE CONFLICT MANAGEMENT
In
NRM it has been argued that there are diverse NR use conflicts, but people
typically may accept the conflict resolution using various methods/ styles.
-
Different styles are most useful in
different situations e.g. Magnitude, place, member of the society, political
issues, socio- economic status etc and each has its strengths and weaknesses.
The
Styles / Methods include:-
i.
Collaborative
Style
They
to meet all the needs of the people involved in the conflict.
Treat
everyone as an important person in the matter concerned.
Bring
together variety of viewpoints to get the best solution- e.g. history of the
conflict etc.
ii.
Compromising
Style
-
Look / find a solution that would at
least partially satisfy everyone.
-
Everyone is supposed to give up
something and relinquish something.
-
Show the people the cost of conflict is
higher than the cost of losing.
iii.
Accommodating
Style
-
This involves willingness to meet the
needs of others at the expense of the person’s needs.
-
It means that should be adaptable enough
to allow things be done without major changes. They should adjust in response
to the needs of somebody.
iv.
Avoiding
Style
Persuade
people to avoid the conflict entirely. They should delegate controversial
decisions, accept default decisions, and not wanting to hurt anyone’s feelings.
Mostly applied when the victory is impossible
v.
Use
of Force/War
-
Make sure that all people accept the
decision or they like or not.
-
Take firm stand to what has / have been
decided for a fast implementation.
-
It is coercive in nature, sometimes
involve the use of force, threats etc to make people accept the decision
against their will.
INTEGATING NATURAL RRSOURCES
MANAGEMENT
-
To integrate means make something open
to all. It also refers to the process of making a group, community, place or
organization aware and able to participate into a particular aspect regardless
of race, ethnicity, religion, gender or social/ class.
Importance of integrated resource
management
i) Integrated resource management
will help environmental managers and governments at
large to apply long term goals and
set priorities based on information about all resources. This will further
maintain the health of our ecosystems in which resources are found
ii) Resource managers will be able
to periodically plan, act, control, balance and report on the actual
consumption of all resources.
iii) Integrated resource management
will create synergies and new efficiencies from all resources working together
iv) Integrated resource utilization will
integrate sustainability issues in all administration
departments
v) Integrated resource management
is the approach that will support politicians in setting
priorities and steering local sustainability,
as well as gaining a comprehensive overview of available resources
vi) Integrated resource management
will further reduce or eliminate resource user conflicts
-
Natural resources management needs participatory
methods for its success. One of the methods include participatory rural appraisal (PRA)
PARTICIPATORY
RURAL APPRAISAL
-
This is a collaborative decision making
and it is a community- based method.
-
It is a label given to a growing family
of participatory methods that emphasize or local knowledge and enable local
people to make their own appraisal, analysis, and plans for NRM.
-
It facilitates information sharing,
analysis, and action among stake holders.
-
Originally it was developed for use in
rural areas, but it has been employed successfully in a variety of settings
including urban areas.
-
Its purpose is to enable development
practitioners, government officials, and local people to work together and plan
appropriate programs with respect to NRM.
-
Under this method data collection and
analysis are undertaken by local people, with outsiders facilitating rather
than controlling. This gives the local community a sense of belonging and
feeling that they are valued hence avoiding conflict.
Key Tenets of PRA
I.
Participation
Local
people’s input into PRA activities is essential to its value in planning for
NRM because it makes people p[participate and have a sense of being considered
and not ignored.
Local
people usually know very well all the necessary things that are to be
considered in the whole process of NRM.
II.
Team
Work
-
All necessary things should be done
through interaction and brainstorming among the involved.
-
It should be done by a team that include
local people with perspective and knowledge of the area’s conditions and social
structure.
-
A well balanced team should represent
the diversity of socio-economic, cultural, gender, and generational
perspectives.
III.
Flexibility
PRA does not provide blueprints for
its practitioners.
The combination of techniques that
are appropriate will be determined by the size of the context and skills of PRA
team, time and resources available, location, etc.
IV.
Ignoring
Optimal Ignorance.
This is connected to the factor
that should be efficient in teams of both time
and money.
PRA tends to gather/ collect enough
information to make necessary recommendations and decisions in NRM.
V.
Triangulation
To ensure that the information is
valid and reliable, PRA teams follow the rule of thumb that at least three
sources must be consulted or appropriate techniques must be used to investigate
the same topics with regards to NRM.
PROTECTED
AREAS MANAGEMENT
What is a protected area?
-
IUCN (International Union For
Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources); defines the protected area as an
area of land or sea specifically dedicated to the protection and maintenance of
biological diversity and of natural and associated cultural resources managed
through legal or other effective means
-
Although all protected areas meet the
general purposes mentioned in the above definition, in practice the precise
purpose for which protected areas are managed differ from different categories.
CATEGORIES OF PROTECTED AREAS
-
There are major six categories of the
protected areas
We differentiate these categories
by considering the primary purposes/ management objectives/ reasons/ rationale
Category 1 (a) Strict Nature Reserve
(b)
Wilderness area
(a)
STRICT NATURE RESERVES
-
The main purpose for protection is for
science (The study of physical and Natural world)
Definition
-
It is an area of land or sea possessing
some outstanding or representative ecosystems, geological or physiological
features or species available primarily for scientific research or environmental monitoring
Eg. Amani Nature Reserve
Eastern
Arc mountain (Uluguru, East Usanbara, Udzungwa)- propositions are underway
Objective of the management
i.
To preserve habitats, ecosystems and
species in an undisturbed state as possible
ii.
To maintain established ecological
processes
iii.
To secure examples of natural environment for scientific studies,
environmental monitoring and education
iv.
To
limit public access
(b)
WILDERNESS AREA
-
This is
a protected area that is managed mainly for wilderness protection
Definition
-
The large area of unmodified or slightly
modified land or sea retaining its natural character and influence without
permanent or significant human habitation which is protected and managed so as
to preserve its natural condition.
Category 2: NATIONAL PARKS
-
The primary objective of National Park
is ecosystem protection and recreation
Eg. Serengeti, Mikumi etc
Definition
It
is a natural area of land or sea designed
v To
protect ecological integrity of one or more ecosystems for present and future
generations,
v To
exclude exploitation or occupation to the purposes of designation of the
area.
v To
provide a foundation for spiritual scientific, educational, recreational and
visitor opportunities, all of which must be environmentally and culturally
compatible.
Objectives of National Parks
Management
i.
To protect natural and scenic areas of
national and international significant for spiritual scientific, educational,
and recreational or tourist purposes.
ii.
To perpetuate in as natural state as
possible a representative examples of physiographic regions, biotic
communities, genetic resources and species to provide ecological stability and
diversity.
iii.
To manage visitor use for inspirational,
educational, cultural and recreational purposes which will maintain the area in
a natural or near natural state.
iv.
To maintain respect for ecological
geomorphologies sacred or aesthetic attributes which warrant designation.
Category 3: NATURAL MONUMENT
-
The primary purpose for protection is
conservation of specific natural features
Eg.
v Mbozi
meteorite
v Amboni
caves
v Natural
monument in lake Manyara
v Bismark
rocks – Mwanza
Definition
-
It is an area containing one or more
specific natural or cultural feature which is of outstanding or unique value
because of its inherent rarity, representative qualities, or cultural significance.
Objectives of Natural monument
management
i.
To protect or preserve perpetuity
specific outstanding natural features because of their natural significance,
uniqueness or representation quality or spiritual connotations.
ii.
To provide opportunities for research, education
interpretation and public appreciation.
iii.
To provide benefits to the surrounding
community
iv.
To eliminate and thereafter prevent
exploitation or occupation with respect to the purpose of designation.
Category 4: HABITATS OR SPECIES
MANAGEMENT AREA
-
The primary purpose of this is to manage the areas for conservation through
management intervention (Endangered
species protection/ management )
Selous
Eg.
v Game
reserves – habitat
v Ngorongoro
conservation area (NCA) – species – habitat
Definition
-
It is the area of land or sea subjected
to active intervention for management purposes so as to ensure maintenance of
habitats to meet the requirements of specific species.
Objectives of management
i.
To provide benefits to the surrounding
community
ii.
To facilitate scientific research and environmental
monitoring as primary activities associated with sustainable resources
management.
iii.
To secure and maintain the habitat
conditions necessary to protect significant species, groups of species, biotic
communities or physical feature of the environment where these require specific attention.
Category 5: PROTECTED LANDSCAPE OR SEASCAPE
-
The primary purpose for this is
management of landscape and seascape for conservation and recreation.
Eg.
Seascape in Tanzania Msambeni - Tanga
Bagamoyo
Rufiji
– Mafia complex
Landscape Longido Heart lands; which include
the slopes of mount Kilimanjaro and Savannah area of Longido.
Contains
mammal and birds (more than 400 species)
In
this area, the Maasai people (pastoralists) have lived here for over 400 years;
they have
co-existed with the wildlife in a
relative harmony.
v Tarangire
/ Manyaro Heart land
v Mafia
Island
Definition
-
It is an area of land or sea where the
interaction of people and nature overtime has produced an area of distinct
character with significant ecological or cultural values and often with
biological diversity.
-
Safeguarding the integrity of this
traditional interaction is vital to the
protection, maintenance and evaluation of such areas
Objectives of management
i.
To maintain harmonious interaction of
nature and culture through the protection of landscape or seascape and the
continuation of traditional land uses building practices and socio-cultural
values.
ii.
To support lifestyle and economic
activities which are in harmony with nature and the prevention of
socio-cultural fabric of the communities concerned.
iii.
To maintain the diversity of landscape
and habitat of associated species and ecosystem.
iv.
To eliminate where necessary and
thereafter prevent land uses and activities which are inappropriate in scale
and character.
v.
To provide opportunities for public
enjoyment through recreation and tourism appropriate in scale and type.
Category 6: MANAGED RESOURCES PROTECTED
AREA
-
The main purpose of this is to protect a
resource for sustainable use of natural ecosystem
Eg.
v Many
forest reserves
v Kazimzumbwe
protected area
v Mafia
island
v Mnazi
boy – Ruvuma
Definition
-
It is an area containing predominantly
natural systems managed to ensure long term protection and maintenance of
biological diversity while at the sometime providing sustainable flow of
natural products and services to meet community needs.
Objectives of management
i.
To protect and maintain the biological
diversity and other natural values of the area in a long term
ii.
To promote sound management practices
for sustainable production purposes
iii.
To protect the natural resources base by
being alternated for other hand use purposes that would be detrimental to the
area’s biodiversity
iv.
To contribute to regional and national
development.
CRITERIA FOR SELECTION OF AREAS FOR
PROTECTION
Category 1: STRICT NATURE RESERVE/
WILDERNESS AREA
v Protected
area managed mainly for science/wilderness protection
Criteria
1.
The area should be large enough to
ensure integrity of its ecosystems and to accomplish the management objectives
for which it is protected.
2.
It should be significantly free from
direct human intervention and capable of remaining so.
Category 2: NATIONAL PARK
v Protected
area managed mainly for ecosystem protection and recreation
Criteria
1.
The area should contain a representative
sample of natural regions, features, or
scenery where plant and animal species, habitats and geomorphologic
sites are of special spiritual scientific educational recreational and tourist
significant.
2.
The area should be large enough to
contain one or more entire ecosystems not materially altered by current human
occupation or exploitation.
Category 3: NATURAL MONUMENTS
v Protected
area, managed mainly for conservation of specific natural features
Criteria
1.
The area should contain one or more
features of outstanding significance, example waterfalls, caves, crators, sand
dunes, marine features, unique or
representative flora and founa, archeological sites etc.
2.
The area should be large enough to
protect the integrity of the feature and its immediately surroundings.
Category 4: HABITATS OR SPECIES
MANAGEMENT AREAS
v Protected
are managed mainly for conservation
through management intervention
Criteria
1.
The area should play an important role
in the protection of nature and survival of species.
2.
The area should be one where the
protection of the habitat is essential to the wellbeing of nationally or
locally important flora or to residents or migratory founa.
3.
The conservation of these habitats and
species should depend upon active intervention by the management authority.
4.
The size of the area should depend on
the habitat requirements of the species to be protected and may range from
relatively small area to a very extensive area.
Category 5: PROTECTED LANDSCAPE OR
SEASCAPE
v Protected
area managed mainly for conservation and recreation
1.
The area should posses a landscape or coastal and seascape of high scenic
quality with diverse associated habitats of flora and founa. It should manifest
the unique or traditional land use patterns and social organizations as
evidenced in human settlements, local
customs livelihoods and beliefs.
2.
These should provide opportunities for
public enjoyment through recreation and tourism within the normal lifestyle an
economic activities
Category 6: MANAGED RESOURCE
PROTECTED AREA
v Protected
area managed mainly for resources protection for sustainable use of natural
ecosystem
1.
The area should be atleast 2/3 (two
thirds) in a natural condition: although it may also contain limited areas of
modified ecosystems.
Large
commercial plantations would not be appropriate for inclusion in the managed
resources protected area.
2.
The area should be large enough to absorb
sustainable resource uses without detriment to its overall long term natural
values.
PREPARING MANAGEMENT PLANS FOR
PROTECTED AREA
Management plan
-
Is a written document that guides the
management process of a particular protected area/ National parks.
What is the all about?
-
It describes the physical biological and
cultural features of the area within the local regional and national levels.
-
It describes the appropriate use of a
particular protected are (National Park)
i.e. It lists / shows in a chronological order all the activities
to be carried out so as to achieve the proposed or agreed management
goals.
WHY DO WE NEED A MANAGEMENT PLAN?
(RATIONALE FOR MANAGEMENT PLAN)
1.
It helps to guide the activities and
organize the approach in managing the National Parks (protected area)
2.
To avoid the mistakes of the past and
apply successful experiences from other management plans.
3.
To ensure economies by reducing
duplication, so as to facilitate cost effective analysis and plot a logical
approach to the future.
4.
To ensure proper allocation of resources
interims of staff and equipment.
5.
To ensure public and enhance cooperation
among community/ local, non-governmental and governmental agencies.
i.e. Good public relations and
cooperation among stakeholders
benefactors benefactories
6.
To achieve the balance between
conservation goals and human needs through the use of resources within the
protected areas (National Parks).
STEPS IN PREPARING THE MANAGEMENT
PLAN
1.
Identify the basic purpose of the area
-
The planner formulates the purpose based
on the national conservational objectives,
policies and general legislations with regards to six categories of protected area.
2.
To define the objectives and goods of
the management
-
This can be done by considering the
categories of objectives namely:
a.
Environmental or resources management
objectives
v Conservation
objectives
v Human
needs objectives
b.
Visitors management objectives
v Recreational
issues
c.
Operations management objectives
v Facilities
v Staffs
etc.
3.
Assess the available resources/ baseline
resources
-
Seek the basic information about
v Resources
available
v Topography
(Areas features/ structures)
v Soils
v Climate
etc.
-
This gives the general background
information of the area, then draw map of the area.
-
During assessment of the available
resources, try your best to cover the following information.
v Biological
resources
v Physical
resources
v The
interactions between the resources
-
Also look at
v Cultural
features
v Their
location, quality and the distribution etc.
(iii) Limitations constraints in
managing the particular area
Look at physical, political, social
constraints
Legal, human, financial constraints
(iv) Land and other resources use
in the area
-
Describe and map all the uses especially
that may cause changes in the environment
i.e.
(The uses that may constraint the basic management goals).
(v)
The basic infrastructure in the area
(vi)
Regional influences and integration of the area
v Tran
boundary resources etc.
4.
To analyse and refine the information
-
Look at the information that you have
-
Look at the management objectives so as
to see whether you can gain the objectives, given the constraints within the
body of information that you have.
-
Refine the objectives; sometimes you may
decide to drop some depending on the constraints you have
5.
Define the regional land use zones
-
These are the zones of influence and
should include specific areas that may have the influence in the protected
area.
Example: Buffer zones – (zones of
trsnition)
v Water
sheds
v Wildlife
corridors (passage way of animals)
6.
Define the area’s management zones
-
Divide the area into smaller units
according to the management goals and uses
-
Each zone should have its own management objectives.
-
This process of zoning helps to achieve
the specific objectives for which the
area is managed.
7.
Implementation and evaluation
-
Set the schedule for implementation
-
Estimate the costs before the actual
management begans
-
Review and approve the plan through
consultations
-
Put the plan into effect within the
limitations of the funds, human resources and time.
NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
POLICIES AND PRACTICES
PROPERTY RIGHTS AND REGIMES
Introduction
The concept of property rights was
developed by an English theorist John Locke (1632 – 1704). The theory was so
detailed and it is on private ownership of property. According to Locke,
in the original
state of nature,
land (used here
in a general
sense to include bodies of water) and its resources
are un owned, but every person (human being) owns his or her own body and the labour
produced by the body. When a person mixes her or his labour (which
is privately owned)
with unowned land or
resources, then that
person comes to own the land or the resources derived from it. Thus by
mixing the owned labour of the body with the unowned material objects of nature
come to be owned labour of the body with unowned material objects of nature, the
objects of nature come to be owned by owner of the labour. A settler, who goes
into wilderness, clears the land, builds a house and plants crops and thereby
becomes a property owner. This scenario tend to ignore any indigenous people
who may have occupied the land
previously and it accords property right only to humans and ignores the fauna
and flora in the area concerned.
Property
rights
Property
rights combine the accessibility ownership and utilization of the natural
resources available. All economic goods have a property rights attribute. This
attribute has three broad components:
i. The right to use the good
ii. The right to earn income from
the good
iii. The right to transfer the good
to others
Property
right regimes involve the arrangements on which natural resources users, either
groups or individual, have the rights and duties towards a particular resource.
An important feature of property rights
is the ability to exclude others from using certain resources, this has an
influence on the management of resources. Property rights over natural resources should provide
a good stand for all individuals without segregation as stipulated in the
available natural resources, policies.
A property right is the exclusive authority to
determine how a resource is used, whether that resource is owned by government
or by individuals. The property right
regime should express the strengths and the bandle of rights an individual owns
in terms of accessibility, ownership, control and utilization.
Importance of property rights
1.
Help us to understand the rights and
uses of resources
2.
Help to provide tips on how to manage
the resources
3.
To understand- who owns controls the
resources
4.
To predict the consequences on the
resources available.
Types
of property right regimes
-
The types of property rights in natural
resources include
i.
Public property
-
Under this, the general public has the
right to utilize the natural resources available within defined arrangement.
-
The management of the natural resources
under public property regime/ form is the responsibility of the government or
public sector.
Have a critical look towards the
natural resources available in Tanzania
Example
Water Ocean
Lakes - Who owns these
Rivers - Who
emphasizes over the management (cultivating
near etc.)
Minerals
=II=
ii.
Private Property
-
Here the individuals have the right to
own and control the natural resources
-
His regime comes with an element of
excludability and such rights are defined by law and can easily be transferable
into gods and services
-
Usually the title deal (the document
that show the evidence of somebody’s legal rights to property)
-
The management of natural resources
under this regime is the responsibility of individuals or Private companies
operating within the limit set by the policies and laws.
iii.
Common Property
-
A group (community members) share the
right towards maintaining accessing and using particular natural resources
-
This means that the defined members of a
certain group (with clarified criteria to belong in a group) are given the
right to own and control the resources.
-
Therefore, non-members are not allowed
to use the resources
Consider the tragedy of the
commons; The individuals attempt to exploit the resources of a group, but only
harm themselves because everyone adopts the same strategy and resources are
uniformly depleted.
-
The management of natural resources in under the local leadership of
the group
The community institution
determines access and control of resources according to customary laws, norms,
traditions and rules-that govern the community.
iv.
Open access/ Common pool property
-
Under this form, everybody has the right
to access and use particular resources available
There is no specific rights set to
a specific group or community or
individual, but rather everybody has the right to use and manage a particular
natural resources
-
Therefore,
the management is under those who are using that resources.
-
In most cases, the por make extensive
use of the resources because no one has
exclusive rights.
-
The materials obtained from common
pool/open access properties consists of a wide range of items for personal use or sale
Examples, Food, Fodder, manure taboos,
medical, plants, honey, building materials, sea weeds, shellfish etc.
NR – MANAGEMENT REGIME
-
These are four types of management regimes namely
i.
State management regime
ii.
Local management regime
iii.
Private management regime
iv.
Community management regime
i.
STATE MANAGEMENT REGIME
-
This include executive, legislative and
judiciary with which all the rules and laws are passed supreme and interpreted to govern the use and management of the
natural resources.
-
This management regime includes: Judiciary,
beaucracy, regional forces and local government.
-
Therefore, the management (ownership,
finance and control) of the natural resources is determined by the state with
its assisting parties.
ii.
LOCAL MANAGEMENT REGIME
-
Here, the communities are increasingly
involved in the management of natural resources under the concept of
participatory management.
-
The communities participate in planning,
decision making, implementation and evaluation of communal based management of
natural resources
-
The communities share benefits from the
proposed management approaches.
-
This regime is much used in wildlife and
forest conservation and management.
The communities play a key role in
management of the resources jointly with the government which joins the
community in the management process.
-
Community
members help in patrolling and reporting the poachers etc.
iii.
PRIVATE MANAGEMENT REGIME
-
It is more feasible/ possible
particularly where safe market institutions and private property traditions
exist
-
Under this regime, profit motivation can
ignore public interest in the conservation of natural resources.
-
The management of the natural resources may be focused to the
economic/ profit interest
i.e. The owners may decide to
maximize profit without considering the sustainable use of the particular
natural resources.
iv.
COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT REGIME
-
The community members (community
institutions) with their leaders, basing to the norms and traditions involve
themselves fully in natural resource management process
-
Community based organizations can be
formed to help mobilize people in the community to manage the natural resources
available for the benefits to all community members.
PRIORITIES AND STRATEGIES FOR
ACTION IN THE NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
In
developing countries (Tanzania)
i.
On Population growth
1.
To launch a time bound national
campaigns for population stabilization with the small family size as a social
responsible objective.
2.
To increase support for female education
employment and increase social security programmes (sure of old security)
3.
To increase access of the means of family planning and healthcare
facilities
4.
Added incentives interms of family
planning
5.
Environmental unhygienic prevention
and control of communicable diseases
to increase the probability of children
/ people’s survival
6.
Provision of health education to people.
ii.
On natural resources
a.
Land and water resources
1.
To have an integrated land and water management approach for sustainable
food, production, animal husbandry and other activities
2.
To have
the classification, zoning and
appointment of land for
designated issue such as agriculture, forestry grassland, industrial activities,
catchment areas, human settlements and watersheds
3.
Enactment of the laws for appropriate
land and water uses so as to protect the resources from degradation
4.
Protection of land near water bodies and
prevention of construction activities along these areas
5.
To ensure clear property right regimes
that ensures equitable access to responsibility for sustainable land and water resources.
6.
To encourage and improve the traditional
knowledge on land and water resources management.
b.
The atmosphere
1.
To use clean fuels and clean
technologies
Eg.
Avoid, high use of coal
Nuclear power
2.
To
have energy efficient devices for air and noise pollution control
3.
Proper location of projects to minimize
the adverse impact on people and environment
4.
To develop the coping modernisms for
future climatic changes as the result of increased emission of Co2
and other green house gases.
c.
Biodiversity
1.
Intensification of surveys of biological
resources of the country including the island and marine ecosystems
e.g. Information on the distribution patterns of
species and status of the species
2.
Conservation of the biological diversity through a network of protected
areas including
·
Marine reserves, national parks and game
reserves, wetlands etc.
3.
Conservation of micro-fauna and
micro-flora including the revival of biological potential lands.
4.
Protection and sustainable use of plant
and animal genetic resources through appropriate laws and practices.
5.
Maintenance of corridors between
national parks, forest and other protected areas
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