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.