Browsing by Author "Midtgaard, F."

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Assessment of fire prevalence and reduction strategies in Miombo woodlands of Eastern Tanzania
(African Journals Online, 2014-12) Katani, J. Z.; Madoffe, S.S.; Amanzi, N. S.; Amanzi, N. S.; Rija, A. A.; Midtgaard, F.; Mbeyale, G. E.; Zahabu, E.; Tarimo, B. C.
An assessment of the proximate causes, effects and factors contributing to fire prevalence was conducted in three districts covered by miombo woodlands in Eastern Tanzania. Three miombo woodlands under different management regimes and governance structures (central government forest reserve, local government forest reserve and village land forest) each were investigated in Handeni, Kilosa and Kilwa districts. Data were collected from three villages selected in each District through household surveys, Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), interviews of key informants and field observations. The analysis of data involved content analysis for documentary materials, descriptive statistical analysis for household surveys and Chi square was used to test whether there were differences in responses of local communities across forest management regimes. Results indicate that the major five human activities contributing to fire prevalence across the miombo woodlands include farm preparation (34.1%), hunting (28.5%), arson (21.5%), livestock grazing (9.3%) and charcoal making (0.7%). The causes were fairly the same across forest management regimes. August, September and October were the peak fire months and they were not influenced by different management regimes but by geographical locations within Eastern Tanzania. Results further show that fires in miombo woodlands usually start inside the woodland (67.2%), around residential area (22.9%) and from farms (9.9%). The origin of fire inside the woodland becomes more serious because it combines the hunting, arson, livestock grazing and charcoal making which are usually done inside the woodland. Chi-square test indicates significant difference on origin of fires across the forest management regimes (χ² = 13.341 and p = 0.031). The local communities acknowledged fires having both positive and negative effects and these effects were the same across the management regimes. Further, across the surveyed villages, strong social ties existed between fires and the daily life of local communities. Poverty, ignorance, weak law enforcement and climatic factors were identified as underlying factors contributing to fire prevalence. Fire incidences are predicted to increase given the increasing climate change. Potential strategies to reduce fires incidence identified were awareness creation, law enforcement, making fire breaks, introduction of alternative income generating activities, and improving agriculture practises. Furthermore, the use of prescribed burning to reduce effects of late fires and developing fire management plans to enhance miombo woodland management are among the strategies worth consideration by the local communities.
Deforestation and loss of bushland and grassland primarily due to expansion of cultivation in mainland Tanzania (1995–2010)
(Taylor & Francis, 2019) Nzunda, E. F.; Midtgaard, F.
Information on land use and cover changes (LUCC) is important for planning of conservation and development and thus ensure forest sustainability. The current paper assesses LUCC for the whole of the mainland Tanzania. The analyses were done using land use and cover maps covering the whole of mainland Tanzania for 1995 and 2010. For 1995, forest, bushland, grassland, cultivation and other land use and cover (built up areas, bare land, etc.) covered 43.5%, 19.8%, 23.5%, 11.2%, and 2.0% of the study area, respectively. For 2010, the same land use and cover classes covered 38.0%, 14.5%, 6.9%, 36.5%, and 4.1% of the study area, respectively. The annual rate of deforestation was 320,067 ha, which is equivalent to 0.9%. Bushland and grassland were lost at 313,745 and 969,982 ha/year, respectively. Most forest was con- verted to cultivation and least to other land use and cover. In conclusion, the net changes were deforestation and loss of bushland and grassland primarily due to expansion of cultivation. Further research on how to reduce or halt expansion of cultivation may shed light on improving sustainability of forest, bushland, and grassland in mainland Tanzania.
Developing Fire Reduction Strategy for Miombo Woodlands as a Potential tool for Carbon Storage and Sequestration
(E&D Vision Publishing Ltd, 2016) Katani, J. Z.; Modoffe, S.S.; Midtgaard, F.; Rija, A. A.; Amanzi, N. S.; Kilawe, C.J.; Mbeyale, G. E.; Zahabu, E.; Tarimo, B. C.; Silayo, D.S. A.
World-wide, wildfires cause problems and when uncontrolled or misused they wreak havoc on society and the environment. In Tanzania, fire occurs in most parts of the Miombo woodlands, and some of them cause significant eco-logical and socio-economic impacts. Several efforts have been made in Tanzania to reduce the occurrence of fire in Miombo but their success has been constrained by underfunding and/or lack of proper strategies. Moreover, in many districts of Tanzania there are no apparent solutions to the fire problem, despite years of regulation and attempts to control fire, and in many places fire incidences are actually increasing. Therefore, this study intended to develop a fire management strategy for the Miombo woodland as a tool for climate change mitigation. This study also strived to identify causes, effects and factors contributing to fire prevalence. Spatial and temporal distribution of fires and burnt extents of wooded areas were determined from the Moderate Resolution Imanging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) active fires product and Landsat satellite images for the past 40 years (1972–2012). Vegetation and household surveys were used to capture empirical data on carbon stock and how different burning regimes and forest management scenarios influence carbon sequestration potentials. Furthermore, the role of formal and informal framework for the prevention, control and management of wild fires in the Miombo was determined. Th main output of this study is a proposed fire reduction strategy in Miombo. Th study findings show that, to a wider extent, 1.8 and 2.9 years mean fire return interval persist in western and eastern dry Miombo areas, respectively, burning up to 50.6% of the woodland. These wildfires were largely human-driven and commonly occur in all the villages surveyed whereas the existing local governance structures and institutions suffered from poor coordination, severe underfunding and poor support from the villagers. Torching of forests was largely perpetuated by weak enforcement of laws and regulations, poverty and existing local beliefs. On average, there is an indication that the central government forests have higher stock of carbon than the local government forests and village government forest reserves. However, there was no significant difference in carbon stock between forests experiencing no burning, early burning and late burning. The proposed fire management strategy for Miombo woodlands focused on the promotion of sustainable alternative land preparation methods, improved household income sources and awareness, sustainable land use management and promotion of sustainable charcoal production. The strategy indicates a number of activities to be implemented and actors responsible for each activity.
Preliminary Assessment of Forest Structure, Management and Carbon Stocking in Tanzania Miombo Woodland
(Climate Change Impacts, Mitigation and Adaptation Programme, SUA, 2012) Madoffe, S. S.; Rija, A. A.; Midtgaard, F.; Katani, J. Z.; Mbeyale, G. E.; Zahabu, E.; Christopher, B.
Wildfires are critical in miombo forests across the African continent causing loss of biodiversity, human properties and increasing climate change impacts. Within a broader project which seeks to develop a strategy to reduce wildfires in miombo woodlands of Tanzania, we report on the preliminary findings based on initial field data collected in situ to set a baseline for further work. The project covers three miombo biomes in three districts (Handeni, Kilosa and Kilwa) in Eastern Tanzania covering nine forest reserves managed under different authorities namely, central government, local districts and village communities. The aim of the current study were therefore, to describe species composition and structure of the forest communities, profile initial carbon stock in trees, herbaceous layer and soil within permanent survey plots, in effort to examine the potential of using fire reduction strategy as a potential tool of carbon sequestration in miombo woodlands.. The research team used permanent forest plots to collect vegetation and soil data. Simlarly available models were used to estimate carbon stocking. More than 200 species of trees and shrubs totaling 506 individual trees (dbh >4 cm) were recorded and Kilosa site contributed the largest proportion (40.7%) to the tree abundance total. This was followed closely by Kilwa (35.6%) and Handeni (20.7%). Species richness and diversity varied considerably within and between the study sites. Kilwa had the highest species richness and Handeni the lowest. Analysis of community assemblages revealed strongly distinct forest communities both at local and regional level between Kilwa and other sites. Carbon stocks in trees and soil were significantly different among sites and were higher than previously reported for other miombo woodland elsewhere in Tanzania. On the average tree carbon ranged from 21.42-44.12t/ha, the highest stock reported in Kilosa site due to assemblage of large trees. The general picture of carbon stock indicated that early burning is better for carbon storage than late burning or no burning. The lack of fire reduction strategy overrides the dynamics of forest stand structure and the potential for carbon sequestration by these forests as wildfires appear to be critical across the study area. There is dire need for a comprehensive strategy to reducing forest fires across the miombo biomes which together will help mitigate climate change impacts in Tanzania.
The role and performance of existing governance structures in prevention and management of wildfires in Miombo woodland, Tanzania
(CCIAM-SUA, 2014) Rija, A. A.; Madoffe, S. S.; Katani, J. Z.; Amanzi, N. S.; Midtgaard, F.; Zahabu, E.; Tarimo, B. C.; Mbeyale, G.
Although wildfire remains a persistent threat to the forest resources and human livelihood, very limited information exists about the role and performance of existing local governance structures in the prevention and management of wildfires in Miombo woodlands. This study was conducted in nine villages of Handeni, Kilosa and Kilwa Districts, eastern Tanzania to examine how existing local governance structures were actively involved in prevention of wildfires in forests under differing management regimes. All the surveyed villages had both formal and informal governance structures responsible for prevention and management of wildfires with over 50% of respondents aware of their existence. Available formal structures included village councils, Village Environmental Committees (VEC)/Village Natural Resource Committee (VNRC), ward development committees and primary courts. These structures were charged with ensuring security in the respective villages including protecting forests against deforestation and degradation. Despite their existence in every village, most suffered poor coordination, severe under funding and poor support from the villagers who see torching of forests as their sole right to getting access to their livelihoods. The study established that existing local fire management structures are unlikely to guarantee effective prevention of this environmental threat unless the existing impediments are effectively addressed. Management of forest fires should therefore be handled through a well coordinated framework that accommodates all key stakeholders in the country and should empower existing local fire prevention machinery
Spatial relationship between deforestation and protected areas, accessibility, population density, GDP and other factors in mainland Tanzania
(Taylor & Francis, 2017) Nzunda, E. F.; Midtgaard, F.
Deforestation is a problem that adversely affects the socioeconomic and ecological dimensions of human life locally, nationally and globally. This paper reports on the analysis of the spatial relationships between deforestation (study period: 1995–2010) and protected areas, accessibility, human population density, regional gross domestic product (GDP) and geographic and climatic factors using land use/land cover maps covering the whole of mainland Tanzania. Multiple linear regression analysis was used for statistical analysis of the relationship between deforestation and the explanatory variables. Deforestation was estimated at the rate of 320,067 ha/yr. High deforestation was associated with unprotected areas, low distance to railway, road and town, high population density and high regional GDP. These results have at least the following four implications: (1) Protected areas are better in controlling deforestation than if there were none. (2) Town dwellers depend on forests for wood and livelihood. (3) Roads and railways are not used only to access off farm activities but also to access forests for exploitation and conversion to other land covers than forest. (4) High population density and high GDP did not result in switching from dependence on forests for wood and livelihoods. It is recommended that appropriate strategies should address these implications so that the patterns of dependence on forests for wood and livelihoods are redressed.