Villager in Tarime fights off elephant with knife

AN elephant in Nyamwaga Ward in Tarime District, Mara Region has injured a resident who fought it off with a knife in a fierce battle.

The tusker attacked Gemsonko Machugu (56) in the wee hours of the morning when he was on his way to the farm. Mr Machugu has been admitted to the hospital after the horrendous spectacle.

He fought with the elephant and freed himself by stabbing the furious beast with a knife, forcing it to leave him alone and move away. Speaking to Journalists at Tarime District Hospital on Friday, Mr Machugu said that he (Machugu) was injured by the elephant on his leg.

“This is the sixth time I have been attacked by elephants in my farm and I always managed to free myself,” he said, adding that at one time he broke an elephant’s leg in his farm.

Mr Machugu said that the latest sad incident occurred last Wednesday at 6 am when he met with a group of elephants. But when he tried to run away, one of them chased and attacked him, but he stabbed the tusker with a knife after it hurt him on one leg.

“It threw me up with it tusks. When I fell to the ground, it stepped on my leg. Then I remembered that I was carrying a knife. I pulled out the knife and stabbed it several times on its leg, and it moved off me and left,” Machugu said.

The Medical Officer of Tarime District, Dr Samson Charles, said that Mr Machugu was seriously injured on his leg, but his condition was improving.

According to an eye-witness, a group of elephants from Serengeti National Park always invaded villages in Tarime District in search of green pastures on the villagers’ farms.

Climate change 'under-reported'

THE United Nations Education and Scientific Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Tanzania, in collaboration with the National Environment Management Council (NEMC), Vice President's Office (VPO), and the media is planning to introduce a uniform curriculum on how to address climate change problems.

The Programme Officer for Communication and Information for Tanzania, The Commoros, Madagascar, Mauritius and Seychelles, Mr Al- Amin Yusuph, said this in Mwanza on Sunday at the end of a three-day stakeholders consultation workshop which was held here.

Mr Yusuph said that the workshop was hosted by Saint Augustine University of Tanzania (SAUT) where media stakeholders assessed the curricula of mainstream journalism schools.

They also reviewed the aspect of continuing professional development for in-service journalists in professional teaching and training about environmental matters.

''This initiative of assessing the teaching of environmental and climate change to journalists and other media professionals is part of the United Nations Joint Programme in Environment.
''It is in the eleven Joint Programme which is managed by the United Nations system in
Tanzania, in collaboration with the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania,'' he said.

He said that the UN recognizes the importance of journalists in the initiative.

''Journalists and other media stakeholders are crucial in educating citizens for development, in particular in the area of environment and climate change issues,'' he said.

''The UN also recognizes the importance of environmental conservation for sustainable development. And for that purpose building the capacity of journalists is seen as an important aspect of the UN Joint Programme in environment,'' he added.

Mr Yusuph said the objectives of the proposed workshop are among other initiative that are aimed at assessing the need for enlightening journalists on environment and climate change reporting in mass communication schools.

''This includes the assessment of curriculums,'' he said.

He also mentioned other objectives as collecting of feedback from stakeholders on the strength of environment and climate change reporting in Tanzania.

''Media stakeholders will be able to identify areas of cooperation amongst stakeholders, journalists and communication schools in improving the status of environment teaching and reporting in Tanzania,'' he said.

''A standard curriculum can be used by Journalism schools to create a minimum standard setting instrument,'' he noted adding that the project intends to use 30m/-.

The stakeholders identified areas of improvement in the teaching of environmental journalism.

Some of the challenges identified include, the low depth of the teaching of environmental journalism, the lack of continuing professional development for in-service journalists and the low reporting of environment issues in the media houses.

marinereserves

The Coastal Forest Ecoregion

The Coastal Forests of Tanzania are a part of the Eastern Africa Coastal Forests Ecoregion according to WWF. This ecoregion extends across six countries from southern Somalia to Mozambique. The ecoregion includes forest patches found on the islands of Unguja, Pemba, and Mafia.

The Coastal forests are characterized by a mosaic of vegetation types including evergreen forest, brachystegia woodland, scrub forest and dry forest. Mangrove forests are not considered to be Coastal Forest in this definition. Coastal Forests are distinct from the forests of the Eastern Arc in terms of climate, elevation, and dominant plant species.

In Tanzania, there are 66 coastal forest patches covering an area of 700 sq. km. While the highest levels of biodiversity are found in the closed canopy forest, this only makes up about 1% of the total area of the Coastal Forest Mosaic. Notwithstanding the small area covered by these forests, they retain high numbers of endemic plant and animal species: 554 plant, five bird, three mammal , 24 reptile, five amphibian, 86 mollusc and 75 butterfly.

MOUNTAIN ECOSYSTEMS IN TANZANIA

A REVIEW OF MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS

Ruzika N. Muheto, Fadhila H. Khatibu and James. O. Ngana (Editors)

Tanzania has many mountain ranges and hills apart from Kilimanjaro, which provide several ecological and social services that are key to the sustainability of livelihoods of the majority of Tanzania’s population, either directly or indirectly. Examples include the Eastern Arc Mountain ranges that are sources of water for abounding wildlife downstream, agriculture and domestic use to more than half of the population of Tanzania. Apart from water, other mountain services include forest production (timber and non-timber) that in turn provides carbon sequestration services as well as harbouring rich biodiversity and medicinal plants.


Realising the importance of these mountain ecosystems, and in line with the implementation of the Environmental Management Act No. 20 of 2004, the National Environment Management Council commissioned a study on rapid assessment of selected mountain ecosystems with the following objectives: i) to establish an overall picture of their status, ii) to identify the core ecosystem services provided to the surrounding communities, iii) to identify possible pressures that cause destruction, iv) to document available intervention measures, and v) to propose measures to achieve sustainable utilisation of these resources. Among other things, the study serves to remind the current generation that future generations also deserve to benefit from the services of these ecosystems.

The study involved assessment of five mountain ecosystems: Nguru (representing the Eastern Arc Mountains), Rungwe (representing the Southern Highlands and related mountain ranges), Kasulu (representing the Albertine Rift Mountains in the west), Chenene (representing the central part of the country) and Monduli (representing the northern volcanic mountains). The assessment process involved literature review, collection of information from the respective Districts, interviews with District officials and field visits. For each mountain ecosystem, focus group interviews and meetings were held with communities from three villages that directly depend on the services from that particular ecosystem. Other participatory assessment tools (transect walks and field observations) were also used.

Key findings are summarised in the following categories: ecosystem status and trends, ecosystem services, key drivers of change, threats, intervention measures undertaken and their constraints.

The general status and trend show that in all mountain ecosystems, ecological and other services provided by these mountain ecosystems are under heavy pressure as they are continuosly being degraded through various human activities. Environmental degradation in turn, seems to be influencing the local rainfall pattern where longer dry seasons are now being experienced in areas such as Nguru and in the northern volcanic mountain system. In some cases environmental degradation has caused changes in vegetation types, where those found in warmer climates are currently replacing those found in cooler climates.

The survey has shown that there are common ecosystem services in all the assessed mountains which include water resources, biodiversity values (flora and fauna), forest products and medicinal plants. The extent of local community dependence on these resources is also dependent on the circumstances of the particular ecosystem.

However, there are special types of ecological services that are obtained only in certain mountain ecosystems. For example, Nguru and Rungwe mountain ranges harbour a number of endemic plant and mammalian species and destruction of such ecosystems may lead to complete loss of such species, while communities and certain bird species around Chenene hills depend on specific grass species known as Ihung’o and Ng’ana as sources of food during drought. Equally important are the different medicinal plants obtained from different ecosystems.

It has been observed that there are both direct as well as indirect drivers of change. The direct drivers are those associated with land use e.g. shifting cultivation, shortage of land, livestock grazing, bush fires, illegal logging, charcoal making and climate change. Indirect drivers of change include population increase resulting in resource use conflicts, poor village planning, poor conservation measures e.g. around refugee camps, and market forces for forest products.

The main threats facing mountain ecosystems include poor land use practices, bush fires, encroachment into the forest reserves especially those with catchment values, livestock population grazing in limited area and consequently leading to uncontrolled, damaging grazing practices, illegal poaching and discriminate harvesting of forest products such as timber, charcoal and poles.

Poor planning also brings about negative impacts to the ecosystems. For example, planting of the exotic species Pinus patula, as observed in the Rungwe Mountains, threatens the existence of the indigenous forest species. Weak enforcement of existing laws and by-laws was also found to contribute to the failure of invested conservation efforts.

Lack of clear demarcations of forest reserves in the mountain ecosystems was also seen as a threat contributing negatively to the survival of these ecosystems. Inadequate participation by the surrounding communities in different conservation efforts, possibly due to lack of awareness, is yet another problem.

It has also been noted that a number of effective actions have been undertaken towards the management of the mountain ecosystems, including:
1 Involvement of village environmental committees, especially those that are active in the implementation of the environmental by-laws.
2 Gazetting certain critical mountain ecosystems as forest reserves and national parks, e.g. Chenene Hills Forests, Udzungwa and Kilimanjaro Mountain Forests and the Kitulo Plateau natural vegetation.
3 Promoting awareness campaigns through Government and Civil Society Organisations.
4 Practising participatory Forest Management as demonstrated in some of the Eastern Arc Mountains.

Observed constraints inhibiting effective implementation measures include inadequate allocation of financial and human resources to the District Councils, weak capacity by the Village Environmental Committees to enforce by-laws, little awareness and education on environmental conservation, some weakness in policy focus on how conservation activities are done e.g. some NGOs operate in the refugee camps without taking any due notice of the surrounding local communities.

Mountain ecosystems are sources of livelihoods of human population and the biodiversity on earth. In order to sustain these ecosystems the various interventions that have been taken should be upheld and the following actions revitalised:

1. Education and awareness should be enhanced at all levels particularly in communities and institutions living within the ecosystems;
2. Human, financial and technological capacity building should be enhanced in order to match current and future management requirements;
3. Research including inventories and ecosystem boundary demarcation should be undertaken, thus updating the missing scientific information on mountain ecosystems;
4. Alternative income generating activities should be sought for livelihoods in order to reduce pressure on these ecosystems;
5. Alternative sources of energy should be sought to offset the heavy pressure on energy demand from both rural and urban dwellers;
6. Enforcement of existing laws should be revitalised through promotion of good governance;
7. Participation of stakeholders should be revitalised through empowerment and facilitation, particularly the local environmental committees and grassroots institutions; and
8. Best practices, such as sustainable land use management (SLUM) should be supported and promoted in all ecosystems for sustainable livelihoods.

NILE BASIN NATIONS TO HOLD EXTRAORDINARY SESSION ON ENTEBE DEAL

Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) countries agreed on Sunday to hold an extraordinary session in Nairobi, Kenya, for talks aimed at finding a solution to disagreements sparked by the signing of a new agreement by five water source nations seeking to maximize use of the basin resources.

Upstream countries strongly argue that Egypt and Sudan have kept an unfair water sharing advantage over other Nile source countries including Ethiopia which contributes over 80 per cent of the total waters to the basin.

Last month, four upstream states signed a cooperative framework deal, a move which strongly Egypt and Sudan have remained opposed.

Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania signed the agreement. Kenya appended a signature a few days later to become the fifth signatory. Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo are also expected to sign but have not yet done so.

In a meeting in Addis on Sunday, Sudan decided to cease cooperation with Nile Basin Initiative countries and requested them to freeze its membership until the current dispute over the agreement signed by the Nile source countries is resolved, the Chinese news agency Xinhua has reported.

"Sudan has affirmed that signing of the framework agreement by five countries is violating the basic principles upon which the Nile Basin Initiative was established," Sudanese minister of irrigation Kamal Ali Mohamed,, who was in Addis Ababa, told Xinhua by telephone.

"Sudan sees that continuation in activities of the Nile basin, after five countries have unilaterally signed a framework agreement, contradicts the basic law and principles for dealing with the Nile Basin countries where it is stipulated that decisions should be taken unanimously," he added.

In the meantime, the Sudanese minister said that the meeting of the Nile Basin countries' irrigation ministers, being held in Addis Ababa, has unanimously agreed on a proposal by Sudan, with the support of Egypt, to hold an extraordinary meeting for all the Nile basin ministers.

Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Kenya on Sunday reiterated that they would not backtrack from the framework agreement which they signed on May 2010 on the Nile water sharing in the absence of Sudan and Egypt.

NBI is a partnership of the Nile Basin Countries which includes Burundi, DRC, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. Eritrea enters as an observer nation. The partnership was established to achieve sustainable socio-economic development through equitable utilisation of and the benefits from the common Nile Basin water resources.

NBI provides a unique forum for these countries to move forward a cooperative process to realise tangible benefits in the Basin and build a solid foundation of trust and confidence.

Speaking at the opening of the meeting in Addis Ababa on Sunday, Ethiopia Water Resources minister Asfaw Dingamo, said NBI member countries should further strengthen efforts to maintain the long-term vision of the Initiative.

“We need to demonstrate to the world now, as we have done before, that despite our disagreements we are capable of working together, maintaining the long-term vision. We have to demonstrate to the world that we are still focused on addressing our long-term concerns: eradicating poverty and hunger from our region, jointly and effectively responding to climate change, reversing environmental degradation, turning our region into a zone of peace, tranquility and economic growth and development,” the minister said.

“Let us give chance to reason, justice and fairness to provide us the foundation for building an enduring partnership and cooperation of riparians along the 7,000km of our Great Nile,” he added.

Speaking on his part, Teshome Toga, Ethiopian Parliament Speaker, said Nile cannot be a reason for disunity, rather it should be an opportunity to deepening cooperation and integration among Nile Basin countries.

The Speaker said the Nile riparian countries have no alternative other than cooperating among themselves.

He said geography, history and culture underscore the bond between the peoples of the region.

Egypt which is the current Chair of the Nile Council of Ministers, will hand over the chairmanship to Ethiopia effective this month, while DR Congo currently holding the position of Executive Director of the NBI Secretariat will hand it over to Egypt in September this year. It is a tradition within NBI to rotate the two positions among member states in alphabetical order whereas the position of Executive Director rotates every two years.

"The signed (agreement) can't be unsigned," Ethiopian minister for water resources Asfaw Dingamo, told reporters. "But we hope to reach a consensus and I hope it will be very soon."

The five signatories have given the other Nile Basin countries -- Egypt, Sudan, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo -- one year to join the pact.

Stretching more than 6,600km (4,100 miles) from Lake Victoria to the Mediterranean, the Nile is a vital water and energy source for the nine countries through which it flows.

Sudanese water minister Kamal Ali Mohamed said his country would now stop cooperating with the NBI because the agreement raised legal issues.

The statement drew immediate fire from Asfaw who said the Sudanese had not revealed their intention to freeze cooperation during the two-day meeting.

For his part, Egypt's Water Resources and Irrigation minister Mohamed Nasreddin Allam, told Reuters that a meeting to discuss the Nile agreement would be held in Nairobi between September and November. He did not give a precise date.

The official Egyptian news agency MENA said the meeting would be held but did not give more details. It said the other states had said they "understood Egypt and Sudan's position ... and based on this an exceptional ministerial ... will be held to decide how to move forward in a matter that serves all Nile Basin states."

Egypt, almost totally dependent on the Nile and already threatened by climate change, is closely watching hydroelectric dam construction in East Africa.

"Ask the Egyptians to leave their culture and go and live in the desert because (you) need to take this water to add it to other countries? No," Allam said.

Under the original pact Egypt, which faces possible water shortages by 2017, is entitled to 55.5 billion cubic metres a year, the lion's share of the Nile's total flow of around 84 billion cubic metres.

Some 85 percent of the Nile's waters originate from Ethiopia and the Lake Basin is estimated to harbour more than half of Kenya's surface water resources.

Upstream countries say they are "tired of first getting permission from Egypt before using river Nile water for any development project like irrigation", as required by a treaty signed during the colonial era between Egypt and Britain in 1929.The new agreement, once effective, is designed to replace the Nile Basin Initiative.

It should be noted that an agreement signed in 1929 between Egypt and Great Britain, which represented its African colonies along the river, gave Egypt veto power over upstream projects.

Another agreement signed in 1959 between Egypt and Sudan allowed Egypt alone to use 55.5 billion cubic meters (87 per cent of the Nile’s flow) and Sudan 18.5 cubic metres each year.

Ethiopia, the biggest water contributor to the Nile basin, and the rest of the riparian countries has been left out.

According to Report from the Ministry of Water Resources, Ethiopia, with an area of 1.08 million square kilometers, has twelve river basins with a mean annual flow of roughly 120.22 billion cubic meters of water.

Although the country is known as the water tower of Africa, the availability of water and the water resources potential in the eastern and western parts of the country is markedly different.