Institute of Resource Assessment

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Adapting to Climate Change in Africa
(2011) Gwary, D.; Nogoye, T.; Ngana, J. O.; Zakieldeen, S. A.; Yanda, Pius Z.; Ojjo-Massawa, E.; Githeko, Andrew; Ruppel, Olivier; Ngana, T.; Francis, Julius
Adapting to Climate Change in Africa:Opportunities for Africa to Participate and Benefit from Investment in Adaptation for Sustainable Development.
(2011) Ojjo-Massawa, E.; Balgis, O.; Githeko, Andrew; Ruppel, O.; Yanda, Pius Z.; Njenga, C.
Biofuel Development Initiatives in Tanzania: Development Activities, Scales of Production and Conditions for Implementation and Utilization
(Elsevier, 2009-11-06) Martin, Michael; Mwakaje, Agnes G.; Eklund, Mats
In recent years biofuel activities have increased dramatically in Africa. Simultaneously biofuels have become popular for fuel alternatives and criticism in the media. Nonetheless biofuel initiatives are taking place on different scales. A depiction of several of these activities has been produced through descriptions and categorization based on scale, distribution and implementation. These initiatives exist due to a complex interaction of social and technical factors which have influenced their success for being introduced, and continues to influence the scale on which they exist and what will happen to them in the future. Conditions for implementation are furthermore explored regarding legislation, use of biofuels, environmental sustainability and the production of a new energy system in Tanzania.
Can Tanzania Realise Rural Development through Biofuel Plantations? Insights from Rufiji District.
(Elsevier, 2012-09) Mwakaje, Agnes G.
Biofuel is a fast growing sector in Tanzania. Foreign and domestic companies are acquiring big portions of land, some up to 440,000 hectares. It is believed that the country has a reserve of 88 million hectares for agriculture. The government is committed to promoting the sector. But what are the implications of biofuel plantations for rural development in Tanzania? This is an area of inquiry which has not received adequate attention. The main objective of the study was to investigate whether biofuel plantations will have any significant impact on rural development in Tanzania, using the case of Rufiji District. The choice of the district was fourfold. One, it has a considerable number of potential biofuel investors. Two, a high proportion of the investors intend to use the vertical integration model of production, processing and marketing. Three, the district is dominated by smallholder farmers, who are poor with chronic food insecurity. Four, Rufiji district is rich in biodiversity and natural resources. The findings from this study will reflect the likely impact of biofuel plantations on rural development as the selected district represents the characteristics of many rural areas of Tanzania. A total of 161 respondents were selected randomly for interview. There were also consultations with village governments, non-government organisations, policy makers and researchers. The findings show both high expectations and concerns. The respondents anticipate benefiting from employment, income-generating opportunities, access to markets for crops, and improved social services. More men than female respondents are hoping to become out-growers. However, male respondents in particular were concerned about land grabbing while for women it was about food security, water use conflicts and whether they will be able to access clean energy. The lack of a biofuel policy and legal framework as well as poor rural infrastructure may undermine the realisation of biofuel benefits.
Climate change and conflict. Conflict-sensitive climate change adaptation in Africa
(2011-11) Yanda, Pius Z.; Bronkhorst, S.
Ecosystems changes and implications on livelihoods of rural communities in Africa
(2009) Kangalawe, Richard Y. M.
Sustainable use of natural resources is an important aspect of ecosystems management. Sustainable management requires the maintenance of biodiversity and other vital ecosystem functions and processes, including provision of a myriad of ecological goods and services, such as cycling of nutrients and water. Resource management also needs social mechanisms that receive, interpret and process feedback signals from the ecosystems in adaptive ways. To ensure sustainable ecosystem management, it is important to have current state of knowledge related to ecosystem services so as to facilitate a critical evaluation of the consequences of ecosystem changes on human well-being and risks that could be associated with unsustainable ecosystem management. Many ecosystems, particularly in Africa, have undergone tremendous changes, associated with a number of drivers of bio-physical and socio-economic nature. The bio-physical drivers can be associated with global change or changes in the landscapes due to geomorphic processes, which can be triggered by, among others, tectonics forces. Socio-economic drivers are factors that enhance some of the bio-physical processes such as vegetation degradation, soil erosion and overexploitation of resources. Among the socio-economic drivers are microeconomic policy changes and rapid increase in population leading to increased demand on basic needs for subsistence, which in many African countries depend on natural resources.
Financing Climate Change in Africa
(2011) Yanda, Pius Z.; Bubu, P. J.; Ojjo-Massawa, E.; Fadhi, F. B.; Thomas, E.; Downing, T. E.
Impact of Climate Change on Ecosystems, Key Sectors and Implications for Sustainable Development in Africa
(2011) Francis, Julius; Semesi, S.; Ruppel, Olivier; Zakieldeen, S. A.; Githeko, Andrew; Ngana, F.; Yanda, Pius Z.
The Impact of Equitable Payment for Watershed Services Scheme on Livelihoods in Tanzania
(ISDS LLC, 2013) Mussa, Kassim R.; Mwakaje, Agnes G.
Care International and WWF initiated Equitable Payments for Watershed Services (EPWS) scheme. The Scheme aimed at modifying unsustainable land use practices to conserve watershed areas in the Uluguru Mountains and improving the livelihoods of the communities. This study investigates the outcome of the project and this study is a response to this. A total of 120 households were selected randomly from 3 villages under the Scheme. There was also a consultation with focus groups and key informants. Structured and semi-structured questionnaires were used to collect information and analysed using Chi-square and Choice Model techniques. Findings revealed a significant improvement in social capital and land productivity (p=0.05) while access to non-timber forest products and wildlife resources were reported to have deteriorated. Also livelihood capital of financial, human and physical did not improve among the EPWS participating respondents. The most preferred incentive package by the respondents was mentioned to be sustainable land use, access to forest goods and services, improved extension services, access to inputs and agricultural commodity markets. For sustainability of the EPWS programmes, incentives packages should reflect the opportunity cost of abandoning the ongoing land use practices by the communities. The package should also take into account people’s choice and preferences.
Impact of Microfinance on Smallholder Farm Productivity in Tanzania: The Case of Iramba District
(2013) Girabi, Frank; Mwakaje, Agnes G.
Over the past two decades, there has been a high promotion of microfinance institutions (MFI) in Tanzania. In 1990s there was only 825 MFI which increased to 1,875 in 2005. Currently, the country is estimated to have more than 5000 MFI. The promise of MFI lies in the belief that microfinance could empower poor people to fight against poverty through easy access to credit. But what is the actual impact of MFI on the ground? Empirical evidence in this area is inconclusive. The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of microfinance on agricultural productivity by smallholder farmers in Tanzania with the case study of Iramba District. A total of 98 respondents were selected randomly from credit beneficiaries (CB) and noncredit beneficiaries (NCB). The collected data were analyzed through descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis. Findings revealed that, CB realized high agricultural productivity compared to the NCB respondents. This is partly because the CB were relatively better in accessing markets for agricultural commodities, use of inputs and adoption of improved farming technologies. The major factors hindering smallholder farmers’ access to credit were reported to be lack of information, inadequate credit supply, high interest rates and defaulting.
Managing a changing climate in Africa: Local level vulnerabilities and adaptation experiences
(Mkuki na Nyota Publishers Ltd, 2011) Yanda, Pius Z.; Mubaya, C. P.
The realisation that the Earth climate might be sensitive to the atmospheric concentrations of gases that create a greenhouse effect is more than a century olds (IISD 2008; IPCC1 2007d: 7-9). Scientist such as Fourier (French) and Arrhenius (Swedish) explained the Earth’s greenhouse effect and the role played by some atmospheric gases such as CO2 and methane (CH4) in warming our planet (Fleming, 1998). Around the same time, Arrhenius, together with Chamberlain, an American scientist, realised that the burning of fossils fuels could lead to global warming. Indeed there is increasing evidence from work that have been carried out over nearly two decades by the IPCC, which cements the conclusion that global warming and subsequent climate change are largely due to human activities. However, there continues to be considerable debate regarding the causes of climate change, that is, whether it is included by anthropogenic activities or simply within the range of natural variability in climate.
Review Predicting and mapping malaria under climate change scenarios: the potential redistribution of malaria vectors in Africa
(Malaria Journal, 2010-04-23) Tonnang, Henri E. Z.; Kangalawe, Richard Y. M.; Yanda, Pius Z.
Malaria is rampant in Africa and causes untold mortality and morbidity. Vector-borne diseases are climate sensitive and this has raised considerable concern over the implications of climate change on future disease risk. The problem of malaria vectors (Anopheles mosquitoes) shifting from their traditional locations to invade new zones is an important concern. The vision of this study was to exploit the sets of information previously generated by entomologists, e.g. on geographical range of vectors and malaria distribution, to build models that will enable prediction and mapping the potential redistribution of Anopheles mosquitoes in Africa. The development of the modelling tool was carried out through calibration of CLIMEX parameters. The model helped estimate the potential geographical distribution and seasonal abundance of the species in relation to climatic factors. These included temperature, rainfall and relative humidity, which characterized the living environment for Anopheles mosquitoes. The same parameters were used in determining the ecoclimatic index (EI). The EI values were exported to a GIS package for special analysis and proper mapping of the potential future distribution of Anopheles gambiae and Anophles arabiensis within the African continent under three climate change scenarios. These results have shown that shifts in these species boundaries southward and eastward of Africa may occur rather than jumps into quite different climatic environments. In the absence of adequate control, these predictions are crucial in understanding the possible future geographical range of the vectors and the disease, which could facilitate planning for various adaptation options. Thus, the outputs from this study will be helpful at various levels of decision making, for example, in setting up of an early warning and sustainable strategies for climate change and climate change adaptation for malaria vectors control programmes in Africa.
Solar and anthropogenic imprints on Lake Masoko (southern Tanzania) during the last 500 years
(Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2006-10-21) Garcin, Yannick; Williamson, David; Bergonzini, Laurent; Radakovitch, Olivier; Vincens, Annie; Buchet, Guillaume; Guiota, Joël; Brewer, Simon; Mathe, Pierre-Etienne; Majule, Amos
The Masoko crater-lake in southern Tanzania provides a continuous record of environmental changes covering the last 500 years. Multi-proxy studies were performed on a 52 cm sediment core retrieved from the deepest part of the lake. Magnetic, organic carbon, geochemical proxies and pollen assemblages indicate a dry climate during the ‘Little Ice Age’ (AD 1550–1850), confirming that the LIA in eastern Africa resulted in marked and synchronous hydrological changes. However, the direction of response varies between different African lakes (low versus high lake-levels), indicating strong regional contrasts that prevent the clear identification of climate trends over eastern Africa at this time. Inferred changes in Masoko lake-levels closely resemble the record of solar activity cycles, indicating a possible control of solar activity on the climate in this area. This observation supports previous results from East African lakes, and extends this relationship southward. Finally, anthropogenic impact is observed in the Masoko sediments during the last 60 years, suggesting that human disturbance significantly affected this remote basin during colonial and post-colonial times.
Solar and anthropogenic imprints on the Lake Masoko (southern Tanzania) during the last 500 years
(Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2006, 2006) Garcin, Yannick; Williamson, David; Bergonzini, Laurent; Radakovitch, Olivier; Vincens, Annie; Buchet, Guillaume; Guiota, Joël; Brewer, Simon; Mathe, Pierre-Etienne; Majule, Amos
The Masoko crater-lake in southern Tanzania provides a continuous record of environmental changes covering the last 500 years. Multi-proxy studies were performed on a 52 cm sediment core retrieved from the deepest part of the lake. Magnetic, organic carbon, geochemical proxies and pollen assemblages indicate a dry climate during the ‘Little Ice Age’ (AD 1550– 1850), confirming that the LIA in eastern Africaresulted in marked and synchronous hydrological changes. However, the direction of response varies between different African lakes (low versus high lake-levels), indicating strong regional contrasts that prevent the clear identification of climate trends over eastern Africa at this time. Inferred changes in Masoko lake-levels closely resemble the record of solar activity cycles, indicating a possible control of solar activity on the climate in this area. This observation supports previous results from East African lakes, and extends this relationship southward. Finally, anthropogenic impact is observed in the Masoko sediments during the last 60 years, suggesting that human disturbance significantly affected this remote basin during colonial and post-colonial times.
Vegetation dynamics and management implications in the Pugu and Kazimzumbwi Forest Reserves, Tanzania
(Akadémiai Kiadó, 1998) Shishira, E. K.; Yanda, Pius Z.; Lyimo, J.
This study examines spatial and temporal dynamics of land cover in the Pugu and Kazimzumbwi forest reserve region of Tanzania. Cultivation and harvesting of forest products are the main factors affecting the vegetation. These factors are more pronounced in the eastern and northern parts of the forest reserves. Elsewhere, notably in the western parts of the reserves, there has been substantial recovery of vegetation. This is particularly apparent in areas of where depopulation oc- curred following the 'villagisation' program of the 1970's. Although most of the vegetation change occurred outside of the forest reserves, increasing population pressure around the forest reserves will likely lead to encroachment into the forest reserves proper.
Wildlife Management Areas in Tanzania: a Study of Opportunities and Challenges
(2008-11-02) Mwakaje, Agnes G.
In 2003 Tanzania established 16 pilot Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs), with the aim of enhancing conservation and poverty alleviation through sustainable utilization of natural resources. This study examines the opportunities and challenges of this policy initiative with reference to the proposed WMAs. Data were collected mainly through consultation with government officials, local authorities, communities and investors. Semi-structured questionnaires and checklist were used to gather information. Findings show that WMAs have potential for poverty alleviation and sustainable conservation. However, the prolonged, time-consuming and costly establishment process, inequitable benefits, lack of entrepreneurial skills and poor governance are some of the serious challenges constraining WMAs. Also, areas with a large wildlife population are reluctant to form WMAs, and the increased wildlife population escalates human-wildlife conflicts.

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