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Forest Resources and Livelihoods: Evaluating local forest management in
Barjomot Village, Tanzania
Erik N. Peterson
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Science
University of Washington
2008
Program Authorized to Offer Degree: College of Forest Resources
University of Washington Graduate School
This is to certify that I have examined this copy of a master’s thesis by
Erik N. Peterson
and have found that it is complete and satisfactory in all respects, and that any and all revisions required by the final examining committee have been made.
Committee Members:
________________________________________________________________________
Ivan Eastin
________________________________________________________________________
Frank Greulich
________________________________________________________________________
Clare Ryan
Date: _______________________________
In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a master’s degree at
the University of Washington, I agree that the Library shall make its copies freely
available for inspection. I further agree that extensive copying of this thesis is allowable
only for scholarly purposes, consistent with “fair use” as prescribed in the U.S. Copyright
Law. Any other reproduction for any purposes or by any means shall not be allowed
without my written permission.
Signature ________________________
Date ____________________________
University of Washington
Abstract
Forest Resources and Livelihoods: Evaluating forest management sustainability in Barjomot Village, Tanzania
Erik N. Peterson
Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Professor/ Director Ivan Eastin
College of Forest Resources
Deforestation in sub-Saharan Africa is a threat to livelihoods and the
environment. Substantial scholarship describes the general extent of deforestation and
identifies numerous societal processes and immediate actions causing deforestation.
Unfortunately, both research methods and findings for understanding forest resources and
local forest management systems are deficient. Therefore, this thesis presents and utilizes
a case study methodology to assess local forest resources and evaluate local forest
management in Barjomot Village, Tanzania.
There are two research objectives: (i) assess forest resource adequacy for local
farmers and (ii) evaluate the sustainability of the local forest management system.
Results for Research Objective I describe the extent to which deforestation - a global,
regional and national problem - was a problem for farmers in Barjomot Village at the
time of data collection (2005-2007). Specific findings from Research Objective I suggest
that building materials and environmental services were not adequately provided for by
the local forest resource. In contrast fuelwood was in a transitional phase, neither
adequate nor scarce. Cultural services were adequately provided for.
Research Objective II’s evaluation of the sustainability of the village forest
management system “explains” Research Objective I’s assessed forest resource
adequacy. The sustainability of the forest management system was evaluated with 11
Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) Criteria and 26 indicators and an even number of
sustainable and unsustainable aspects were identified. Two significant sustainable
aspects of the forest management system, and likely causes of assessed forest resource
adequacy, were the physical clarity of forest reserve boundaries and the local design and
implementation of forest access and management rules. Two significant unsustainable
aspects of the forest management system were the dominance of agriculture as a
development strategy and difficulty in forest rules enforcement. This even division of
sustainable and unsustainable aspects of the forest management system “explains” why
forest resources were not uniformly scarce.
Findings from both Research Objectives inspired future research opportunities
and informed specific recommendations for supporting SFM in Barjomot Village.
i
TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of Figures .................................................................................................................. iii
List of Tables ................................................................................................................... iv
Chapter I: Introduction ..................................................................................................... 1
Research Questions and Objectives.............................................................................. 3
Chapter II: Background and Setting ................................................................................ 5
Tanzania ....................................................................................................................... 5
Geography and Climate ........................................................................................ 5
People, Culture and Economy .............................................................................. 8
History, Forest Policy and Land Law ................................................................. 11
Hanang District ........................................................................................................... 14
Barjomot Village ........................................................................................................ 17
Forest Resources in Barjomot ............................................................................ 21
Chapter III: Theoretical Orientation and definitions ...................................................... 31
SFM and social forestry ............................................................................................. 31
Analytical approach .................................................................................................... 34
Research Objective I ........................................................................................... 35
Research Objective II ......................................................................................... 38
Chapter IV: Methods ...................................................................................................... 52
Case Study Research .................................................................................................. 52
Data Collection ........................................................................................................... 54
Informants ........................................................................................................... 55
Interviews ........................................................................................................... 56
Participant Observation ...................................................................................... 58
Spatial Data and Literature Review .................................................................... 60
Data Analysis ............................................................................................................. 61
Grounded Theory and Content Analysis ............................................................ 61
Research Objective I ........................................................................................... 62
Research Objective II ......................................................................................... 64
Chapter V: Results .......................................................................................................... 67
Research Objective I: Assess local forest resource adequacy .................................... 67
Summary of Results for Research Objective I .................................................... 67
Fuelwood: Ambiguous ....................................................................................... 68
Building Materials: Scarce ................................................................................. 71
Environmental Services: Scarce ........................................................................ 73
Cultural Services: Adequate .............................................................................. 74
Research Objective II: Evaluate local forest management ........................................ 77
Summary of Results for Research Objective II .................................................. 77
Physical SFM criteria .......................................................................................... 79
Socio-economic SFM criteria ............................................................................. 87
Institutional SFM criteria .................................................................................. 102
Conclusion and Recommendations ............................................................................... 115
Acronyms ...................................................................................................................... 125
Bibliography ................................................................................................................. 126
Appendix: Background figures and tables .................................................................... 136
ii
iii
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Number Page
1. Tanzanian shaded relief map (CIA, 2007) .................................................................. 6
2. Map of forest reserves in Barjomot Village .............................................................. 24
3. Analytical model for Research Objective II .............................................................. 40
4. Picture of typical home in Barjomot Village. ............................................................ 72
5. Picture of NFR boundary ........................................................................................... 81
6. Satellite image of NFR boundar ................................................................................ 81
7. Distant picture of Getalili VFR boundary. ................................................................ 82
8. Close picture of Getalili VFR boundary .................................................................... 83
9. Picture of agricultural expansion in western Barjomot ............................................. 89
10. Picture of illegally cut Juniperus procera in NFR ................................................ 100
11. Pit saw frame used to cut Podocarpus latifolius in NFR ...................................... 100
12. Small scale pit saw frame in NFR ......................................................................... 100
13. Local farmer using pit saw frame .......................................................................... 101
14. Home with wall poles from illegally harvested Juniperus procera ....................... 102
15. Home with wall poles from trees other than Juniperus procera ........................... 102
16. Suppressed regeneration in the Hudhuma ............................................................. 112
A. 1. Questionnaire (Kajembe, 1994)...........................................................................136
A. 2. Objectives of the Forest Act (MNRT, 2002) ....................................................... 145
LIST OF TABLES
Table Number Page
1. Livestock populations in Hanang District. ................................................................ .17
2. Summary of the Barjomot livestock resource ............................................................ 20
3. Key aspects of forest reserves in Barjomot Village ................................................... 26
4. Vegetation classifications of the NFR and area in hectares. ...................................... 28
5. Codes, verifier sources and indicators for Research Objective I. .............................. 62
6. Codes, verifier sources and SFM criteria for Research Objective II. ........................ 64
7. Summary of results for Research Objective I ............................................................ 67
8. Summary of 2nd level and category results for Research Objective II ....................... 78
9. Summary of Physical SFM Criteria results ............................................................... 80
10. Summary of Socio-economic SFM Criteria results ................................................. 87
11. Commonly managed trees on private lands in Barjomot ......................................... 91
12. Summary of Institutional SFM Criteria results ...................................................... 104
13. PFM responsibilities from Barjomot’s JMA ......................................................... 107
14. Summary of JMA harvest restrictions for the NFR................................................111
A. 1. Compiled socio-economic and demographic data................................................137
A. 2. Compiled data from 14 tree inventories..............................................................138
A. 3. Physical SFM Criteria, Indicators and Verifiers..................................................140
A. 4. Socio-economic SFM Criteria, Indicators and Verifiers.....................................141
A. 5. Institutional SFM Criteria, Indicators and Verifiers...........................................142
A. 6. Rough ranking system for determining 11 SFM criteria.....................................143
iv
v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks to Lynn, Norm, Kirsti, Tania, Erik and Mitch for their unwavering
support. Their letters, care packages and visit connected them with my Tanzanian
family forever.
In Tanzania I was welcomed into countless homes and my gratitude is immense.
Martin Beko, George Kajembe and Christine Djondo each provided specific assistance
without which the thesis would not have been possible.
Thank you also to Ivan Eastin for his enthusiastic facilitation of the Peace Corps
Master’s International in International Forestry program and Frank Greulich, Clare
Ryan, Kathy Wolf and Indroneil Ganguly for their invaluable contributions.
1
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION
Forests have always been a source of food, fiber, and protection, and their rapid
destruction is nothing less than a threat to life on earth. The nature of the threat is two-
fold: on the one hand, it is environmental; on the other, it is social. Environmental
consequences of deforestation – soil loss due to erosion and leaching, silting up of
rivers and reservoirs, local and regional rainfall and temperature modifications, carbon
emissions from burning and decomposition, and biodiversity losses – are particularly
consequential in light of our lack of precise knowledge of the potential effects of the
depletion and extinction of countless plant and animal species (CIPEC, 2007). Social
consequences vary greatly around the world, but in this case study, as in much of rural
sub-Saharan Africa; the threats of deforestation to livelihoods are particularly direct,
and urgent. Communities of subsistence farmers are highly dependent on the health of
surrounding forest resources for everything from food, fodder and medicine to fuel
wood for cooking and building materials. Deforestation, simply put, threatens life on
earth both through the degradation of the environment upon which we depend as well
as through direct social and economic consequences.
Global forest resource trends show high rates of deforestation, with the majority
occurring on the African sub-continent. The Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO) of the United Nations estimates the world’s net forest change from 2000 to
2005 as -7.3 million hectares per annum, an area about the size of Panama. Of those
7.3 million hectares, 4.0 million were lost on the African sub-continent alone (FAO -
GFRA, 2005). In other words, over 55% of the world’s net forest loss from 2000-2005
occurred on a continent which is home to less than 17% of the world’s total forest area
(FAO – FOSA, 2005).
Tanzania is particularly at risk to the destructive environmental and social
consequences of deforestation. Tanzania’s high risk is first shown by significant recent
deforestation. The FAO (2005) estimates that Tanzania is losing forest cover at a rate
of 4,212 square kilometers per annum. This deforestation represents a loss of
2
approximately 1% of Tanzania’s total forest area every year. Tanzania’s high
deforestation rate is a threat to livelihoods because Tanzanians, and especially rural
Tanzanians, are highly dependent on the forest resource. The magnitude of this
dependence is striking: 92% of the total energy consumed in Tanzania is wood-based
(JICA, 2006), and the walls of 96.4% of rural homes are made from poles and branches
sourced from natural forests (NBS, 2002). Less directly measurable environmental
functions such as soil fertility, watershed protection and climate effects are also
fundamental. Simply put, deforestation in Tanzania is occurring at a high rate and
directly and indirectly threatens Tanzanian livelihoods.
An ever growing body of scholarship is concerned with this deforestation.
Geist and Lambin (1995) are the authors of an important comparative study of the
political, environmental, economic and social factors interacting with deforestation.
They examine 152 sub-national case studies investigating the causes and processes of
forest cover change in specific locations to identify proximate causes (immediate
actions) and underlying driving forces (social processes) of tropical deforestation and
find that some regional conclusions can be made. In Africa, for instance, a dominant
proximate cause of deforestation is the harvesting of fuelwood and poles by individuals
for domestic uses1. They also identify a dominant underlying driving force-- insecure
ownership related to uncertainties of land tenure2.
These briefly summarized conclusions are the type of findings sought by
researchers (including the author) working towards Sustainable Forest Management
1 A more comprehensive list of the proximate causes of deforestation in Tanzania includes: agricultural expansion, fuelwood and building materials collection, livestock grazing, fire, charcoal production, refugee resettlement and illegal logging (URT, 2007). 2 A more comprehensive list of underlying driving forces of deforestation in Tanzania includes: poverty, population dynamics (growth and density), loss of traditional knowledge of forest management, weak institutions, lack of monitoring and enforcement, unequal benefit sharing, low assurance of benefit capitalization, lack of financial and social capital, risk adverse communities, insufficient revenue collection, gaps between policy and practice, corruption, tenure insecurity, financial and legal dis-incentives and international trade, (MNRT, 2000; Marunda, 2007; Gibson, Mckean & Ostrom, 1998; Kajembe & Kessy, 2000; Wily & Dewees, 2001; Yhaisi, 2000; Kajembe, 1994; Kajembe & Monela, 2000).
3
(SFM). Understanding the causes of deforestation helps local farmers, development
practitioners and government officials to increase the sustainability of forest
management systems. Some recent proposed solutions, supported to varying degrees
by research findings, include: land tenure reform across Africa, increased markets for
certified forests and their products, market-based instruments for environmental
services, corporate social responsibility, research and policy dialogue, debt relief and
tree planting programs (Marunda, 2007).
To be sure, SFM is a laudable goal and changes are being made, but both the
understanding of local contextual realities and the methods for gaining that
understanding are deficient. How can one gain an operational understanding of the
proximate causes and underlying driving forces in a specific community?
RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND OBJECTIVES
This thesis has two Research Objectives, both set within the broader problem of
deforestation in sub-Saharan Africa. To understand these objectives it is helpful to
start with the same questions with which the researcher began. First, deforestation is a
global, regional and national problem, but was it a problem in Barjomot Village at the
time of data collection (2005-2007)? Surely there are villages with surplus forest
resources in a country with over 45% forest cover (MNRT, 2007). Was Barjomot one
of those villages? What did the local farmers think of their forest resources and forest
management? Might there have been a positive side to deforestation and if so, what
was it? This first set of questions gave rise to the empirical Research Objective I.
Research Objective I: Assess forest resource adequacy in Barjomot
Village. Research Objective I was made operational through Research Question I: Do
forest resources in Barjomot Village provide adequate goods (building materials and
fuelwood) and services (environmental and cultural) for local farmers? Research
Objective II logically followed Research Objective I. Once the level of adequacy, or
lack thereof, was assessed, the author aimed to understand why and how that level of
deforestation or lack thereof, had occurred.
4
Research Objective II: Evaluate local forest management sustainability in
Barjomot Village is the analytical component of the thesis. Unsustainable aspects of
the local forest management system “explain” local forest resource scarcity as
identified in Research Objective I and sustainable aspects of the local forest
management system “explain” local forest resource adequacy.
Research findings serve two goals within the larger objective of stemming
deforestation in Tanzania. First, the findings inform recommendations which can be
used by local farmers, village leadership, district officials or development practitioners
to design contextually appropriate interventions supporting SFM. Second, the
methodology developed to answer the study’s two research objectives is explicitly
described and could be replicated in other east African villages in order to better
understand local forest management and support SFM.
5
CHAPTER II: BACKGROUND AND SETTING
This chapter describes the physical, socio-economic and political geography
relevant to the case study. The chapter begins with the background and setting at the
national level. The background and setting for Hanang District and Barjomot Village
are presented thereafter. Although much of the background serves only to set the stage,
certain aspects are critically relevant to the analysis presented in Chapter V. All
analytically relevant background is noted.
TANZANIA
GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE
Tanzania (See Figure 1) is the largest of the three countries in East Africa
(Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda) and is situated between 1° and 12° south latitude and
between 29° and 41° east longitude. Tanzania is bounded by Kenya and Uganda to the
north; Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west;
Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south; and the Indian Ocean to the east.
Tanzania consists of two parts: the mainland and Mafia Island, formerly Tanganyika,
and the Zanzibar archipelago. Mainland Tanzania has an area of approximately
979,000 square kilometers, about twice the size of California; Zanzibar covers about
1,658 square kilometers (CIA 2007). In 2005 over 45% of Tanzania was categorized
as “Forest3” or “Other Wooded Land4” (FAO-GFRA, 2005).
Tanzania is a country of spectacular variety. It is home to Africa’s highest
mountain, Kilimanjaro (19,340 feet); the world’s second deepest lake, Lake
3 Forest is “Land spanning more than 0.5 hectares with trees higher than 5 meters and a canopy cover of more than 10 percent, or trees able to reach these thresholds in situ. It does not include land that is predominantly under agricultural or urban land use.” (FAO – GFRA, 2005) 4 Other Wooded Land is “Land not classified as “Forest”, spanning more than 0.5 hectares; with trees higher than 5 meters and a canopy cover of 5-10 percent, or trees able to reach these thresholds in situ; or with a combined cover of shrubs, bushes and trees above 10 percent. It does not include land that is predominantly under agricultural or urban land use.” (FAO-GFRA, 2005)
6
Tanganyika (4,710 feet); and the world’s second largest fresh water lake, Lake Victoria
(26,828 square miles) (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2007). These features essentially
surround Tanzania’s three physiographic regions: the highlands; the inland saucer-
shaped plateau; and the islands and the coastal lowland plains to the east (URT, 2007).
Figure 1. Tanzanian shaded relief map (CIA, 2007)
Barjomot Village
7
The highlands are split into two geographic areas centering on the Western Rift
Valley and Eastern Rift Valley systems. Those areas associated with the Western Rift
Valley are formed by the Ufipa Plateau, the Mbeya Range, and Rungwe Mountain in
the southwestern corner of the country. From there the southern highlands run
northeastward along the Great Rift to the Ukuguru and Nguru mountains northwest of
Morogoro. The northern highlands then extend from the north eastern coast with the
Usambara and Pare ranges (famous for their biodiversity and high levels of endemism)
to Kiliminjaro and Mount Meru near the border with Kenya to the north. Immediately
to the west of Mount Meru, another chain of mountains begins, which includes the
still-active volcano Ol Doinyo Lengai and the Ngorongoro Crater, the world’s largest
volcanic depression.
The inland saucer-shaped plateau and the surrounding highlands separate the
watersheds of three of Africa’s great rivers: the Nile, the Congo and the Zambezi,
which flow to the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Indian Ocean,
respectively. All of Tanzania’s other rivers – the Ruvuma, the Rufiji, the Wami, and
the Pangani – drain into the Indian Ocean. With so many rivers, Tanzania has great
hydroelectric potential.
Running along the side of the inland saucer-shaped plateau from the north to
the south is the East African Rift System. This system of valleys and depressions has
many narrow deep depressions filled by lakes such as Lake Tanganyika and Rukwa.
The islands and coastal plains of the east make up the rest of the country.
Unguja and Pemba islands (the Zanzibar archipelago) and Mafia island are generally
low, flat and surrounded by coral reefs. The coastal plains of the east are also low and
flat and fall within the massive drainage system of the Rufiji River and the ports of Dar
es Salaam in the south, and the Pangani river system in the north.
8
CLIMATE
Tanzania has a warm, equatorial climate which varies with changes in
elevation. In the highlands, temperatures range between 10° C during the cold season
(roughly May through October) and 20° C during the hot season (roughly November
through April). Temperatures never fall below 15° C in the rest of the country with the
highest temperatures (25°-30° C) occurring between November and February and the
lowest temperatures (15°-20° C) occurring between May and August.
Two rainfall regimes exist within Tanzania. In the north and along the northern
coast (including Barjomot Village), rainfall is bimodal with “long rains” (masika)
lasting from February until May and “short rains” (vuli) lasting from October through
December. Rainfall in the rest of the country is unimodal lasting from December until
April. Within these two regimes there is significant local variation. Higher elevations,
the coast and the Deep South tend towards more precipitation than the northern and
central plains (URT, 2007).
PEOPLE, CULTURE AND ECONOMY
The Tanzanian population is large and growing quickly. Tanzania is the 33rd
most populous nation with 39,384,223 people. This sizable population is
disproportionately spread around the country. Population density varies from one
person per square kilometer in arid regions to 51 per square kilometer in the
mainland’s well-watered highlands. Zanzibar’s population density is significantly
higher at 134 per square kilometer. More than 80% of the population is rural (US
Department of State, 2007).
Currently, the population is growing at 2.1% per annum. This relatively high
growth rate is checked significantly by a large number of health threats including an
HIV/AIDS prevalence rate of 8.8%, and malaria-related deaths. These health threats,
among others, are major causes of Tanzania’s low life expectancy of 50 years. Infant
mortality stands at 71.69 per thousand births, the 28th highest in the world. Despite
these moderating factors, population growth rates will probably remain high as 44% of
9
the population is 14 years old or younger and only 3% of the population is over 65
years of age (CIA, 2007).
The large and growing population is extraordinarily diverse. There are over
130 ethnic groups in the country, nearly all of them with their own language. Ninety-
five percent of the groups are Bantu in origin with the Sukuma, Haya, Nyakyusa,
Nyamwezi and Chaga each having more than a million members. Groups of Nilotic
origin include the nomadic Maasai, Luo and Barbaig. Two small groups speak
languages from the Khoisan family peculiar to the Bushman and Hottentot peoples.
Cushitic-speaking peoples, originally from the Ethiopian highlands, reside in a few
areas of Tanzania. One of these is the Iraqw, who are the majority ethnic group in the
case study. All of these ethnic groups participate in an education system where Swahili
is the official language.
Swahili, or “Kiswahili” as it is called by its speakers, is the mother tongue of
Bantu people living on Zanzibar and nearby coastal Tanzania. With origins as a
language of trade which linked the inland Bantu-speaking populations with the Indian
and Arab-speaking population of the coast, Swahili is Bantu in structure and form, but
its vocabulary draws on a variety of sources including Arabic and English. It has since
become the lingua franca of central and eastern Africa. English is the second official
language and the language of commerce, administration, and higher education. Sixty-
nine percent of the population can read in Swahili, English or Arabic. Forty-five
percent of Tanzanian citizens are Muslim, 45% are Christian, and 10% practice
indigenous beliefs (CIA, 2007; US Department of State, 2007).
ECONOMY
The relatively recent structural adjustment programs (SAPs) are important to
understanding the state of the Tanzanian economy. In 1986 Tanzania began an
adjustment program to dismantle state enterprises and encourage private sector
participation. The program included a
10
comprehensive package of policies which reduced the budget deficit and improved monetary control, substantially depreciated the overvalued exchange rate, liberalized the trade regime, removed most price controls, eased restrictions on the marketing of food crops, freed interest rates, and initiated a restructuring of the financial sector (US Department of State, 2007).
This initial program and its successors – the 1996-1999 Enhanced Structural
Adjustment Facility (ESAF) and the 2003-2006 Tanzania Poverty Reduction and
Growth Facility (PRGF) have divested 335 of 425 parastatal entities and contributed to
the realization of Tanzania’s average 4% GDP growth per year.
In spite of economic promise, Tanzania remains one of the poorest countries in
the world. With a per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $800, Tanzania ranks
222nd out of 229 countries on the GDP rankings listings, and 36% of Tanzanians live
on less than a dollar a day. Just as troubling is that economic wealth appears to be
concentrated in a few people’s hands; a Gini index of 38.2 for Tanzania indicates a
significantly unequal distribution of wealth5.
Structurally, the economy depends heavily on agriculture, which accounts for
43.3% of GDP, provides 85% of exports, and employs 80% of the workforce. The
agricultural sector supports a large variety of food crops, cash crops and livestock.
Major food crops include corn, rice, sorghum, millet, bananas, cassava, sweet potatoes,
barley, potatoes, and wheat. Many food crops are cash crops also. Other cash crops
include: coffee, cotton, tea, cashew nuts, tobacco and sisal (Encyclopedia Britannica,
2007). Ironically, cultivated crops are limited to 4% of the land area by both
topography and climate (CIA, 2007).
Tanzania has one of the three largest livestock populations in Africa (third only
to Ethiopia and Sudan). Although the country’s 13 million cattle, 11 million goats and
3 million sheep account for 30% of the country’s agricultural production Tanzania has
no significant exports of animal products (URT, 2007).
5 The Gini Index is a measure of inequality of income distribution, with 0 representing perfect income equality, and 100 representing perfect income inequality. Most developed nations have Gini indexes between 24 and 36. (Human Development Report, 2006)
11
Industries in Tanzania, which altogether account for 17% of GDP, include
agricultural processing (sugar, beer, cigarettes, sisal twine); diamond, gold and iron
mining; salt soda ash production; cement production; oil refinement; shoes and apparel
manufacture; wood products and fertilizer production (CIA, 2007).
Wildlife based tourism also plays a vital role. With at least 310 mammal
species within its borders, Tanzania claims Africa’s fourth largest mammal population.
Along with many iconic species, Tanzania supports a rich diversity of birds, plants,
amphibians and reptiles. Over 500,000 tourists visit Tanzania every year, in large part
to see the spectacular wildlife and the environment that supports it.
HISTORY, FOREST POLICY AND LAND LAW
Local farmer tree management in Barjomot must be couched in its historical
context. This historical context is particularly important for informing the analysis
related to Research Objective II. Therefore, this section summarizes local forest
management – with a particular focus on tenure relationships between forest users and
central government structures- within four distinct periods in Tanzanian history: pre-
colonial (pre-1890), colonial (1890-1960), post-independence/socialism (1961-1985)
and liberalization (1986-present). These historical trends and their institutional
“infrastructure” frame forest management by farmers in the case study.
In spite of relatively low resource demand, pre-colonial traditional authorities
and institutions are typically regarded by resource management scholars today as
effective models for forest management. Rules were embedded in the traditional,
spiritual, cultural, and local economic and ecological environment (Kayambazinthu et
al., 2003; Nhantumbo, 2003; Woodcock, 2002).
The German and English colonial periods permanently disrupted the traditional
relationship between the people, their leaders and forest resources. Most importantly,
colonial regimes, both German and English, altered the ideological paradigm of
governance, especially as governance relates to forest resources. This alteration comes
in the form of strictly hierarchical and distant (from local forest users) powers taking
12
control through land law6, rural development and forest policy of the resources upon
which local users directly depended. Although this alteration was mostly de-jure, it
still fundamentally shifted forest users’ social and political views towards forest
management. According to Kayambazinthu et al. (2003),
[Europeans perceived] schisms, tribal practices and rituals, and the general way of life among African tribes and clans, however organized and institutionalised, as uncivilized and backward. They therefore introduced Christian values and the state system. The role of traditional institutions was de-emphasized but the traditional chiefs and clan leaders were maintained with their role redefined as that of custodians of state system. All these dynamics contributed to the weakening of the traditional institutions and group cohesion, which used to exist before (p. 56).
By justifying external control by experts instead of local users, colonial policies
de-valued local management systems and began the rather counter-intuitive process of
placing those closest to the forest resource in the farthest removed tenure role.
The early independence7 and socialism period promised great change but
actually exhibited significant parallels with the colonial devaluation of local forest
management. The most relevant parallel for this thesis was the Father of the Nation’s,
Julius K. Nyerere, Operation Kijiji (Villagization). Villagization is fundamentally
important for this case study because Barjomot Village itself was created by this
socialist mandate.
During Operation Kijiji (1973-1976) over 70% of the Tanzanian population
was resettled (Scott, 1998). Barjomot was established in 1974 as part of this campaign.
The layout, housing designs, and local economy of Barjomot, like hundreds of socialist
villages across the country, were designed by district officials of the central
6 Imperial Decree of 1895 and Land Tenure Ordinance Number 3 of 1923 from the Germans and the British respectively served to establish ultimate ownership with the Kaiser or Queen and introduce the concept of rights of occupancy rather than ownership. 7 On April 26th, 1964, Tanganyika joined Zanzibar to become the United Republic of Tanzania – a unicameral democratic republic (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2007).
13
government. Nyerere’s goal of “trying to introduce a whole new way of life for the
majority of our people,” (In Ingle, 1972. p. 10) was successful in Barjomot; 11 of the
16 farmers interviewed for this study received their homestead and farmlands as a
direct result of villagization.
Villagization finalized the disruption of traditional forest management started
by colonization by negating existing diverse – and essentially effective - rural practices
through centralized state domination over the planning of rural people’s lives, both
economic and social. Nyerere spoke eloquently and respectfully for rural rights, “If the
purpose of development is the great freedom and well-being of the people, it cannot
result from force. For the proverb tells the truth in this matter: you can drive a donkey
to water, but you cannot make it drink” (Nyerere in Ingle, 1972, p. 12). His ambitious
policies for change, however, required coercion, “It may be possible – and sometimes
necessary – to insist on all farmers in a given area growing a certain acreage of a
particular crop until they realize that this brings them a more secure living, and then do
not have to be forced to cultivate it” (Nyerere, 1968, p. 356). Indeed, Luke (age 97),
like many of his neighbors, was coerced to move into the center of Barjomot.
In the end, Nyerere’s swift implementation and socialist ideology essentially
made villagization,
a point by point negation of existing rural practice, which included shifting cultivation and pastoralism; polycropping; living well off the main roads; kinship and lineage authority; small, scattered settlements with houses built higgledy piggledy; and production that was dispersed and opaque to the state. The logic of this negation seemed often to prevail over sound ecological or economic considerations (Scott, 1998, p. 238)
What might be thought of as customary leadership (or in this study’s terminology,
“informal” leadership and institutions) in Barjomot, as in many Tanzanian villages, is
actually village tenure and village rights (Wily et al., 2001). That traditional rural
practices – including local forest management - were essentially negated in the colonial
and post-independence has motivated recent reforms in Tanzanian forest policy.
14
CURRENT FOREST POLICY AND LAND LAW
Westoby (2002) captures the essence of the ideological shift in the forestry
sector legal reforms. He describes forest management as moving from colonial policy
which was ‘for the forest and against the people’ to participatory management under
recent national legal reforms which is theoretically ‘for and by the people’ (Westoby,
2002). Wily et al. (2002, p. 217) agree and argue that “a clear shift has been made
away from paternal focuses, to local needs, rights and capacities”. Wily et al. (2000)
add that mainland Tanzania has one of the most advanced community forestry
jurisdictions in Africa as reflected in policy, law and practice.
The de-jure devolution of forest management comes none too soon as
conventional approaches to forest management have largely failed. Of the estimated
33 million hectares of forest land in Tanzania, 57% (around 19 million hectares) is
unprotected and occurs outside government forest reserves (MNRT, 2000). Devolution
potentially will bring these open access forests8 under local management.
Understanding the social and environmental sustainability of these new reforms
requires studies similar to this thesis which focus on dynamics between local forest
resources and their managers.
HANANG DISTRICT
Introduction
The following section contians background on the district9 within which the
case study village is located. In summary, Hanang District’s dominant physical feature
is Mt. Hanang; home to a large and diverse forest. The people of Hanang district are
relatively poor and decidedly rural. There are two major ethnic groups: the pastoralist
Barbaig and the agro-pastoralist Iraqw. The economy is predominantly smallholder
8 See, for instance Kajembe & Shemwetta (2001) 9 From smallest to largest the Tanzanian governmental hierarchy is as follows: sub-village, village, ward, division, district, region and nation. Districts are the most important unit of central government structure for rural Tanzanians.
15
rain-fed maize, bean and vegetable crop production with a substantial livestock
component.
LOCATION AND PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF HANANG DISTRICT
Politically, the 3,435 square kilometer Hanang District is in the southwestern
corner of Manyara Region in the north-central portion of Tanzania (JICA, 2006).
Physically, the district is in the eastern branch of the East Africa Rift Valley. The
dominant physical feature of the district is the 3,418 meter high Mount Hanang, the
fourth tallest mountain in Tanzania. Another significant physical feature is the
Malbadow escarpment, a feature of the rift valley system, which runs from the
southwestern corner of the district to the north central border with Babati District.
PEOPLE, CULTURE AND ECONOMY OF HANANG DISTRICT
Hanang District is rural yet relatively densely populated, fast growing, poor and
illiterate. The 204,602 people of Hanang District average 61 people per square
kilometer compared to 51 nationally (JICA, 2006; US Department of State, 2007).
Average household size is 5.6 with 90.4% of dwellers considered rural (JICA, 2006).
The population growth rate is 3.5%, compared with the national average of 2.1 %
(CIA, 2007; JICA, 2006). Although the author found no GDP per capita data for the
district itself, the economically similar neighboring region to the South, Singida, has a
GDP per capita of $294 (JICA, 2006). Compared to the national average GDP per
capita of $800, Hanang District is certainly one of the poorer regions within Tanzania
(CIA, 2007). The literacy rate in Hanang is 56% which is slightly lower than the
national literacy rate of 62% (JICA, 2006).
There are two major ethnic groups in Hanang District: Barbaig and Iraqw. The
Barbaig speak a Nilotic language and are primarily pastoralist. They live in relatively
isolated pockets in the center, west, southwest and southeastern portions of the district.
The Iraqw are an agro-pastoral, Southern Cushitic speaking community with a
16
population of about 750,00010 across Tanzania. Although their homeland is
considered to be in Mama Issara (Irqwa Da’aw for native speakers), approximately 80
kilometers northwest of Barjomot Village, the Iraqw have managed to become
economically and politically dominant within the Hanang District (James Igoe,
personal communication, June 2006).
The economy of Hanang District further testifies to its rural character.
Although the percentage of paved roads to total distance of roads nationally is 12.2%
there are essentially no paved roads (except for one approximately five kilometer
section) within Hanang District (JICA, 2006). Ninety five percent of the main energy
sources in Tanzania are wood based, whereas 98.8% of energy is wood based in
Hanang District (JICA, 2006). Similarly 9.6% of Tanzania and only 3.6% of Hanang
District is electrified. With water supply the difference is not as drastic, although
Hanang is still relatively less developed. Forty five percent of people in Hanang have
piped or protected well or springs as drinking water sources11, whereas 53% of
Tanzania has the same (JICA, 2006). Hanang is decidedly rural.
Consistent with the agro-pastoral classification of the Iraqw, livelihoods in the
district come predominantly from agriculture and livestock production. Agricultural
production in the district can be generally classified as smallholder rain-fed cultivation
of maize, beans and vegetable crops with some wheat. Sunflowers, pigeon pea,
pumpkin and a variety of other crops are also cultivated. Of the arable land – which is
80% of the total land area of the district – 28% (78,000 hectares) is cultivated (JICA,
2006). This leaves a significant portion of uncultivated land, much of which is
degraded Acacia-commiphora woodland12 (author’s observations). The source of the
10 Snyder (1996) estimates the Iraqw population at 500,000. Their growth rate was 3.8% at the time. Compound growth over the past 12 years, then, gives a relatively modest estimate of a current population of 750,000. 11 Based on national standard of 250 people per liter and/ or 400 meters from source (URT, 2006) 12 Defined below in relation to the forest resources found within Barjomot Village.
17
degradation is largely due to livestock grazing, the second major component of the
economy in Hanang as evidenced in Table 1.
Table 1. Livestock populations in Hanang District. Livestock type Number Cattle 307,808 Goats 136,590 Sheep 57,257 Pigs 6,440 Poultry 98,989 Donkey 14,522
BARJOMOT VILLAGE
The following section is an account of the important background and setting of
Barjomot Village, one of over 11,000 villages across Tanzania (Blomley &
Ramadhani, 2006). Farmers in Barjomot at the time of data collection were generally
young, Christian, Iraqw agro-pastoralists. Although a recent water project brought
substantial change, farmers depended on subsistence level rain-fed agriculture for the
majority of their livelihoods.
POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY
Barjomot Village is located on the northern slope of Mt. Hanang. Villages
bordering Barjomot, from the NFR to the south and going clockwise to the east, north
and west are: Gendabi, Birsima, Mande and Gitting. The total land area of the village
is 2,825 hectares (Hanang District Government, 2003).
PEOPLE, CULTURE AND ECONOMY OF BARJOMOT
During the author’s stay Barjomot’s population was predominately young, fast
growing and Christian. The total population was 2,899 with 1,632 female and 1,267
male. There were at least 1,100 students in the village’s two elementary schools (VEO,
personal communication, July, 10th, 2006). These numbers show a high population
growth rate. Approximately 40% of the total population was in primary school and
18
between the ages of seven and seventeen. This 40% does not count children under the
age of seven, which would yield an under the age of seventeen population proportion
of well over 50%! Such a high growth rate reflected historical trends in Barjomot since
the village was established. In 1974 the village had 172 homesteads and in 2007 there
were 473.
Most farmers identified themselves as Christians and going to one of the seven
Christian churches in the village was an important part of most local farmers’
lifestyles. The three largest churches were Catholic, Anglican and Lutheran.
There were three main ethnic groups in Barjamot. The majority ethnic group
was the Iraqw, with substantial Barbaig inter-mixing. The Nyaturu, a Bantu group,
were also seasonally present and filled a necessary niche within Barjomot’s agricultural
system.
Barjomot’s economy is similar in structure to that of Hanang District. Farmers
depended directly on smallholder rain-fed cultivation of maize, beans and vegetable
crops. There was also some wheat, pigeon pea, pumpkin and sunflower production.
The proportion of cultivated land in Barjomot, 37% (VEO, personal communication,
July, 2006), was slightly higher than the 28% cultivated land proportion for Hanang
(JICA, 2006). Most of this cultivated land resulted from agricultural expansion13 in
western Barjomot.
The relatively higher proportion of cultivated lands in Barjomot was likely
motivated by particularly fertile soils. The author took twelve topsoil samples across
the village, mixing low, medium and high elevations. The average organic content of
the samples was 3.2%, total Nitrogen.24% and the soil pH was 6.3. These fertility
indicators suggest that the soils were indeed, as local farmers report, particularly fertile.
Effective farming in Barjomot involved spreading risk across a mixture of
upland and lowland farms. Differences in climate and soils at varying elevations
13 Growth in cultivated acres in Barjomot: 1974=43 to 2006=2,495 (VEO, personal communication, March, 2006)
19
motivated this farming strategy. Lowland farms do particularly well in wet years
because significantly warmer weather combines with heavy precipitation to provide
good crop yields. In a dry year, the upland farms are more productive. Cooler
temperatures, as well as increased localized precipitation due to effects from the
mountain, make those farms more productive. All but one of the semi-structured
interview respondents had multiple farms and the single exception to the rule was
landless. These farmers were a cross section of socio-economic classes suggesting the
normalcy of multiple farms.
GDP per household in Barjomot can be roughly estimated. In collaboration
with the village’s wealthiest farmer, the author made the following attempt to estimate
the average cash income per household. The total number of acres farmed was known
to be 2,495, while the average production per acre was approximately five gunny sacks.
The average price per gunny sack was estimated to be 15,000 Tsh (approximately $12).
After subtracting the 2.3 gunny sacks of corn needed for a year’s worth of nutrition for
a household it was roughly estimated that the average household clears 361,000Tsh
(approximately $275) per year. Add to this approximately 300,000Tsh ($225) per year
of cash from bean production and one can reasonably estimate that households in
Barjomot made somewhere around $400 per year from their farms. With an average
household size of over 5 people, this makes the per capita cash income in Barjomot
approximately $85.
Livestock was the second most important economic livelihood strategy within the
village. Historically, the Iraqw consist of sub-groups along the entire agro-pastoral
spectrum (Loiske, 2004). The dominant sub-group that moved to Barjomot in the
1960s and 1970s were mostly from the more pastoralist sub-group. For instance,
according to elderly farmers like Luke (age 97) the livelihood strategies of the early
20
Iraqw in Barjomot closely resembled those of the indigenous tribe the Barbaig14. The
pastoralist tendencies of the Iraqw sub-group that moved to Barjomot have given way
to a more agricultural focus. This was perhaps best shown through Amy’s estimate
that the number of cattle in the village reached its highest point around 1970. In 1985
the livestock population halved and in the early 1990s it halved again. The last herds
of wildlife (mostly impala) disappeared around 1990. In spite of these livestock
decreases the Iraqw in Barjomot still had significant pastoral tendencies during the
author’s field period. Table 2 summarizes the livestock resource of the village and
shows that there were nearly as many cattle as people in Barjomot, a clear indication
that livestock production is a vital component of the local economy.
Table 2. Summary of the Barjomot livestock resource Type number Traditional cow 2671 Modern cow 28 Traditional goat 4853 Modern goat 2 Traditional sheep 816 Traditional chicken 1419 (Mr. Sahati, personal communication, July, 10th 2006)
Beekeeping was also an important livelihood strategy in Barjomot. Across the
village there were 333 traditional and 43 modern beehives (VEO and Barjomot
Beekeeping Group secretary, personal communication, July 26, 2006). In 2005 the 24
member Barjomot Beekeeping group harvested over 100 liters of honey. They
reported selling this some of this honey for approximately 3,000Tsh per liter in the
village but that most was consumed in the household. Honey was considered to have
almost medicinal qualities; especially in the case of restoring energy for mothers who
have just given birth.
14 See Kilima, 1970 for a full description of the “cattle complex” that dominated the Barbaig and influences the Iraqw of Barjomot. Also, throughout the thesis indigenous refers to place and traditional to time.
21
A recent water project brought significant change to the village. The water
project was completed with funding from the Adventist Development Relief Agency
(ADRA). The ADRA water project, completed in 2003, brought 25 water spigots to
the village. Although the project did not provide enough water for irrigation, it
provided significant other benefits. For instance, one of the spigots supplied water
during the dry season for approximately half an acre of vegetable gardening; mostly
kale, spinach and tomatoes. The project also enabled the establishment of four tree
nurseries in the village, resulting in the planting of 1,195 trees in Barjomot in 2006
(VEO, personal communication, March, 2006). Since the water project’s completion,
construction of brick homes increased substantially. Although the bricks were still
sourced from outside the village, there was previously no water to make the cement to
hold the bricks together. The number of brick walled homes nearly doubled during the
author’s 2005-2007 period of residency in the village.
Although water had come to the village, electricity was likely at least five years
away. In 2007, the nearest electricity was found in the neighboring village of Gitting.
Gitting was also home to the nearest health clinic. The author’s self installed solar
system was the first of its kind within the village. The lack of irrigation and electricity
made it necessary for farmers to depend upon rain-fed agriculture and livestock
production.
FOREST RESOURCES IN BARJOMOT
Introduction
Research Objectives I and II relate respectively to the adequacy and
management of Barjomot Village’s forest resources. The “local Barjomot forest
resource”, as described in Research Objective I, refers to all woody biomass within the
administrative boundaries of the village and approximately 280 hectares of the adjacent
National Forest Reserve. Within this total area there are two types of forest resources:
22
private and public. Private forest resources included those found on homesteads and
farms. Public forest resources included those within the village’s four forest reserves.
Forest resources in Barjomot, or anywhere, can be thought of as either planted
or retained (sometimes retention is passive). Planted forest resources referred to all
planting activity that had occurred on villagers’ homesteads and farms. This tree
planting can be further classified as tree-lots and various types of agro-forestry utilizing
exotic, naturalized and indigenous species. Retained forest resources occurred on both
private and public lands. All retained forest resources were natural woodland and
forest and were comprised almost entirely of indigenous species.
There were two basic types of natural, retained forest resources: (i) Acacia-
Commiphora woodland and (ii) dry tropical evergreen montane forest. These two
forest types were heavily influenced by elevation. The lower elevation of the village
was classified generally as a semi-arid steppe (FAO – GFRA, 2005). A common
vegetation type found in Tanzania’s semi-arid steppe is Acacia-Commiphora woodland
(Westman, 1990). Generally this woodland is dense with trees and shrubs ranging
between three and seven meters tall and a few emergent trees of up to 20 meters.
Evergreen normally forms 2.5- 10% of the total trees and shrubs (FAO – GFRA, 2005).
According to Westman (1990) common species to this woodland type are: Acacia
nilotica, Cordial monoica, Grewia fallax/ mollis, Commiphora africana, Acacia
xanthoploea, Acacia tortillis and Erythrina lysistemom.
Barjomot’s classification as an Acacia-Commiphora woodland was confirmed
by the author’s fieldwork. All of Westman’s (1990) common species to this woodland
type were cited by tree inventory respondents.15 In fact, respondents identified over 60
species growing around their homesteads and on their farms. A comprehensive species
list of the natural woodland itself would be far larger.
15 See Chapter IV, Data Collection for background on tree inventories.
23
The name of the case study village itself, Barjomot, further testified to the
Acacia-Commiphora classification. The local Barbaig name for the village
‘Baryomodi’ is the same as their word for Acacia nilotica. Acacia nilotica is one of the
common identifying species of the Acacia-Commiphora woodland (FAO – GFRA,
2005).
FOREST RESERVES IN BARJOMOT
Introduction
The following section introduces and provides the necessary historical, political
and physical background for the forest reserves considered in this study (See Figure 2).
All references to the NFR, VFRs, CFR and Hudhuma throughout the thesis relate to the
descriptions presented below.
24
Figure 2. Map of forest reserves in Barjomot Village
* All boundaries are based on GPS data gathered according to the author’s best judgment at the time and do not necessarily reflect legal boundaries. White circles denote interview respondents’ homes. The two white circles in the NFR denote illegal logging sites for Juniperus procera and Podocarpus latifolius from west to east respectively.
Barjomot Village boundary
Village Forest Reserves (VFRs)
Joint management area of NFR
Community Forest Reserve (CFR)
Hudhuma – Communal lands
Primary area of farms considered by study
Primary area of homesteads considered by study
10 km
25
History of forest policy in relation to forest reserves
Forest reserves have been a forest management strategy in Tanzania since at
least the colonial period. The first forest ordinance was enacted by the Germans in
1895 and provided specifically for the creation of forest reserves (Woodcock, 2002;
Kowero, 2003). The British Forest Policy of 1958 continued the practice of setting
aside forest reserves. The Tanzanian Forest Policy of 1998 and the Forest Act of 2002
also provide legal frameworks for the establishment of forest reserves, albeit from a
somewhat different ideological perspective.
The main difference between all former formal and current forest policies16 is
the ideological shift from centralized forest management to Participatory Forest
Management (PFM). The de-jure devolution has occurred mostly as a result of the
1998 Forest Policy and 2002 Forest Act and Barjamot, like all villages across
Tanzania, is a key stakeholder. These two legal documents facilitate PFM as Joint
Forest Management (JFM) and Community Based Forest Management (CBFM). JFM
allows villages to enter into partnerships with central government authorities on
established National Forest Reserves, such as the Mt. Hanang National Forest Reserve
(described below). CBFM, on the other hand, gives village governments the right to
set aside two types of forest reserves on village lands: VFRs and CFRs. The author
studied PFM in examples of all of these reserve types found within and adjacent to
Barjomot.
16 There are five key documents which provide the bulk of the legal framework within which local communities manage their resources (i) Constitution of Tanzania (revised version of 1995), (ii) the Local Government (District Authorities) Act 1982. No 7, (iii), the 1982 Village Land Act No. 5, (iv) National Forest Policy of 1998, and (v) the Forest Act, 2002. Of these five, the objectives of the Village Land Act of 1999, the National Forest Policy of 1998 and the Forest Act of 2002 have the most direct impacts on local forest management through their facilitation of PFM.
26
Table 3. Key aspects of forest reserves in Barjomot Village
Reserve Name Reserve Type Size (hectares)
Management responsibility
Mt. Hanang National Forest Reserve (or, Mt. Hanang Catchment Forest Reserve
National Forest Reserve (NFR)
280 of the reserve’s total 5,898
JFM agreement between the Barjomot Village Assembly17 and the Hanang District Government
Getalili Village Forest Reserve
Village Forest Reserve (VFR)
12 Village Government with the approval of the Village Assembly
Mashonda Village Forest Reserve
Village Forest Reserve (VFR)
17 Village Government with the approval of the Village Assembly
Barjomot Beekeeping Group Community Forest Reserve
Community Forest Reserve (CFR)
17 Community group designated by the Village Government. In this case the Barjomot Beekeeping Group
Hudhuma Village Communal Lands
700; Only half is natural woodland
Village Government with the approval of the Village Assembly
* All areas are based on GPS data gathered by the author and do not represent legal and or official area estimates.
MT. HANANG NATIONAL FOREST RESERVE (NFR)
References to the NFR throughout the thesis refer only to the area covered in
the JFM agreement between the Hanang District government and Barjomot Village
Assembly. The total size of the NFR is 5,898 hectares18, but the Barjomot’s area
covers only roughly 280 hectares (Hanang District Government, 2003; Mr. Sahati,
VEO, personal communication, August 2005).
17 Village Assembly, or Hadhara, is a communal meeting open to anyone residing in the village over the age of 17. 18 The NFR was established by the British colonial government in 1932 (Mr. Muri, personal communication, June 2006).
27
JFM must be defined. JFM is viewed as an incremental step towards
participation. Ideally JFM connects district foresters’ technical expertise and villagers’
contextual expertise. JFM is generally, and in Barjomot, formalized through a Joint
Management Agreement (JMA) between the village and district governments19.
JMA’s are explicitly facilitated through the National Forest Policy (1998)
To enable participation of all stakeholders in forest management and conservation, joint management agreements, with appropriate user rights and benefits, will be established. The agreement will be between the central government, specialised executive agencies, private sector or local governments as appropriate in each case and organized local communities or other organisations of people living adjacent to the forest (p. 3).
JFM as practiced in Barjomot Village is one of hundreds of potential
examples. Blomley and Ramadhani (2006) used data collected from NGOs, area based
projects, national surveys and Forestry Divisional records to estimate that, as of 2006,
568 villages in Tanzania were managing 1,386,000 hectares under JFM agreements.
Seventy percent of the NFR is composed of closed dry tropical montane
evergreen forest (Hanang District Government, 2003). This forest type is commonly
dominated by the species Casearia engleri, Cassipourea malosana, Ekebergia
capensis, Fagaropsis angolensis, Olea Africana, Olea capensis and Podocarpus
latifolius (Westman, 1990).
19 The actual content and process of Barjomot’s JMA is detailed in Chapter V, Institutional SFM Criteria I.
28
Table 4. Vegetation classifications of the NFR and area in hectares.
Vegetation Classification Area in Hectares Forest > 25 meters high with high density 412 Forest> 25 meters high with medium density 30 Forest> 25 meters high with low density 279 Forest 15-25 meters high with high density 175 Forest 15-25 meters high with medium density 349 Forest 15-25 meters high with low 798 Forest < 15 meters high with low density 1100 Scrub 850 Grass, Glades 1076 Outcrop Rock 802 (FBD, 1991)
GETALILI AND MASHONDA VILLAGE FOREST RESERVES (VFRS)
This thesis considered two VFRs, each named after the sub-village within
which it is found: Getalili and Mashonda. The establishment of these two VFRs in
2004 was made possible by the PFM legislated in current Tanzanian forest policy. In
particular, the VFRs (and the CFR described below) are examples of what is
commonly referred to as devolution and which the Tanzanian Forest Act of 2002 refers
to as CBFM. Blomley and Ramadhani (2006) estimate that 1,641,000 hectares of
forest are managed under CBFM in 670 villages across Tanzania. In Barjomot, 2.5%
of the village’s land area is under CBFM.
Blomley and Ramadhani (2006) summarize how CBFM works:
Under CBFM, villagers take full ownership and management responsibility for an area of forest within their jurisdiction and declared by village and district government as a village forest reserve. Following this legal transfer of rights and responsibilities from central to village government, villagers gain the right to harvest timber and forest products, collect and retain forest royalties, undertake patrols (including arresting and fining offenders) and are exempted from local government taxes (known as ‘cess’) on forest products, regulations regarding ‘reserved tree’ species, and are not obliged to remit any part of their royalties to either central or local government. The underlying policy
29
goal for CBFM is to progressively bring large areas of unprotected woodlands and forests under village management and protection through the establishment of village land forest reserves.
CBFM can occur on three types of reserves: Village Land Forest Reserves (commonly
abbreviated as “VFRs”), Community Forest Reserves (CFRs), and Private Forests20
(PFs). Each of these reserves can be declared, and eventually, with the approval of the
central government, gazetted. Barjomot’s two VFRs were declared in 2004. The
VFRs are managed by the community as a whole and rules relating to them must be
approved by the village assembly21.
BARJOMOT BEEKEEPING GROUP COMMUNITY FOREST RESERVE (CFR)
The only CFR in Barjomot at the time of data collection was managed by the 24
member Barjomot Beekeeping Group. The group was given legal responsibility to the
40 acre reserve by the village government in 2000 and in its first few years had
received financial and technical support from the local Parliamentarian Mary Nagu, the
U.S. Peace Corps, Olmontoni Forest Training College in Arusha and the Norwegian
Agency for Development Co-operation (NORAD) (Mr. Karoli, Barjomot Beekeeping
Group secretary, personal communication, June, 24th 2006).
HUDHUMA – VILLAGE COMMUNAL LANDS
Hudhuma is the Swahili word for “service” and village communal lands are
referred to with this one word. The Hudhuma was meant to “serve” any communal and
was a direct product of villagization. The land uses of the Hudhuma were varied and
included a around one hundred hectares of natural woodland, churches, church farms,
teacher’s farms, businesses and landless farmers’ homes and small farm plots.
20 There are no Private Forests of this legal type in Barjomot Village 21 This fact relates, in particular, to Chapter V, Institutional SFM Criteria I: Access and management rules are locally devised.
30
Summary
The physical geography of Barjomot is dominated by an extreme elevation
gradient up to Mt. Hanang on its southern border. At the time of data collection there
were two ethnic groups in Barjomot, Iraqw and Barbaig. The Iraqw were the
demographically, socially, politically and economically dominant group. The
population was decidedly young and Christian. The economy consisted of rain-fed
maize and bean farming with an important livestock component. Thirty six percent of
the village was cultivated and there were nearly as many cows as people. A recent
water project fundamentally changed the village. Brick home construction, vegetable
gardening and tree planting increased significantly as a result.
Forest resources in the village falls into two broad categories: private and
public. Private forest resources are those found on homesteads and farms while public
forest resources are those managed through different forms of PFM. Natural forest
within and outside of the village were of two major types: Dry tropical evergreen
montane forest and Acacia-Commiphora woodland. In the end, Barjomot had come a
long way for a village that did not exist prior to President Nyerere’s villagization
campaign in 1974. These contextual realities form the setting within which this case
study was conducted.
31
CHAPTER III: THEORETICAL ORIENTATION AND DEFINITIONS
This chapter describes the general area of study and theoretical framework
guiding the thesis. Both research objectives are concerned with sustainable
development in general and sustainable forest management (SFM) in particular. To be
sure, adequate forest resources are a result of SFM. In order to understand SFM
through the assessment of forest resource adequacy and the evaluation of local forest
management in Barjomot, this research relies on analytical techniques associated with
social forestry. Social forestry is a broad and multi-disciplinary sub-field of forestry
and this chapter concludes with a literature review of the key definitions and analytical
approaches used to achieve both research objectives.
SFM AND SOCIAL FORESTRY
In a broad sense, both research objectives are related to sustainable rural
development and SFM. Sustainable development and SFM must be defined.
For this study, the following definition of sustainable development is used:
“Sustainable development is development that is economically viable, environmentally
harmless, and socially beneficial and which balances present and future needs”
(Kajembe et al., 2004, p. 80). This definition addresses all of the main aspects of
sustainable development: its economic, environmental and social requirements, as well
as the explicit connection of present behavior and future needs.
The definition of SFM is similar in many ways to the above definition of
sustainable development. According to the International Tropical Timber Organization
(ITTO, 1998), SFM is:
The process of managing forests to achieve one or more clearly specified objectives of management with regard to the production of a continuous flow of desired forest products and services, without undue reduction of its inherent values and future productivity and without undue undesirable effects on the physical and social environment (In Kajembe et al, 2004, p. 80)
32
Most SFM definitions, like the one above, include the ecological, social and economic
aspects of good forest stewardship. Higman et al. (1999) points out that SFM ensures:
(i) an enabling legal and policy framework (e.g. compliance with legislation and
regulation, tenure and use rights and forest organization commitment and policy), (ii)
sustained and optimal production of forest products (e.g. management plan, sustained
yield, protection against illegal activities and optimization of benefits from forests),
(iii) environmental protection (e.g. environmental impact assessment, conservation of
biodiversity and ecological sustainability), and (iv) the welfare of people (e.g.
consultation and participation processes, recognition of rights and culture) (In Kajembe
et al., 2004, p. 80). The ITTO’s and Higman et al.’s two SFM definitions informed the
design of the SFM criteria used in the analysis of Research Objective II22.
SOCIAL FORESTRY
Social forestry is aimed primarily at helping small farmers and the landless
meet their consumption and income needs and is clearly consistent with SFM. The
strategic objectives embedded in the concept of social forestry are as follows:
• To encourage large numbers of people to plant trees;
• To promote the kind of tree growing that will best supply fuelwood, small timber and grasses to the small producers themselves;
• To increase the income and benefits to poor people from tree growing and forest products; and
• To improve environmental protection.
Social forestry is, at its heart, and necessarily, multi-disciplinary. Gelder
(1995) introduces social forestry as the “New Forestry”. He explains that “social
foresters seek to analyze, understand and predict questions of “social provenance”, i.e.
the various interwoven social, cultural, economic, political, historical and other factors
that affect human choice and the use and management of trees and forest resources”.
Indeed, it is a combination of complex factors that influences forest management. 22 See the theoretical orientation on Research Objective II below.
33
Traditional forestry has all too often had a limited perspective. In a telling
example, Kajembe (1994) describes how traditional foresters mislabeled the Gogo, an
ethnic group in central Tanzania, as non-tree planters. They were labeled in this way
because they did not plant exotic species. Instead, over 92% of them actively retained
Faedherbia Albida, a useful indigenous multi-purpose agro-forestry tree species.
Traditional forestry’s less holistic concentration on exotic species led in this example
to a miscalculation of local tree management strategies. Ignorance of indigenous tree
management strategies, let alone the incentive structures underlying them, dooms non-
social (or non- multidisciplinary) foresters to incomplete evaluations of local forest
management.
In order to avoid such misunderstandings, social forestry must consider the
biophysical domain as well as the social, economic and cultural domains. Kajembe
(1994) makes the argument that these inter-related domains should be considered from
the perspective of forest users themselves, “Science should attempt to enter the
farmers’ world of concepts and representations, in order to establish a sound base for
partnership with indigenous knowledge.”(p. 15). More broadly, Thomson (1992)
argues that by focusing on the end users of trees rather than trees and their uses,
foresters will have more success in facilitating the contribution of forestry to rural
development. The author endeavored to accomplish Research Objectives I and II from
a social forester’s viewpoint by synthesizing the social, political, economic and
environmental factors through a perspective informed by indigenous knowledge.
Making the appropriate connections is no simple task. Nzunda (2003, p. 58)
summarizes the complexity of the toolsets required by a multi-disciplinary social
forester:
Evaluation of the condition of a forest requires employing the concepts and measurement techniques of biologists and ecologists. Understanding human behavior needs insights from anthropology and sociology. Examining the creation of and enforcement of rules needs
34
the input of political scientists, while estimating the impact of a forest on household budgets must borrow from the economists’ toolbox.
Nzunda further breaks down multi-disciplinary research into four categories23, one of
which he labels “non-disciplinary”– into which this thesis falls. Non- disciplinary
studies tend to utilize dynamic combinations of analytic tools and are particularly well
suited to exploring new problems. Nzunda (2000) argues that the ideal person for these
often complex studies is “often the creative loner, working on his own” (p. 63). Surely
two years of independent working and living in Barjomot as a Peace Corps volunteer
lends itself well to this multi-disciplinary research approach.
ANALYTICAL APPROACH
QUALITATIVE APPROACH
The analysis for both research objectives depended on the author’s qualitatively
derived conclusions. Significant epistemological philosophical principles justify the
use of qualitative conclusions. First, the author is both a rationalist and an empiricist,
human beings achieve knowledge due to their capacity to reason and from what we are
exposed to (Bernard, 2006, p. 3). Second, both research objectives were best
approached from a humanist perspective in which the truth is decided by human
judgment. Recall, for instance, research objective I. Can the adequacy of local forest
resources provision of goods and services for farmers be discovered by anything other
than human judgment? In other words, the author believed that human agency can
only be understood with human judgment. Empirical observations informed that
judgment.
The nature of the research objectives necessitated a phenomenological and
hermeneutic approach. The study was phenomenological in that the author tried to see
reality (in this case forest resource adequacy and local forest management) through
others’ eyes (farmers in Barjomot) (Bernard, 2006). The hermeneutic aspect of the
23 Nzunda (2003) lists four multi-disciplinary approaches for linking forest resources to institutions: Additive, Integrated, Non-Disciplinary and Synthetic.
35
thesis was the dependence on the interpretation and re-interpretation of texts. These
philosophical principles guided the more specific qualitative analytical approaches
discussed below.
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE I
Introduction
This section provides the theoretical basis for the author’s qualitative analytical
approach to Research Objective I. The aim of Research Objective I was empirical; the
measurement of forest resource adequacy for local farmers. There were two
fundamental questions relating to Research Objective I: (i) How to choose the goods
(fuelwood and building materials) and services (environmental and cultural) to be
assessed? and (ii) What is the operational definition of adequacy? After answering
these questions, a brief note on using qualitative personal perceptions of forest
conditions as a proxy for quantitative mensuration techniques is presented.
GOODS AND SERVICES
There is a nearly limitless list of goods and services derived from the local
forest resource; so how did the author decide which ones were particularly important to
farmers in Barjomot Village? Research Question I: “Do forest resources in Barjomot
Village provide adequate goods (building materials and fuelwood) and services
(environmental and cultural) for local farmers?” began without the limited focus on
building materials, fuelwood and environmental and cultural services. Wary of
western conceptions of conservation which often hold the climax stage of tree growth
as the top priority the author instead focused on “goods and services”, the top
conservation priority for Africans often cited by African researchers (Kajembe, 1994).
A good not valued, or lowly valued, by the local population is less important to study
than highly locally valued goods.
Barjomot’s farmers determined the most important goods and services for them.
Listing local values for goods and services derived from forest resources was relatively
36
easy. On October, 26, 2006 the author asked 6 men and one woman to brainstorm
local uses for trees. In less than ten minutes, and with no prompting, they produced the
following list.
Fuelwood, herding sticks, hoe handles, ax handles, knife handles, spoons, stirring spoons, building materials, furniture, shade, beehives, bee fodder, medicines, water source protection, clean air, bring rains, paper, stop wind, prevent soil erosion, protect the environment, fruit, soil nutrients, fish poisoning, charcoal, cattle fence, farm fence, poison, snake medicine, toothbrushes, livestock fodder, thorns, perfume for export, sculpture, decoration.
Prioritizing which of these goods and services were most important for local
livelihoods was somewhat more difficult and required techniques commonly associated
with grounded theory.
Bernard (1995) describes grounded theory24 as a “set of techniques for: (i)
identifying categories and concepts that emerge from text; and (ii) linking the concepts
into substantive and formal theories” (p. 473). Early memoing (the keeping of running
notes) was used during the field period in an iterative process of inductively allowing
an understanding of relative importance for local goods and services to evolve. Over
the period of a few months, with the help of countless discussions and literature
review25 the author decided to focus on building materials (especially those sourced
from local indigenous hardwoods) and fuelwood as “goods” and environmental (forest
springs and climatic interactions) and cultural (relating to traditional belief systems)
functions of the forest resource as “services”. These specific goods and services
became the aspects of the forest resource measured as adequate or not for local farmers
in Research Objective I.
ADEQUACY
The nature of adequacy in this study referred to the satisfaction of a particular
condition of the local tree resource. Adequacy of the forest resource was a measure of 24 See Chapter IV, Data Analysis 25 See, for instance, Arnold & Dewees’s (1997) “farms, trees & farmers”.
37
the goods and services that farmers receive from local forest resources26. “Adequacy”,
however, is a subjective term and must be defined. Throughout data collection
adequacy was translated using the Swahili verb –tosha. Tosha is defined as (i) to be
enough, be sufficient, suffice and (ii) be adequate (Retrieved December 12, 2007 from:
http://africanlanguages.com/swahili/). Terminology alone is insufficient. The author
also spent substantial time with informants and interviewees explaining the perspective
from which the term – tosha was used.
The author’s perspective on “-tosha” – ‘adequacy’ relates to securing
livelihoods. Securing livelihoods requires the provision of the basics for life through
goods and services: food (relates to the good - fuelwood as used for cooking), water
(relates to the environmental services forest springs, climatic effects), and shelter
(refers to the good - building materials for home construction). Secure livelihoods
require more than just the basics of life; additional income for living expenses such as
school fees and basic medical expenses are also required. Whether the tree resource
provided the basics of life and some additional income was the analytical perspective
guiding the use of the term “adequacy”.
Perceptions of forest conditions as proxy for mensuration
The question of how to assess adequacy remains. Conclusions, basically, were
based on local perceptions of forest conditions. To be sure, the quantity of woody
biomass used per capita for fuelwood per time period and/or the specific species and
quantities of indigenous hardwoods used in home construction could be measured.
However, traditional measurements such as these would not produce a more accurate
measurement of “adequacy” for the village’s complex and dispersed forest resource.
Fortunately, in the absence of clear and objective indicators of adequacy,
perceptions of forest resource conditions by local users and trained foresters offer a
proxy. Using perceptions as a proxy requires that they have a predictable relationship
26 See Chapter II, Barjomot Village, Forest Resources for definition of local forest resources.
38
with objective forest conditions (Poteete & Ostrom, 2002). Varughese (1999) provides
the necessary evidence of predictable relationships between perceptions of forest
conditions and the (more objective and measurable) forest conditions themselves. He
examines the relationship between users’ perceptions of the change in forest conditions
with data about stems per hectare, diameter at breast height, and species richness for
trees, saplings, and shrubs for six forests where forest plot data was twice collected
within a four-year span. For five of the six forests sampled, the users’ perception of
forest change and the forest mensuration data are highly correlated. Varughese notes
that users seem to be most aware of tree density and species richness. Although his
sample is too small to be conclusive, he offers evidence that perceptions do indeed
reflect objective forest conditions.
With Varughese’s suggestion of the correlations between perceptions and
mensuration in mind the author’s analytical approach depended closely on local forest
users’ and professional foresters’ assessments of forest resources.
Qualifying perceptions with practices
In spite of Varughese’s findings, measuring adequacy with perceptions alone
would have been insufficient. Some measurements of active tree management had to
be made for comparison with those perceptions. These quantitative measurements of
private tree management practices are summarized in Tables 11 and A. 2. Quantitative
measurements of public tree management practices related to the areal extent of local
forest reserves. These quantitative measurements inform, alongside perceptions,
conclusions concerning local forest resource adequacy.
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE II
This section provides the theoretical basis upon which Research Objective II’s
data collection, data analysis, presentation of results and conclusions relied. For
review, Research Objective II logically follows Research Objective I. Objective II
evaluated local forest management in order to explain the levels of forest resource
39
adequacy assessed in Research Objective I. Research Objective II asks, “Why do, or
do not, local forest resources provide adequate fuelwood for cooking, building
materials for homes and environmental and cultural services?” Research Objective II
answers this question by determining which aspects of local forest management were
or were not sustainable.
Within the section four key aspects of the analytical approach to Research
Objective II are presented (i) the literature sources for the broad organizational
framework of Research Objective II (ii) the definitions and theoretical basis for the five
levels of analysis: principles, categories, criteria, indicators and verifiers (iii) the
methodology for choosing the study’s specific 11 SFM criteria (iv) the literature
background for each of the 11 SFM criteria is summarized. These four aspects of the
analytical approach for Research Objective II form a reader’s reference for the more
operational data analysis presented in Chapter IV.
Literature review and the analytical model
The theory behind the author’s analytical model is derived from four major
sources: (i) conversations with Professor George C. Kajembe, Head of the Department
of Forest Mensuration and Management at Sokoine University of Agriculture in
Morogoro Tanzania, (ii) Thomson (1992), “A framework for analyzing institutional
incentives in community forestry”, (iii) the Institutional Analysis and Development
(IAD) framework developed at the Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis
at Indiana University and (iv) CIFOR (1999), “The CIFOR Criteria and Indicators
Generic Template. These four sources, but particularly Professor Kajembe are the
main influences behind the basic analytical model presented as Figure 327.
27 EO – (Ostrom, 1990), P&O - (Poteete and Ostrom, 2002), RW – (Wade, 1998), EP – (Author), B&P –
(Baland & Platteau, 1996)
40
Forest Resources Institutions Society Adequacy “Good” governance Livelihood generation Scarcity Conflict Poverty
Figure 3. Analytical model for Research Objective II
II. Leaders and farmers support SFM (AA; B&P; EP)
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE II: EVALUATE LOCAL FOREST
MANAGEMENT IN BARJOMOT VILLAGE
I. Forest management is a primary development strategy (RW; P&O)
I. Physical boundaries of forest reserves are clear (EO)
I. Access and management rules are locally devised (RW; P&O; B&P)
PHYSICAL SFM
CRITERIA
SOCIO-ECONOMIC
SFM CRITERIA
INSTITUTIONAL
SFM CRITERIA
local attributes of these 11 SFM Criteria interact to create incentives, influence strategies and produce
outcomes for…
IV. Rule breakers are easily identified (RW; EO; B&P)
IV. Ease of rule enforcement (RW; EO; B&P)
II. Women are empowered forest managers (Wily et al, 2001; MNRT, 1998)
III. Forest size matches monitor’s technology (RW; P&O)
II. Forest is in good condition, high feasibility for improvement from active management (P&O)
III. High levels of trust between rule makers, enforcers and resource users (P&O; B&P)
III. Harvest restrictions match the regeneration resource (RW; EO)
41
PRINCIPLES AND CATEGORIES
Figure 3 presents the five organizational levels of analysis for Research
Objective II: (i) principles, (ii) categories, (iii) criteria, (iv) indicators and (v) verifiers.
A principle is a fundamental truth that is the basis for reasoning or action (CIFOR,
1999). The author proposed the following principle: criteria and indicators and their
interactions can be used to evaluate local forest management. This principle is the
heart of Research Objective II and is the cumulative result from the review of the four
sources listed in the previous section28.
The singular explanatory principle was broken first into three categories of
SFM criteria: (i) physical, (ii) institutional and (iii) socio-economic. O’Laughlin
provides the motivation for the three categories with his emphasis on the multi-
dimensionality of forest management, “Without considering biophysical feasibility,
forestry objectives may be unrealistic; without economic viability, unimplementable;
without social acceptability, undesirable; and without any one of the three,
unsustainable.” (2004, p. 34). Similar to O’Laughlin, Professor Kajembe (Personal
communication, September, 18th, 2006), Thomson (1992, p. 3) and the IAD framework
all allude to the three categories of criteria considered in this study. Respectively,
Kajembe, Thomson and the IAD framework refer to the author’s category “Physical
SFM Criteria” as “Resources”, “Goods and services” and “Global and Local Physical
Factors”. Using the same sources in the same order the author’s category “Socio-
economic SFM Criteria” relates to the terms “Society”, “Communities” and “Socio-
economic and Demographic Factors”. Again, in the same order, the author’s category
“Institutional SFM Criteria” is alternatively referred to as “Institutions”, “Rules and
institutions” and “Institutional Factors”. These three categories must be defined.
28 According to Floyd (2002) the use of criteria and indicators to assess the sustainability of forest management goes back to 1990, when the ITTO issued guidelines for the sustainable management of natural tropical forests (p. 40). Important approaches to evaluating the sustainability of forest management include: The Helsinki Process, The Montreal Process, The Tarapoto Proposal, The Dry-Zone Africa Process, The Near East Process, The Lepaterique Process
42
• Physical SFM Criteria refers to the biophysical attributes of the local
forest resource. The study’s specific SFM criteria exemplified this
category. These criteria related to the forest’s physical border, health and
spatial extent. As with all categories and criteria they necessarily interact
with different categories and criteria in different ways.
• Institutional SFM Criteria refers to the “commonly understood rules and
norms that stipulate what actions are required permitted, or forbidden” in
relation to local forest resources (Poteete and Ostrom, 2002, p. 5). These
rules and norms can be either formal (constitutions, laws, property rights) or
informal (sanctions, taboos, customs, traditions and codes of conduct). This
category was of particular importance as a growing body of scholarship
recognizes that scientific understandings of change in forest systems
depends on well-grounded theories of the development, evolution,
interaction and consequences of institutions (North, 1990; Poteete and
Ostrom, 2002; Agrawal, 2001; Gibson et al. 1998; Kayambazinthu et al.,
2003; Wily, 2000)
• Socio-economic SFM Criteria refers to the social, economic and political
factors that affect local forest management. At the core of these criteria are,
as Gibson et al. (1998) phrases it:
“the individuals who hold different positions (e.g., members of a local forest user group; forest officials; landowners; elected local, regional, and/or national officials) who must decide upon actions (e.g., what to plant, protect, harvest, monitor, or sanction) that cumulatively affect outcomes in the world (e.g., forest conditions, the distribution of a forest’s benefits and costs)” (p. 9)
Indicators of local forest’s stakeholders, their actions and the outcomes of
their actions are the focus of this group of criteria.
In summary, the analytical framework for Research Objective II is based on one
principle divided into three interacting categories of criteria. The principle is simply
43
the idea that SFM criteria can be utilized to evaluate local forest management. The
three categories of criteria are physical, institutional and socio-economic and each of
these categories refers to a fundamental aspect of human interaction with their
environment.
SFM CRITERIA, INDICATORS AND VERIFIERS
SFM criteria, indicators and verifiers must also be defined. These last three
organizational levels form the operational foundation of the analytic process guiding
the results for Research Objective II. A criterion, as defined by CIFOR is a second
order principle or a standard that a thing is judged by and an “intermediate point where
information provided by indicators and verifiers can be integrated and where an
interpretable assessment crystallizes” (CIFOR, p. 8).
CIFOR’s “criteria” are referred to in this thesis as “SFM criteria”. Attaching
“SFM” to the word “criteria” is a reminder that the criteria considered are conducive to
SFM. SFM criteria in this study, then, are similar to what Ostrom (1990) refers to as
“Design principles associated with long-enduring common property resource
institutions” and what Agrawal (2001, p. 1659) refers to as “Critical enabling
conditions for sustainability on the commons”. This study differs from Ostrom and
Agrawal, and others, in a fundamental way. Instead of focusing just on the commons
(“public forest resources” in this thesis), the author’s SFM Criteria were used to
evaluate local forest management on private forest resources as well (homesteads and
farms).
SFM criteria were analyzed using indicators and verifiers. Indicators are “any
variable or component of the forest ecosystem or management system used to infer the
status of a particular criterion” (CIFOR, p. 8). Indicators do not simply indicate a
result for a particular criterion. Instead they form a series of messages and/ or
information “that require interpretation and cross evaluation in order to inform an
assessment of forest management, social or forest condition” (CIFOR, p. 8). Basically,
44
indicators can be specific data and information (verifiers, see below) and/ or
combinations of verifiers that “inform” the conclusion for a SFM criterion.
Verifiers are any “data or information that enhances the specificity or the ease
of assessment of an indicator” (CIFOR, p. 8). Verifiers are the evidence for the
assessment of an indicator and eventually a criterion. In this study all of the data and
information gathered through all data collection methods are verifiers. How SFM
criteria, indicators and verifiers interacted to produce an evaluation of local forest
resources is described in Chapter IV, Data Analysis.
SELECTION OF SFM CRITERIA
This section describes the author’s method for identifying Research Objective
II’s 11 SFM criteria (See Figure 3) First, Agrawal argues that “generating lists of
conditions under which commons are governed sustainably is a flawed and impossibly
costly research task” (2001, p. 1649). In contrast, and in the same paper, he goes on to
both provide a list of 33 “Critical enabling conditions for sustainability in the
commons”29 and to argue that his list can be used to design appropriate research on the
sustainability of common property management. Similar to Agrawal’s list of
conditions is CIFOR’s (1999) efforts to provide a comprehensive set of criteria and
indicators for SFM. The author utilized these two sources, as well as Gibson et al.
(1998), Shemwetta et al. (2004) and Thomson (1992) to create a initial list of SFM
criteria for the public lands in the study area.
In addition to this initial list of SFM criteria for public lands, the author
designed SFM criteria for private lands. The SFM criteria for private lands were based
on the author’s personal experience as a Community Based Natural Resources
Management (CBNRM) facilitator and researcher working with professional foresters
(Hanang District Catchment Forest Officer, District Forest Officer, District Beekeeping
Officer and the Gitting Ward Forester) with extensive experience in the case study
29 Agrawal’s list is sourced from Wade (1988), Baland and Platteau (1996) and Ostrom (1990)
45
setting. In the end, the author’s intitial list included 42 SFM criteria and the associated
verifiers used in the assessment of each criterion’s “presence” or “absence” (see Tables
A. 3, A. 4 and A. 5)
These 42 SFM criteria were then roughly evaluated using the author’s decision
matrix to determine which SFM criteria most effectively evaluate local forest
management in Barjomot Village (Table A. 6.). The decision matrix was based on the
comparison of two judgments: (i) do associated verifiers suggest that a particular SFM
criterion is present in Barjomot? and (ii) does the author’s experience suggest that a
particular SFM criterion is important to the evaluation of local forest management in
Barjomot? Both of these subjective judgments were made using a three tiered rank
ordering system; the ranks given were low (l), medium (m) or high (h) for both
presence and importance. This initial evaluation determined the final 11 SFM fully
evaluated in the study.
The final 11 SFM criteria, while all “highly” important, were a mixture of
rough assessments of high, medium and low presence. Formally analyzing the
presence or absence of verifiers relating to these final 11 SFM criteria is Research
Objective II. Which verifiers and indicators were analyzed and how they were
analyzed for each of the 11 SFM criteria is described in Chapter IV, Data Analysis.
SCHOLARLY BASIS OF THE 11 SFM CRITERIA
Each SFM criteria relates to different combinations of literature and the
author’s experiences. Three of the most commonly cited sources for SFM criteria were
Baland & Platteau (1996), Ostrom (1990) and Wade (1988). Relevant aspects of these
three authors’ works are summarized by Agrawal (2001). Below, the author describes
how the literature informed the customized SFM criteria and indicators actually used in
the analysis.
46
Physical SFM Criterion I: Physical boundaries of forest reserves are clear
Clear boundaries are one of Ostrom’s (1990) ‘design principles’ illustrated by
long-enduring CPR (Common Property Resource) institutions. Although Ostrom
(1990) considers both the physical and social aspects of reserve boundaries, this study
is confined to considering the physical boundaries element of Ostrom’s design
principle. Physical forest reserve boundary clarity facilitates SFM because forest
management rules relate to a specific and well-defined resource unit. Where, for
instance, can farmers graze or harvest fuelwood? An unclear physical boundary
increases the likelihood unsustainable and illegal practices because the border is
constantly changing. The related indicator for this criterion is “physical boundaries are
visibly clear”. The assessment of this criterion depended on visual assessment of the
physical clarity of the forest reserve boundaries.
Physical SFM Criterion II: Forest is in good condition, high feasibility for
improvement from active management
Poteete and Ostrom (2002) identify the possibility for feasible improvement as
a key physical attribute of forest resources that increases the likelihood of SFM,
particularly community-based SFM. They argue that it is important that, “The forest is
not at a point of deterioration such that it is useless to organize or so underutilized that
little advantage results from organizing”(p. 10). This criterion was “present” if the
forest was capable of obvious natural regeneration in the span of a human generation.
Physical SFM Criterion III: Forest size matches monitor’s technology
This SFM criterion evaluates the relationship between forest size and monitors
technology and was inspired by Wade (1988), who determined that the size of a forest
needs to match the capabilities (technology) of monitors. Here, “technology” refers to
tools needed for monitoring of the forest reserves in Barjomot Village and includes
items such as, but not limited to: boots, cell phones, gas, motorcycles and machetes.
These technologies are simple but effective and monitoring (and therefore SFM) is
47
impossible without them. This criterion was “present” if the tools listed above were
available to forest monitors.
Socio-Economic SFM Criterion I: Forest resources are primary development strategy
The importance of the relationship between forest resources, livelihood
strategies and SFM has been articulated by Wade (1988) and Poteete and Ostrom
(2002). Poteete and Ostrom (2002) consider the extent to which the forest resource is
“salient” to users’ livelihoods – or, in other words, the extent to which users depend on
the forest for a major portion of their livelihood. Wade (1988) argues that – in
Agrawal’s (2001) terminology – high levels of dependence by group members on
resource systems are one of the critical enabling conditions for sustainability in the
commons. This study took the above SFM conditions for the commons and applied
them to private lands as well.
The salience of forest resources for users’ livelihoods in Barjomot was obvious.
All of the farmers in the village depended on locally source fuelwood, building
materials and environmental services (forest springs). Less clear, however, was the
relative importance of the management of forest resources for development. Hence,
this study focused on the development aspect of forest resource/ livelihoods salience.
Altogether, if forest management was an important development strategy, a sort of
second level livelihood strategy, then SFM was more likely. This criterion was
“present” if both development policy and farmers’ development strategies highly
valued forest management.
Socio-Economic SFM Criterion II: Leaders and farmers support SFM
Socio economic SFM Criterion II was another composite criterion from
multiple sources. At the leadership level, or, for Agrawal, (2001, p. 1659) the
“external environment” are “supportive external sanctioning institutions”. The
satisfaction of this aspect of the criterion was based on whether or not national, district
and village level leaders’ rhetoric was supportive of SFM.
48
Considering the ethics of farmers required the combination of Baland and
Plateau’s (1996) “shared norms” and Poteete and Ostrom’s (2002) “common
understanding” of forest management. For Poteete and Ostrom a “common
understanding” is when “users have a shared image of the forest and how their actions
affect each other and the resource” (2002, p. 10). The “shared image” considered by
the author is one in which local farmers place high value on the achievement of SFM.
Leaders and farmers want to maximize the ecological, social and economic
benefits of forest resources. Unfortunately, as measured in Research Objective I,
fuelwood, building materials and environmental services were not adequately provided
for by the local forest resource. This scarcity was not due to a desire, or an ethic,
which values scarcity. Instead, as was discussed in Socio-economic SFM Criterion I,
agricultural conversion might dominate the village development paradigm. This SFM
criterion took Socio-economic SFM Criterion I one step further. Why, or why not, was
agriculture the dominant development paradigm? Might it have been because the
nature of leaders’ and farmers’ environmental ethics devalued forest management
generally, and in so doing failed to achieve SFM?
Generally, policy follows rhetoric (although not always and certainly not
quickly) and action follows policy. This belief motivated the author’s dependence on
rhetoric as a measure of ethics. The rhetoric of farmers was given greater value than
that of leaders. Farmers were the forest management practitioners; their rhetoric was
one to two degrees closer to the management of the resource itself. This criterion was
“present” if leaders and farmers could be characterized as espousing environmental
ethics consistent with SFM.
Socio-Economic SFM Criterion III: High levels of trust between rule makers, monitors
and resource users
SFM Criterion III was a combination of criteria attributable to Baland and
Platteau (1996) and Poteete and Ostrom (2002). They focus on the importance of the
accountability of forest monitors and other officials to users. Indeed, trust is a
49
condition of accountability, and vice versa. Trust needs to exist not only among
monitors, officials and users, but also among users themselves. Poteete and Ostrom
(2002, p. 10) make trust the second condition for long-enduring CPRs: “Users trust
each other to keep promises and relate to one another with reciprocity”. Therefore,
accountability, promises and reciprocity combine to form trust. Because the judgment
of trust is, perhaps, an impossible task, this thesis aimed to evaluate trust through the
prism of corruption. Corruption formed a proxy for trust because corruption damages
accountability, promises and reciprocity. Low levels of corruption indicate high levels
of trust. This criterion was “present” only where low levels of corruption were
exhibited in the village.
Socio-Economic SFM Criterion IV: Rule breakers are easily identified
Wade (1988), Ostrom (1990) and Baland and Platteau (1996) all note the
importance of easy rule breaker identification for sustainability in managing the
commons. For the purposes of this study, ease of rule breaker identification was seen
as a criterion for SFM across the village; both on public and private lands. It is crucial
for rule enforcers concerned with the NFR, VFR and CFR to be able to identify rule
breakers as well as for property owners to identify trespassers stealing forest products
from their own property. This criterion was “present” if illegal fuelwood and building
materials harvesters as well as consumers of illegally harvested products were readily
identifiable.
Institutional SFM Criterion I: Forest access and management rules are locally devised
Wade (1988), Baland and Platteau (1996) and Poteete and Ostrom (2002)
devised this SFM criterion, which measured the level of community participation in
rule establishment. The reasoning behind the criterion is essentially the whole body of
50
scholarship behind the devolution of forest management to villages in Tanzania30 Wily
et al. (2001) sum up the motivation behind devolution well:31
Experience in the region to date suggests that when granted control and especially ownership over a forest, local people find it in their own interests to rigorously retain the area as forested, to the benefit to all members of the community, rather than to the sub-group which might gain from its conversion to farms. This reaches into the heart of the dynamics which sustain commons, and which depend ultimately upon acknowledgement of community ownership.
This criterion was “present” if (i) land law was conducive to local forest access and
management derivation and (ii) there was external and internal support and
participation in forest rule making.
Institutional SFM Criterion II: Women are empowered forest managers
This SFM criterion is especially prevalent in literature concerning the
devolution of forest management (e.g. Wily et al. (2001) and in Tanzanian forest policy
itself (MNRT, 1998; MNRT, 2002). To be sure, without empowering women forest
management cannot be said to have devolved to the lowest local level. This criterion
was “present” if formal and informal institutions empower women’s roles as managers
of forest resources on private and public lands.
Institutional SFM Criterion III: Harvest restrictions match the regeneration of
resource.
This SFM criterion was generated by Wade (1988) and Ostrom (1990) and is
directly related to the principle of sustainable yield32. This criterion was “present” if,
according to the author’s judgment, restrictions on harvests match the regeneration of
resources. Analysis of the criterion was restricted to the regeneration of woody
biomass. Other potential aspects of sustainable yield such as soil health and bio-
30 Refer to Chapter II, Tanzania, History for the ironic juxtaposition of those most closely dependent upon the resource having the most distant tenure relationship. 31 See also Agrawal, (2001), Berkes, (1989), Ostrom, (1990), Agrawal, (1999) and Bromley, (1992) 32 See Smith et al. (1997) for extensive discussions on the principle of sustainable yield
51
diversity were not considered. Furthermore, the criterion was restricted to the forest
reserves and communal lands within the village.
Institutional SFM Criterion IV: Ease of rule enforcement
Baland and Platteau (1996), Wade (1988) and Ostrom (1990) are all credited
with this criterion. This criterion was “present” if rules relating to subsistence level
illegal harvesting and illegal logging were easily enforced.
52
CHAPTER IV: METHODS
CASE STUDY RESEARCH
This thesis can be classified as an explanatory case study. Case study research
is characterized by in-depth investigation of an issue at a specific instance and location
(Retrieved December 12th, 2007 from
http://www.hd.gov/HDdotGov/detail.jsp?ContentID=48). This thesis is consistent with
HD.gov’s basic definition. There are two issues, expressed as paraphrases of Research
Objectives I and II respectively: (i) ‘Do local forest resources provide adequate goods
and services?’ and (ii) ‘What factors influence the adequacy of local forest resources?’
Both of these questions were subjected by the author to an in-depth investigation at a
specific time (2005-2007) and in a specific location,Barjomot Village, Tanzania.
The second research objective especially, the analytic component of the
research, made this an “explanatory” case study. The second objective was
explanatory in that it identified causal mechanisms relating to a particular phenomenon
in a single case study context. Through an iterative process the thesis built an
explanation (through evaluation of local forest management – Research Objective II) of
why goods and services derived from the forest reflect a certain level of adequacy –
Research Objective I.
The specific explanatory case study data collection and analysis methods
utilized are discussed below. As a whole this chapter, along with the theoretical
background in the previous chapter, shows how the author’s methodology was an “all-
encompassing method – covering the logic of design, data collection techniques, and
specific approaches to data analysis” (Yin, 2003, p. 14)
53
LIMITATIONS
The study’s important limitations are organized according to Yin’s (2003) four
tests for judging the quality of research designs: (i) construct validity, (ii) internal
validity, (iii) external validity and (iv) reliability.
Construct validity, or, the “correct operational procedures for the concepts
being studied” (Yin, 2003, p. 34), are the source of one important limitation. A likely
criticism of the thesis is that subjective judgments were used to design the sample.
Indeed the author focused more on gathering the information necessary for
accomplishing Research Objectives I and II than on developing a random sampling
scheme. The confounding factors of the small and purposive interview sample are
simply too many to allow for meaningful statistical analyses.
Knowing that subjectively chosen data sources would limit statistical analyses
the author strove to use multiple data sources and establish clear chains of evidence.
Multiple data sources are shown in the “information sources” columns of Tables 5 and
6. A clear chain of evidence is proven by the presentation of direct quotes from
informants and interview respondents. Ensuring this clear chain of evidence involved a
complex array of logistical considerations, culminating in the construction of a solar
system for computer transcription – the first electricity in the village.
Internal validity, the establishment of causal relationships, is the source of
another fundamental limitation – unaccounted spurious effects. Analysis necessarily
sufferred from the spurious effects of omitted variable bias and multiple causation33.
In other words, respectively, the thesis missed factors and interaction effects between
factors. These limitations were due to the fact that the research objectives themselves
were inherently broad.
With the spurious effects of unknown missing factors and interactions how can
inferences be accurate? Mindful of this limitation, the author strove to (i) constantly
33 See Agrawal (2001)
54
refer to the original purpose of inquiry, namely – Research Objectives I and II – in both
data collection and analysis and (ii) formally store the entire array of data collected.
External validity poses yet another limitation. Although the research findings
can be generalized to other Tanzanian villages, the theory upon which the thesis relies
was singular. For instance, the methodology was grounded in four analytical
methodologies, each established for differing purposes. The singularity of the study’s
analytical approach decreases the comparability of the author’s findings with other
similarly motivated studies.
A final limitation relates to the reliability of the study. Reliability is achieved if
a later researcher, following the same methods as the earlier researcher, would arrive at
the same findings and conclusions (Yin, 2003). Although a later researcher would
likely reach the same or similar conclusions, the intermediate findings and the written
report would significantly differ due to their necessarily individual experience; going
through a Peace Corps Master’s International (PCMI) program requires nothing if not
flexibility!
DATA COLLECTION
Data collection methods were used simultaneously for both research objectives.
All original data was collected during the author’s U.S. Peace Corps service in
Barjomot Village from August 2005 to June 2007. Qualitative and quantitative data
and information (verifiers) was gathered through informants, interviews, participant
observation and literature review. Spatial verifiers were gathered with a “Garmin etrex
LegendTM” handheld GPS unit. Qualitative, mainly textual, verifiers in the form of
transcribed notes and quotes were combined by the author into a master transcript.
Quantitative verifiers, including demographics and a tree inventory, were entered into a
series of Microsoft ExcelTM spreadsheets. Below, the nature of and contribution from
each of the study’s verifier sources is presented
55
HUMAN SUBJECTS REVIEW AND LANGUAGE
In order to safeguard the rights and welfare of human subjects the University of
Washington requires every study to complete a human subject review process. This
study completed the process and was characterized as posing minimal risk.
Respondents were subjected to a level of risk equivalent to what would be encountered
in daily life. There were two important requirements associated with this review: (i)
protect all informants’ identities through the use of pseudonyms and (ii) record all
interviews with handwritten notes.
All of the verifier collection was conducted in person in Tanzania’s official
language Swahili, in which the author had a near-fluent ability. In cases where a
respondent did not speak Swahili, the author’s counterpart served as a translator from
the local language, Iraqw, back to Swahili.
INFORMANTS
Hand written notes taken during conversations with informants contributed to
both the introductory overview of the case study as well as the in-depth cultural and
political information required for the analysis of both research objectives. In terms of
analysis, verifiers sourced from informants contributed to the analysis of 11 of the
study’s 15 codes34; more than any other source.
There are two types of informants: key and specialized. Key informants are
people who know a lot about their culture and are willing to share their knowledge with
the researcher. Good key informants serve as “gatekeepers” in that they are able to
identify, introduce, and sometimes gain the trust of, other informants or individuals and
groups within the subject community who are critical to developing an understanding
of the research and its aims. Key informants often develop lifelong relationships with
34 See Tables 5 and 6
56
the researcher, as was unquestionably the case in this study. Such a close relationship
allows the researcher to train the informant, as advocated by Pelto and Pelto (1978), “to
conceptualize cultural data in the (researcher’s) frame of reference.” (p. 72). This
study had one central key informant, whose pseudonym is Ailoi. Ailoi was an
extraordinary observer, storyteller and an ideal key informant.
The study also depended on five specialized informants. Specialized
informants have particular competence in some cultural domain (Bernard, 1995). Due
to human subjects review requirements the identity of the specialized informants must
be protected. However, the specialized informants were all village and district level
government officials. Some were professional foresters with over 50 years of
cumulative experience working with communities of farmers and forest resources in
Hanang District. The study’s specialized informant’s pseudonyms are: Mr. Sahati,
Ted, Mr. Qarbu, Mr. Sei and Mr. Muri.
INTERVIEWS
The following section describes the sampling and the questionnaire (Table A.
1) and open-ended components of the author’s 16 semi-structured interviews and tree
inventories. Although half of the interviews required numerous meetings in various
locations it can be said that nine of the interviews were mostly completed in the
author’s home. The remaining seven were completed either at the respondent’s home
or some neutral location (e.g. under a tree or in a tea shop).
Interviews had three basic types of questions: (i) classification, (ii) factual and
(iii) opinion. Because the verifiers gathered through the interviews were a source of
direct quotes and generally “informed” qualitative conclusions, it is useful to describe
the nature of the three different types of questions asked. Classification questions were
generally demographic; e.g. gender, education level, etc.
Factual questions refer to the goal of the question, ‘facts’. In this study typical
factual questions were, “When did you receive title to your land?” and/or “How many
57
acres, cows, goats etc. do you own?” Although these questions were theoretically
straightforward, they were fraught with problems. Error may have derived from
respondent’s vague recollection, wishful thinking, or even purposeful lying. Responses
were therefore triangulated to the extent possible by the researcher – both during the
interview, through active personal checking of number, types, and condition of assets,
and by verifying responses with other informants.
Factual questions in the questionnaire also contributed to a comprehensive
record of 14 of the 16 respondents privately owned tree resource, e.g. those trees that
were either planted or retained on the farmer’s homestead or farm. Respondents all
named their trees in either one of two local languages: Iraqw and Barbaig, or the
national language, Swahili. Local names were translated into Latin with the help of
three books (Mbuya et al., 1994; Ruffo et al., 2002; and Westman, 1990). Ailoi
confirmed Latin translations with the author using botanical drawings in the books.
Tree inventory key findings and Latin translations of local language tree names are
presented as Table A. 2.
Both classification and factual questions served to ensure that the purposive
sample was met. The sample frame was all farmers in Barjomot, which included all of
the 2,899 residents living within the administrative boundaries of Barjomot Village
(Mr. Sahati, personal communication, September 28, 2006). Respondents were
‘purposefully’ selected from within this sample frame to represent both genders, three
wealth classes (poor, middle income and rich), three age classes (young, middle aged
and old) and from within different social strata (low to high community involvement).
Table A. 1 shows that local farmers from each of these demographic and socio-
economic categories did indeed contribute to the study. Although all of the author’s
categories of interest were represented in the purposive sample he believes that the
respondents did have a bias towards SFM. Much effort was made to reach people
outside of the author’s social circles but, in the end, the people who could give the
most legible and comprehensive information tended to be farmers with whom the
58
author was associated. Associates of the author could be construed as problematic
because he was locally known as a “Mwanamazingira” – ‘Environmentalist’.
Opinion questions sought to obtain the interviewee’s subjective opinion on a
specific topic. While there is a correct answer to a factual question – for instance, the
number of cows a farmer owns can only have one correct and finite answer in reality –
there is no “correct” answer to an opinion question such as, “Do local forest resources
provide adequate related goods and services for your family?” or “Are access and
management rules locally devised?” Opinion questions were generally asked after the
questionnaire was completed in an open-ended format. This second component aimed
to capture local farmers’ analyses of the research objectives.
For Research Objective I, opinions on the adequacy of goods and services
derived from the local forest resource were collected. Opinions of the adequacy of
fuelwood were particularly asked of female respondents while opinions on the
adequacy of building materials were particularly asked of male respondents.
For Research Objective II opinions related to the three categories of SFM
Criteria and the 11 criteria (and others) were collected. In general, the qualitative
conclusions presented in Chapter V reflect the conclusions of the respondents
themselves. Accurately capturing local farmers’ (and informants) opinions of
adequacy and local forest management is the thesis’s most stringent validity test.
PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION
The third data collection method, which depends closely on rapport, was
participant observation. Participant observation provided much of the expertise upon
which the author relied to “inform” qualitative conclusions.
In practice, participant observation is a combination of constant observation of
research subjects and the environment in which they interact, documented by note
taking and transcription. Note taking of this type was completed on a near daily basis
for the duration of the author’s 22 month field period.
59
Bernard (1995, p. 344) describes participant observation as “establishing
rapport in a new community; learning to act so that people go about their business as
usual when you show up… and removing yourself every day from cultural immersion
so you can intellectualize what you’ve learned, put it into perspective, and write about
it convincingly”. Achieving this consistently allows the researcher to become a data
gathering tool.
Participant observation also helps a researcher gather high quality data. As a
member of the community, the participant observer reduces the problem of “reactivity”
– people acting differently because they know they are being studied. The researcher
becomes “ordinary” and people are not consciously aware of being studied. A
researcher immersed in a culture is able to better understand what questions to ask and
how to ask them more clearly. The participant observer’s understanding of and
acceptance in a culture adds to the validity of his observations (Bernard, 1995).
Data collection as a participant observer for this study came in many forms.
Throughout the 22 month field period, informal interviews were part of participant
observation. The author spoke with countless farmers, teachers, politicians, neighbors
on buses and church groups in order to gain perspective on local forest management.
More formal participant observation was conducted at a variety of meetings attended
and facilitated by the researcher in his dual role as a Community Based Natural
Resource Management (CBNRM) facilitator. Meetings that were significant sources of
data include: Hadharas (village assembly meetings – six included in the analysis),
village government meetings (especially those with the Village Executive Officer and
Primary School Headmaster) and various project meetings (held in conjunction with
Heifer Project International (two meetings), Adventist Development Relief Agency
(ADRA), Tanzanian Social Action Fund (TASAF) and those associated with all of the
six Peace Corps projects completed by the researcher.
Finally, participant observation verifiers were also gathered using Participatory
Rural Appraisal (PRA) methods learned in Peace Corps training and from reading
60
Chambers (1995). PRA methods contributing data to this thesis’s analysis include:
pair-wise ranking, transect walks and village mapping.
SPATIAL DATA AND LITERATURE REVIEW
The author used a “Garmin etrex LegendTM” handheld GPS unit to record the
spatial relationships among forest resources, forest users, monitors and rule makers and
to determine the areal extent of the forest reserves within Barjomot. These data had
particular importance for Research Objective II’s Physical SFM Criterion III and
Institutional SFM Criterion III.
Literature review contributing directly to the author’s master transcript included
the JMA village by-laws (Hanang District Government, 2003). Texts from these by-
laws informed the author’s expertise generally and were specifically relevant to
Institutional SFM Criterion II.
61
DATA ANALYSIS
The second half of Chapter IV presents the data analysis methods for the
confirmatory stage of the research. The results of which are presented in Chapter V.
GROUNDED THEORY AND CONTENT ANALYSIS
All analysis depended on a combination of induction (empirical observation)
and deduction (reason). Induction was used to confirm ideas and link verifiers to
explanations of how phenomena work. This dominant analytical method shared
processes commonly associated with grounded theory. Grounded theory was
constantly used to read transcripts, identify analytical categories/themes, pull data from
these categories together, think about how categories are linked, use relations among
categories to build theoretical models (Bernard, 1995, p. 492). Grounded theory also
helped to “ground” the conclusions in the data as well as to suggest the use of direct
quotes in the presentation of results.
The study’s content analysis, although also dependent on induction, had aspects
of deduction. Deduction, in the form of deductive coding refers especially to the
systematic application of specific codes to a corpus of texts (Bernard, 1995). In this
study the corpus of texts was the master transcript. There were four codes used in the
analysis of Research Objective I: (i) fuelwood, (ii) building materials, (iii)
environmental services and (iv) cultural services. There were 11 major codes used in
the analysis of Research Objective II (See Figure 3). Verifiers for the 11 SFM criteria/
codes were further coded into 26 indicators. Verifiers informed the directionality of
indicators, which together informed the conclusions for the SFM criteria. This coding
scheme was the operational core of the data analysis35.
Conclusions are based on systematic consideration of verifiers coded to the four
codes for Research Objective I and 11 codes (broken into 26 indicators) for Research 35 Coding was accomplished with a variety of computer software, most notably Brainstorm TM.
Brainstorm is a mind-mapping program utilized to create three dimensional outlines. Microsoft Excel and Word were also used.
62
Objective II. The indicators for both Research Objectives came directly from the
theoretical background presented in Chapter III. In terms of Research Objective I, the
indicators relate specifically to the definitions of “adequacy”, “fuelwood”, “building
materials”, “environmental services” and “cultural services”. Research Objective II’s
indicators’ scholarly basis is presented at the end of Chapter III.
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE I
Table 5 summarizes codes, indicators and verifier sources for Research
Objective I.
Table 5. Codes, indicators and verifier sources for Research Objective I.
Forest resource goods and services Indicators
Verifier source(s) used in analysis36
Fuelwood Locally sourced fuelwood adequately provides for the cooking needs of local farmers.
1, 2, 5
Building materials Locally sourced indigenous hardwoods adequately provide for the home building needs of local farmers
2, 5
Environmental services
Local forest resources provide adequate climatic effects and forest spring water for local farmers.
1, 5
Cultural services Local forest resources provide adequate opportunities for farmers to practice their traditional belief systems
1, 2, 5
As Table 5 shows, there were four major codes utilized in the analysis of Research
Objective I. The second column is “indicators”. These indicators present the
analysis’s logic test. Although they can never really be “true” or “false” they were
tested as such. If verifiers indicated that the statement was true, the local forest
36 1. Informant(s); 2. Interview(s); 3. Tree inventory spreadsheet (analysis and Latin tree names); 4. Demographic data spreadsheet; 5. Participant observation; 6. Literature review; 7. GPS.
63
resource was concluded to have adequately provided the related good or service for
farmers. If verifiers indicated that the statement was false, then the local forest
resource was too scarce to adequately provide the related good or service for farmers.
There were three possible outcomes: (i) adequate, (ii) ambiguous or (iii) scarce. All of
these findings are discussed and presented in Chapter V.
64
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE II
Table 6 summarizes the SFM Criteria and verifier sources for Research
Objective II.
Table 6. SFM Criteria and verifier sources for Research Objective II.
Category SFM Criteria Verifier source(s) used in analysis37
Phys
ical
I Physical boundaries of forest reserves are clear 5, 6, 7
II Forest is in good condition, high feasibility for improvement from active management
1, 2, 3, 6, 7
III Forest size matches monitors’ technology. 1, 5, 7
Soci
o-ec
onom
ic
I Forest management is a primary development strategy
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
II Leaders and farmers support SFM 1, 2, 5, 6
III High levels of trust between rule makers, monitors and resource users
1, 2, 3, 5, 6
IV Rule breakers are easily identified 1, 3 5, 6
Inst
itutio
nal
I Forest access and management rules are locally devised.
1, 2, 6
II Women are empowered forest managers 2, 3, 4, 6
III Harvest restrictions match regeneration of resource
2, 3, 6, 7
IV Forest management rules are easily enforced. 1, 2, 3, 5
37 1. Informant(s); 2. Interview(s); 3. Tree inventory spreadsheet (analysis and Latin tree names); 4. Demographic data spreadsheet; 5. Participant observation; 6. Literature review; 7. GPS.
65
As Table 6 shows, there were 11 major codes used in the analysis for Research
Objective II. These codes are synonymous with the SFM criteria and each criterion has
indicators. There are a total of 26 indicators, all of which are listed in the beginning of
each of the three categories (see Tables 9, 10 and 12) of results. Verifiers were
organized into these primary codes (SFM Criteria) and secondary codes (Indicators).
Conclusions for “Indicators” are “1st level” results. First level results were combined
to inform “2nd level” results. Second level results are conclusions for each criterion.
Second level results combined to inform the conclusion for each of the three categories.
This hierarchical analysis method systematically evaluated the sustainability of the
local forest management system – Research Objective II.
Indicators, criteria and categories for Research Objective II were analyzed in the
same way as indicators for Research Objective I. However, instead of conclusions
ranging from “adequate”, “ambiguous” and “scarce”, Research Objective II’s indicator,
criteria and category conclusions had the following, different, possible outcomes: (i)
present (ii) absent or (iii) ambiguous. The operational definitions for these outcomes
are presented below:
• Present: If verifiers suggested that an indicator (1st level result), criterion
(2nd level result) or category (Category result) was considered to have been
met - was consistent with SFM – then the associated conclusion was
“present”. A “present” conclusion signifies that the related aspect of the
local forest management system was indeed sustainable; that aspect
“partially explains” forest resource adequacy as measured in Research
Objective I.
• Absent: If verifiers suggested that an indicator, criterion or category was
determined not to have been met – was inconsistent with SFM – then the
associated conclusion was “absent”. An “absent” conclusion signifies that
the related aspect of the local forest management system was unsustainable;
66
it “partially explains” forest resource scarcity as measured in Research
Objective I.
• Ambiguous: An ambiguous result was caused by insufficient or
contradictory verifiers.
Conclusions for criteria are complex. All scores of “present” or “absent” are not equal.
Two “presents” are not necessarily more than one “absent”. Using 1st and 2nd level
results to make composite results required another level of qualitative analysis. This
other level of analysis was a qualitative weighting scheme based on the author’s
contextual expertise of the relative importance of each indicator and criterion.
INTERACTION EFFECTS
Part of the complexity of conclusions for SFM criteria relates to unavoidable
interaction effects. Each criterion interacts with different sets of criteria in different
ways. Interaction effects, in essence, became verifiers to be coded. This is best
described with an example. Take, for instance, a farmer who argued that, although
he/she values SFM (Socio-economic SFM Criterion II), forest resources are not their
primary development strategy (Socio-economic SFM Criterion I). An interaction of
this type would be coded like any other verifier; the statement(s) inform conclusions
for each related indicator. That said there were significant limitations, especially in
regards to the systematic analysis of interaction effects. Key interaction effects among
SFM criteria are synthesized in Chapter VI.
67
CHAPTER V: RESULTS
All of the results are presented with the same basic organizational pattern. The
introductions to both Research Objective sections include a table of the major findings.
These tables summarize conclusions for the four indicators and 11 criteria used in the
analysis of Research Objectives I and II respectively.
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE I: ASSESS LOCAL FOREST RESOURCE ADEQUACY
Research Objective I’s results are presented in this first half of Chapter V. For
review, Research Objective I was made operational through Research Question I: Do
forest resources in Barjomot Village provide adequate goods (fuelwood and building
materials) and services (environmental and cultural) for local farmers?
SUMMARY OF RESULTS FOR RESEARCH OBJECTIVE I
Table 7. Summary of results for Research Objective I
Forest resource goods and services
Indicators Level of adequacy
Fuelwood Local forest resources provide adequate fuelwood for farmers cooking needs.
Ambiguous
Building Materials Local forest resources provide adequate building materials for local farmers
Inadequate
Environmental Services
Local forest resources provide adequate climatic effects and forest spring water for local farmers.
Inadequate
Cultural Services Local forest resources provide adequate opportunities for farmers to practice their traditional belief systems
Adequate
Different geographical areas within the village and different goods and services
all were perceived to have different levels of adequacy. However, local farmers’,
foresters’ and political leaders’ answer to the basic question of whether or not goods
and services were adequate provided for by the local forest resource was essentially,
68
“no, but…” In other words, local forest resources were not adequate, but scarcity had
really only begun to be felt in the previous 5 - 7 years.
The transitional status of forest resource adequacy in Barjomot was best
exemplified by the fuelwood situation. The provision of fuelwood from local forest
resources was neither adequate nor scarce, hence, the “ambiguous” conclusion.
Building materials and environmental services for local farmers, on the other hand,
were inadequately provided for. In particular, indigenous hardwoods for traditional
home construction were essentially gone; they must either be illegally harvested from
within the adjacent NFR or from Qao, 15 kilometers away. Environmental services
were scarce because local leaders and farmers viewed forest springs and climatic
effects from the NFR as significantly lower than historical norms. Cultural services
(e.g. sacred groves and sacrifices at the base of Fig trees) were adequately provided for,
although this may simply have been due to the fact that most farmers no longer
practiced traditional beliefs.
The following pages present key the verifiers for the qualitative conclusions
summarized above.
FUELWOOD: AMBIGUOUS
Locally sourced fuelwood was not fully adequate for local cooking needs, but,
neither was it scarce. This ambiguous conclusion results from complex and differing
perceptions across geographic and socio-economic classes. In sum, fuelwood in
Barjomot Village was semi-adequate; there was enough for peoples’ needs as long as
they utilized adaptive strategies.
Barjomot can accurately be placed between Gitting Village and Birsima Village
on a fuelwood adequacy scale. First, Barjomot has yet to experience the extreme
scarcity that prompted significant tree planting in Gitting. In the 1970s Gitting was
devoid of trees; according to Mr. Qarbu and Padre Magnus, a German Priest who has
lived in Gitting Village for 29 years. Since that time, however, there have been massive
69
tree planting efforts. At the time of study those tree planting efforts had made progress
towards addressing fuelwood needs; Gitting was full of exotic trees, mostly Grevilea
robusta and Eucalyptus sp. The geographic center was forest-like in comparison to the
surrounding farms. In spite of these tree planting efforts people in Gitting still have to
‘burn alternative fuels very often.’ Their dependency on using corn and sunflower
stalks to supplement their woody biomass for fuel was evidence that they still suffered
from a scarcity of tree based fuelwood. Second, Birsima (adjacent and west of
Barjomot), unlike Gitting or Barjomot, was home to a sizable natural, if degraded,
Acacia-Commiphora woodland. Birsima’s woodland (approximately 2.5 kilometers
from the center of Barjomot) was the source for the $6 wagon loads (approximately 2
cubic meters) of fuelwood available in Barjomot. These wagon loads were relatively
rare, only 7 of the 16 respondents reported ever being able to purchase their fuelwood
in this way. Still, their source shows that Birsima has more fuelwood than Barjomot.
An informant and several local farmers also verified the author’s ambiguous
judgment for fuelwood adequacy. Although the responses were ambiguous they
generally suggested a significant fuelwood scarcity situation. To the question, “Miti
inatosha kwa kuni?” – ‘Are there enough trees for fuelwood (in Barjomot?)’ Mr. Muri
immediately responded, “haiwezi kutoshaleza". – ‘no way that there is enough’. Mama
G and Johann confirmed Mr. Muri’s assessment; “kuni ni shida kabisa" – 'fuelwood is
totally a problem’ and “shida ipo kubwa, siyo ndogo" – 'the problem is present and is
large, not a small matter'.
After asking generally whether fuelwood is adequate or scarce, respondents
were asked to indicate when it became scarce. Respondents’ descriptions of fuelwood
adequacy reached back to the founding of the village in 1974 and before. For instance,
Samantha (age 82) described endless trees prior to the founding of the village. Hence,
the village name ‘Baryomodi’, Barbaig for Acacia Nilotica. According to her there had
been too many trees for agriculture. Indeed local forest resources in the independence
period were “tofauti sana” – ‘very different’ and “miti kujengea na kuni” –‘building
70
materials and fuelwood’ were plentiful. By the mid-1980s, according to Mr. Qarbu,
“imeanza kwisha” – ‘they began to disappear’. Amy (age 42) confirms this
perspective; when she was a girl fuelwood was everywhere in the NFR, ‘now you must
go far into the forest’. When, though, did fuelwood become scarce? The most
common response was surely, “imekwisha siku za karibuni” – ‘it (fuelwood) ran out in
recent days’. When asked to name a specific year, the mode of ten respondents was
2000. Basically, fuelwood was certainly scarcer than ever before, but had only been
that way for a few years.
Qualifying evidence contributing to an “ambiguous finding” suggests that
fuelwood was, in fact, not as scarce as most farmers made it out to be. Mr. Muri
reported that if people felt real scarcity they would more strictly enforce local fuelwood
gathering restrictions. Similarly, Patrick and Ailoi argued that people would plant
more trees if they felt scarcity; they don’t plant trees presently because they have yet to
really be threatened by fuelwood scarcity. Mr. Muri, Patrick and Ailoi’s conclusion
was similar to that of Cook and Grut (1989). Cook and Grut refer to findings from
field investigations in Malawi that conclude that returns to labor invested in gathering
fuelwood are fifteen times higher than the returns to labor invested in growing
fuelwood and more than five times higher than to labor invested in growing tees for
poles. They conclude pessimistically that agro-forestry for fuelwood will not be
widely adopted in Africa until free wood resources have virtually disappeared.
Basically, as Mr. Muri, Patrick, Ailoi and Cook and Grut suggest, free wood sources in
Barjomot have not virtually disappeared and so people are not adapting their fuelwood
management strategies.
Another important and qualifying perspective was that of Mama A (a non-land
owning respondent). Fuelwood for Mama A was a major problem. Her situation was
so dire that she openly harvested fuelwood illegally from the forest reserve in the
middle of the village. She was nearly the only, if not the only, person to do so. Ailoi, a
key informant and village forest reserve guard, confirmed both Mama A’s singularity
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and her open rule breaking. Interestingly, when asked whether fuelwood was scarce,
Mama A responded with an unequivocal ‘No’. From her perspective it was far scarcer
for her than her landowning neighbors. Those landowning neighbors kept small
natural areas on their private property and were able to supplement woody fuelwood
with crop residues, both of which were strategies she cannot adopt. Fuelwood, then,
was not simply just “adequate” or “scarce”; instead, it was not quite scarce enough to
cause changes in forest management rules enforcement or tree planting. Fuelwood
was, however, scarce enough for most respondents and two local professional foresters
to declare that gathering enough fuelwood for local cooking needs was a significant
and new problem. In the end all of these complex and sometimes conflicting verifiers
contribute to the author’s ambiguous finding for the adequacy of fuelwood.
BUILDING MATERIALS: INADEQUATE
In contrast to fuelwood, building materials were clearly inadequately provided
for by the local forest resource. As with fuelwood, building materials in Barjomot can
be better understood in relation to the adequacy of building materials in neighboring
Gitting to the east and Birsima to the west. Building materials especially considered
for the assessment of this good’s adequacy were indigenous hardwoods, by far the
historically dominant building material within the village.
Adequacy of indigenous hardwoods was particularly important because they are
the building materials used by all but the very wealthiest of Barjomot’s farmers. Of
Barjomot’s 473 homesteads (most of which include three or four structures) less than a
tenth had structures constructed with brick and metal roofs. Indigenous hardwoods, if
not sought illegally in the adjacent NFR38, are sourced from Qao, over fifteen
kilometers to the west.
The scarcity of building materials (from here building materials refer only to
local indigenous hardwoods) was clearly perceived by local farmers. Combretum sp.
38 The most popular illegal hardwoods from the NFR are Juniperus procera and Podocarpus latifolius
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was a commonly cited example of a building material that once was plentiful but now
was scarce. Figure 4 shows a typical home in Barjomot with the walls made from
Combretum sp. poles.
Figure 4. Picture of typical home in Barjomot Village.
Combretum sp. and other useful local indigenous hardwoods became
problematically scarce around 199839.
Recall that fuelwood scarcity was identified by respondents to have begun in
earnest in 2000. There are two reasons why the author considers building materials to
have been scarcer than fuelwood: (i) farmers linguistic emphasis on building materials
scarcity and (ii) participant observation of harvesting activities. Linguistic emphasis
was shown in farmers’ common fuelwood and building materials scarcity timeframe
responses respectively, “imekwisha siku za karibuni” –‘it (fuelwood) disappeared in
the near past’ and “imekwisha kabisa” – ‘it (building materials) is completely gone’.
Participant observation clarified the seemingly subtle linguistic difference. Whereas
the author often observed farmers gathering fuelwood from natural woodland areas
within the village boundaries, farmers were never observed harvesting and did not
39 1998 is the mode of 10 responses to the question, “Miti ya kujengea zimeisha mwaka gani?" – Building material trees disappeared which year?”
73
claim to be able to harvest indigenous hardwoods for home construction from within
the village boundaries.
Some farmers were particularly hard hit by the scarcity of building materials.
For example, Johann (a landless respondent) had to use Rhus natalensis in the walls of
his home. He shook his head in disbelief at this fact; because of its softness the most
common use for branches of Rhus natalensis is as a toothbrush. In an area teeming
with termites, softness good enough for a toothbrush is the exact opposite quality for
which one hopes in a wall pole. Walls made from Combretum sp. and other hard
indigenous trees such as: Cordial monoica, Dombeya rotundifolia and Grewia mollis40
last between 15 and 30 years. Walls made from softer indigenous trees like Rhus
natalensis may not last 5 years. Grevilea robusta, the most common exotic timber tree
used in brick home construction, is also too soft for traditional building methods.
Eucalyptus sp., on the other hand, is a potentially viable alternative due to its relative
hardness41. Farmers in Barjomot clearly perceived the local forest resource’s
provision of building materials for traditional home construction as inadequate.
ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES: INADEQUATE
Environmental services’ verifiers informed a conclusion of inadequacy.
Environmental services considered are focused on the local forests’ interaction with
forest springs and rain. According to local farmers and politicians these services were
directly affected by forest health. Although measurement of the forest-rain and/or
forest-spring water interaction is beyond the scope of this study, the view most
commonly held by respondents was that the “scarcity” of local forest resources had
decreased the quality and quantity of rainfall and forest springs.
40 Combretum sp., cordial monoica, Dombeya rotundifolia and Grewia mollis are identified by the FAO (GFRA-TZ, 2005) as common to the Acacia-commiphora woodland and are commonly identified by local farmers, particularly Amy (age 42) and Mark (age 54) as valuable local building materials. 41 Local perceptions of the viability of Eucalyptus are heavily influenced by its near illegality due to its poor performance when planted with crops from heavy drinking and acidic leaves.
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The Hanang District Councilor (a high ranking district official) repeatedly
linked forest damage with decreased and delayed rains. For instance, while giving the
closing remarks at one of the author’s Heifer Project International (HPI) seminars, the
Councilor made his point unequivocally, ‘There is no rain because people cut down all
the trees, it is all farmland now and people wonder why there is no rain’ (HPI seminar,
5/20/06).
Similarly, farmers believed that forest degradation had decreased flows from
fresh water springs sourced in the NFR. Ailoi summed up these changes with the story
of the forest spring sourced seasonal stream, Shishiwe. During the wet seasons of the
1970s Shishiwe flowed from its source on the northwest slope of Mt. Hanang to bonde
la gawel (the largest crater located two kilometers from Shishiwe’s source). By the end
of the 1980s, the flows of Shishiwe began to disappear. Ailoi cited two reasons for
why the river stopped reaching the crater: (i) deforestation and (ii) over-grazing.
Although most farmers were less sure than Ailoi of the causes of Shishiwe’s demise
they nearly all made the connection between its decreased flow and environmental
degradation.
Briefly, common perceptions that local forest conditions, and particularly forest
conditions found in the NFR, had decreased rain and Shishiwe’s flow show that local
forest resources did not adequately provide environmental services at the time of data
collection.
CULTURAL SERVICES: ADEQUATE
Local forest resources provided adequate cultural services for farmers. This
assessment is based on descriptions of the role of forest resources in Iraqw and Barbaig
traditional religious practices. Two traditional religious practices are particularly
significant in this regard: (i) offerings to various traditional deities made at the base of
Ficus sycamorus and (ii) sacred groves (called Bongedas in both Iraqw and Barbaig
languages) planted at the burial sites of prominent Barbaig elders.
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The placing of offerings at the base of Ficus sycamorus was found to be less
frequent than in colonial and early independence time periods. Ailoi, for instance,
described how the people – mostly Barbaig – that place offerings at the base of Ficus
sycamorus were in a very small minority. The author experienced only one occurrence
during which traditional offerings were made; in August 2006 after a nearly 40-acre
forest fire in the NFR. In order to appease the ‘spirit of the mountain’42 four members
of the “Baraza la mila” – ‘Elder council’ sacrificed a black sheep and made offerings
of honey at the base of a Ficus sycamorus.
Comments relating to this offering exemplified the changing values in the
village. Marko, for instance, argued that only Jesus can bring rain; that appeasing the
mountain no longer had value. When asked how and why traditional religious
practices relating to the forest had changed, respondents described the destabilizing
effects of Christianity on indigenous beliefs. Nevertheless, all of the stories gathered by
the author implied that sacrifice at the base of Ficus sycamorus continued to provide an
important cultural service. These verifiers suggest that the few Ficus sycamorus
remaining adequately provided for this rapidly disappearing cultural service.
The status of local Bongedas43 provided the second verifier informing an
“adequate” result for cultural services. Although Bongedas are a Barbaig tradition,
they were generally respected by Iraqw farmers in Barjomot. The author identified
three Bongedas in the village: two were located in Getalili sub-village and one in
Mashonda. One stood in the midst of homesteads near the center of the village and
another in the middle of a cleared farm, both were approximately 10 meters in diameter
and both were consciously protected, seemingly in spite of the absence of the
ancestor’s of the elders for whom they were planted.
42 A more complete understanding of traditional beliefs related to the NFR would require additional study. The author’s experience suggests that the NFR plays a “spiritual” role in the traditional belief system of non-Christians in the village. Hence, the author’s use of the phrase ‘spirit of the mountain’ 43 See Kilima (1970) for a fascinating cultural history of Bongedas and their relationship to the Barbaig’s funeral ceremonies.
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Two of the most significant cultural values derived from forest resources in
Barjomot, Ficus sycamorus and Bongedas, were adequate – if only due to their
diminished role in an increasingly Christian community.
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RESEARCH OBJECTIVE II: EVALUATE LOCAL FOREST MANAGEMENT
Results from Research Objective I show that forest resources in Barjomot were
indeed scarce, albeit not entirely so. How did this level of scarcity come to be? Why
was fuelwood becoming scarce? Why were building materials scarce and
environmental services scarce? Why were cultural services adequate? Although levels
of scarcity differed across geographic areas and among socio-economic classes within
the village general causes of measured adequacy can be explained by an evaluation of
the sustainable and unsustainable aspects of the local forest management system. This
thesis’s sustainability evaluation assessed 11 SFM criteria and 26 indicators. The
results of this evaluation are presented below.
SUMMARY OF RESULTS FOR RESEARCH OBJECTIVE II
As described in Chapters III and IV SFM criteria and indicators were organized
into three categories: (i) physical, (ii) socio-economic and (iii) institutional. Table 8
lists the SFM criteria and summarizes the 2nd level and category results. Lists of
indicators and 1st level results are presented in Table 9, 10 and Table 12.
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Table 8. Summary of 2nd level and category results for Research Objective II
Category SFM Criteria 2nd level result
Category result
Phys
ical
I Physical boundaries of forest reserves are clear Present
Present II Forest is in good condition, high feasibility
for improvement from active management Present
III Forest size matches monitors’ technology Absent
Soci
o-ec
onom
ic I Forest management is a primary
development strategy Absent
Absent
II Leaders and farmers support SFM Absent
III High levels of trust between rule makers, monitors and resource users Absent
IV Rule breakers are easily identified Present
Inst
itutio
nal
I Forest access and management rules are locally devised. Present
Present
II Women are empowered forest managers Ambiguous
III Harvest restrictions match regeneration of resource Present
IV Forest management rules are easily enforced. Absent
Unsustainable physical aspects of the local forest management system (see
Table 9) related to the unclear physical boundaries of the village forest reserves and the
relatively large size of the NFR in comparison to its monitors’ technology. The rest of
the Physical SFM Criteria and Indicators had essentially been met, they were
“present”. These “present” C & I partially explained why local forest resources
adequately provided for some fuelwood and cultural services.
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Socio-economic factors were a definite obstacle to SFM in Barjomot (see Table
10) and the likely cause of forest resource scarcity as measured in Research Objective
I. Particularly significant unsustainable aspects of the local forest management system
included: (i) a primary development strategy based almost entirely on agriculture, (iia)
inconsequential support for SFM from national and district level leaders and (iib)
inconsistent support for SFM from village leaders and farmers and (iii) high levels of
corruption among forest guards and rule makers (these dynamics are shifting). Perhaps
the most sustainable socio-economic aspect of the local forest management system was
the ease of rule breaker identification.
Although institutional factors (see Table 12) did not present the opportunity for
SFM that physical factors seemed to present, they were more consistent with SFM than
socio-economic factors. The greatest challenge for the institutional aspect of the local
forest management system was the difficulty in forest rule enforcement; both small
scale and large scale illegal harvesting was difficult to stop. Other Institutional SFM C
& I were “present”, or in other words, sustainable aspects of the local forest
management system. Most importantly, forest access and management rules were
relatively locally devised and generally matched harvest restrictions to regeneration.
Specific verifiers for these summarized conclusions are presented and discussed
at length in the next three sub-sections.
PHYSICAL SFM CRITERIA
The following sub-section contains the results for indicators relating to the three
physical SFM criteria: (I) Physical boundaries of forest reserves are visibly clear (II)
forest conditions in the forest reserves are such that natural regeneration would produce
obvious improvement in the span of one human generation and (III) forest monitors
have the boots, cell phones, machetes and transportation needed to effectively monitor
the Forest reserves. Overall, the physical characteristics of local forest reserves
partially explain why forest resources in Barjomot were not entirely scarce. Table 9
summarizes the results for the group of SFM criteria relating to the physical category
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of the local forest management system. Note that each of the SFM criteria is divided
into three indicators – the three forest reserves in Barjomot.
Table 9. Summary of Physical SFM Criteria results
Physical SFM Criteria and Indicators 1st level results
2nd level results
Category result
I. Physical boundaries of forest reserve are visibly clear
NFR present present
present
VFRs absent CFR present
II. Forest is in good condition, high feasibility for improvement from active management
NFR present present VFRs present
CFR present
III. Forest size matches monitors’ technology
NFR absent absent VFRs present
CFR present These results suggest that physical characteristics of the local forest resource do
not explain building materials and environmental services scarcity. Instead the
physical characteristics: boundaries, condition and size of the forest reserves, partially
explain ambiguous adequacy for fuelwood and adequate cultural services.
PHYSICAL SFM CRITERION I: PHYSICAL BOUNDARIES OF FOREST RESERVES ARE CLEAR
Local forest reserve boundaries were nearly all visibly clear. The most
significant verifier for this 2nd level result was the obvious physical clarity of the NFR.
The CFR was also clear. VFRs had more gradual physical boundaries.
NFR: Visibly clear physical boundary
Photographic and satellite verifiers indicated the obvious physical clarity of the
NFR. This clear boundary had been long established. Throughout the colonial period
the reserve’s 35 kilometer border (FBD, 1991) was annually cut by local farmers.
Figure 5 shows the eastern section of the NFR boundary with Barjomot Village. The
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photo location of Figure 5 is shown in Figure 6 by the yellow thumbtack. Figure 6,
furthermore, shows the physical clarity of the NFR boundary in a satellite photograph.
Figure 5. Picture of NFR boundary
Figure 6. Satellite image of NFR boundary
The physical boundaries of the NFR were visibly clear.
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CFR: Relatively clear boundary
The boundaries of the CFR were visibly clear as well. The most obvious
indication of the boundary was the Agave sisalana planted along the border by the
Barjomot Beekeeping Group. Agave sisalana was the most common live fence and
border tree in Barjomot and clearly denoted the CFR border to all local farmers.
VFRs: Unclear physical boundaries
The VFRs’ boundaries were gradual. Figures 7 and 8 show the Getalili VFR’s
boundary. Notice in Figure 7 how gradual the physical boundary is compared with the
clear physical boundary of the NFR above and behind. In Figure 8 notice the gradual
change from homesteads and farms to Acacia-commiphora woodland. The Getalili
VFR boundary is approximated by a white line in both Figures.
Figure 7. Distant picture of Getalili VFR boundary.
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Figure 8. Close picture of Getalili VFR boundary
The boundary of the Mashonda VFR (not shown), like that of the Getalili VFR,
is gradual. These gradual boundaries present obstacles to SFM because forest rules are
more difficult to conceptualize in relationship to specific resources (see, for instance,
Institutional SFM Criterion III).
PHYSICAL SFM CRITERION II: FOREST IS IN GOOD CONDITION, HIGH FEASIBILITY FOR
IMPROVEMENT FROM ACTIVE MANAGEMENT
The following sub-section describes how generally healthy forest conditions
enable, and have enabled SFM in Barjomot. Although all of the forest reserves were
characterized by some level of degradation their condition was such that natural
regeneration would cause obvious improvement in the span of one human generation.
Forest conditions differed significantly between the NFR, VFRs and CFR, but
conditions in all of these reserves offered opportunities for obvious improvement from
natural regeneration within the span of one human generation. The NFR was degraded,
especially when historical forest conditions were considered. Mr. Muri reported that in
1980 the forest canopy was completely closed. Podocarpus latifolius and Juniperus
procera (the two most valuable indigenous hardwoods of the forest) were numerous.
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Shortly thereafter, according to Amy, “uharibifu umekuwa nyingi!” – ‘damages (to the
forest) became many’. Mr. Muri and Mr. Sei characterized the NFR in 2007 as
suffering from suppressed regeneration due to illegal fuelwood harvesting, openings in
the canopy due to illegal logging and significant damage from intentional and natural
fires. Although these damages were significant, Mr. Muri, Mr. Sei and the author
agreed that the forest condition was such that recovery would be swift if the threats to
the forest were curtailed.
The CFR was somewhat less degraded than the NFR and would naturally
recover substantially within the span of one human generation. According to Mark,
Amy and numerous members of the Barjomot Beekeeping Group the CFR has
remained essentially unchanged during their lifetimes.
The VFRs were the most degraded of all forest reserves in Barjomot. This high
level of forest degradation mostly resulted from soil erosion and suppressed
regeneration from over-grazing and fuelwood harvesting. In spite of these damages
respondents generally agreed that the tree species diversity, if not the composition and
density, within the VFRs had generally remained the same since the formation of the
village. More specifically respondents reported that there were far fewer large trees,
such as Dombeya rotundifolia, and smaller trees, such as Carissa edulis and Acacia
kirkii, were much less dense. These changes in species composition and density had
implications for Research Objective I’s adequacy measurements. In particular and
respectively, building materials and fuelwood adequacy were more scarce because
large and small trees were less numerous in the VFRs than they once were.
Fortunately respondents reported that the diversity remains essentially the same.
Essentially intact diversity would facilitate obvious short term improvements from
natural regeneration. In fact, conditions in the newly established VFRs visibly
improved over the author’s 22 month field period.
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PHYSICAL SFM CRITERION III: FOREST SIZE MATCHES MONITORS’ TECHNOLOGY
Conditions indicating that Physical SFM Criterion III was met in Barjomot
were “absent” (Reference Table 9). Forest monitors did not have the technology (in
Barjomot’s context technology is synonymous with equipment) needed to effectively
monitor the village’s forest reserves. This equipment deficiency interacts with the
previous two criteria. Namely, even though the reserves had clear boundaries and were
in generally good health, their sheer size limited forest monitors’ ability to achieve
management goals. Monitoring equipment, as defined in “Chapter III Scholarly basis
for SFM criteria” includes boots, cell phones, machetes and transportation. Verifiers
for first level results are presented below.
Monitors’ equipment was insufficient for the NFR. Walking to the forest
boundary from central Barjomot was a trek of approximately 2 kilometers and 500
meters elevation gain. Such a hike took at least a half an hour. Once inside the forest,
monitors traveled on the same trails made and used by those they are trying to monitor,
namely: women’s fuelwood gathering paths and illegal loggers' extraction trails. These
trails were often overgrown footpaths. Without boots, a monitor has no technological
advantage over those he or she was trying to observe within the forest. Without a cell
phone, the monitor has no recourse should those he attempts to apprehend decide to
resist44. No village forest monitors had either of these enforcement enabling tools.
Village monitors were not the only ones with insufficient equipment. Mr. Sei
argued that his office did not have the capacity to cooperate with the Barjomot Village
Environment Committee. The most serious obstacle was lack of gas to travel by
motorcycle to meet with the Village Environment Committee. The NFR, simply put,
was found to be too large, distant, and difficult to navigate for local and district level
monitors’ equipment. 44 These insufficiencies were reported to the author by the chairman of the organization charged with monitoring the NFR, the Barjomot Village Environment Committee.
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In contrast, forest monitors’ equipment was appropriate for the VFRs and CFR.
Forest monitors did not report needing boots, cell phones, machetes or transportation
for the management of these small and relatively close45 forest reserves
In summary, monitors’ equipment was appropriately matched to the forest size
and location of Barjomot’s VFRs and CFR. In the NFR, both local and district level
monitors’ technology was insufficient. Because the NFR provided such a
disproportionate amount of the goods and services for local farmers, this final obstacle,
the large size and relative distance of the NFR, verifies the 2nd level result for Physical
SFM Criterion III “absent” (Reference Table 9).
45 Refer to Figure 1 for the relative location of all forest reserves within the village
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SOCIO-ECONOMIC SFM CRITERIA
Socio-economic aspects of the local forest management system analyzed
include: (I) forest resources and livelihood strategies, (II) local leaders’ and farmers’
SFM related environmental ethics, (III) levels of trust between rule makers, enforcers
and resource users and (IV) ease of rule breaker identification. Table 10 summarizes
1st, 2nd and category level results for the socio-economic SFM criteria considered.
Table 10. Summary of Socio-economic SFM Criteria results
Socio-economic SFM Criteria Indicators 1st level
results 2nd level
results Category
result
I. Forest management is a primary development strategy
Forest management is a primary development strategy
absent absent
absent
Local forest products have market value
present
II. Leaders and farmers support SFM
Central government supports SFM present
absent Village government supports SFM ambiguous
Farmers support SFM absent III. High levels of trust between rule makers, monitors and resource users
Forest rule enforcers are not corrupt absent
absent Forest rule makers are not corrupt absent
IV. Rule breakers are easily identified
Illegal loggers are easy to identify present
present Illegal fuelwood gatherers are easy to identify present
Key verifiers for the conclusions presented in Table 10 are presented and discussed
below.
SOCIO-ECONOMIC SFM CRITERION I: FOREST MANAGEMENT IS A PRIMARY
DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY
Fuelwood, building materials and environmental services were fundamental to
subsistence livelihoods. The following sub-section discusses how forest management,
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an important livelihood strategy, was considered to be a secondary development
strategy46 for local farmers. Agriculture – maize and bean production – was the
primary development strategy. In order to understand the secondary position of forest
management to agriculture, the section below: (i) discusses farmers’ valuation of
agriculture relative to forest management as a development strategy and (ii) describes
the market values for locally sourced forest products
Agriculture, not forest management, is the primary development strategy in Barjomot
Farmers in Barjomot, like farmers around much of the developing world,
generally value agriculture as the primary development strategy. Depending on
agriculture is consistent with Tanzania’s historical development strategy.
Respondent’s often quoted Nyerere’s (URT’s first President) development catchphrase
“kilimo ni uti ya mgongo wa taifa" – ‘agriculture is the backbone of the country’.
Verifiers for this support were anecdotal, yet, exemplary. Two of the most
economically vulnerable informants, Mama G and Johann, were asked whether they
preferred an abundance of fuelwood and building materials or even a tree lot to corn
and beans. Their response was logical and unequivocal: food first, tree-based products
second.
Less economically vulnerable respondents like Ted and Larry, also prioritized
agriculture over forest management – albeit from a different perspective. For them,
agriculture was less about subsistence than about development. They cited the modern
style homes with electricity of wealthy farmers in Endasak, fourteen kilometers away.
Many farmers saw complex poly-cropping and agro-forestry techniques as a
“livelihood” strategy whereas maize and bean production on a large scale and
electricity in the home was a “development” strategy.
Faith in development based on the expansion of corn and bean based
agriculture had a strong historical basis in Barjomot. Converting Acacia-commiphora
46 See Chapter III, Research Objective II, Scholarly basis of the 11 SFM criteria
89
woodland to farms had worked relatively well; in 2007, 34 years since the village was
formed, there were two schools, a gravel road, seasonal tractor rental, two cars, and a
proliferation of cell phones, a generator run satellite television and full-time live-in
Americans! Agriculture had brought real progress to the village and it should be no
surprise that only 12% of the total area of respondents’ private lands were left in a
natural woodland condition. Figure 9 shows the area of greatest agricultural expansion
in Barjomot. The picture was taken from the middle of an area that was once so thick
with Acacia nilotica that people legendarily needed an ax to pass through. In 2007
very few trees were retained within farms. The most commonly retained tree was
Sochandi (Iraqw). Sochandi was retained for its thick crown that provides rain and sun
protection while you are out farming!
Figure 9. Picture of agricultural expansion in western Barjomot
In summary, forest management was accorded a secondary position relative to
agriculture in 2007. The opportunities for agro-forestry to reduce the gap between
agriculture and forest management are discussed in Chapter VI.
Local forest products have market value
In spite of the dominance of agriculture as a development strategy there were
forest products with significant market values in Barjomot. Forest products with
market values increase the relative value of forest management with agriculture and
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facilitate SFM. The presence of these forest products in the village partially explains
forest resource adequacy because farmers have acted to ensure that they can capture
these benefits. Forest products in Barjomot have two values, substitution and cash.
The primary value of growing trees on farms and homesteads was to substitute
them for goods that would otherwise need to be purchased on the local market with
scarce cash resources. Ted and Larry argued that the substitution of free forest
products for purchased fuelwood, building materials and fruit was the primary
motivator for people’s private tree planting.
Local forest products also had cash value. Growing Grevilea robusta47, for
instance, was a livelihood/ development strategy in which 50% of tree inventory
respondents were involved48 (See Table 11).
47 An exotic species from Australia originally brought to Tanzania for shade grown coffee plantations. 48 Based on casual observation this number slightly overestimates the percentage of farmers across the village planting Grevilea. A closer estimate is likely 40%.
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Table 11. Commonly managed trees on private lands in Barjomot
Commonly managed trees in Barjomot Village
Species and (%) of respondents planting the species. All are exotic.
Species and (%) of respondents retaining the species. All are indigenous.
Homesteads Grevilea robusta (50%) Eucalyptus sp. (43%) Psidium guajava (36%) Michongoma (Swahili) (21%) Jacaranda mimesofolia (21%)
Acacia nilotica (29%) A. kirkii (29%) Dombeya rotundifolia (29%) Syszgium cordatum (29%) Sochandi (Iraqw) (29%) A. xanthoploea (21%) Rhus natalensis (21%) Commiphora emnii zimmermannii (21%) Nari (21%) Tlakay (Iraqw) (21%)
Farms Grevilea robusta (21%) Agave sisalana (21%)
Acacia kirkii (43%) Dombeya rotundifolia (29%) A. xanthoploea (21%) A. nilotica (29%) Commiphora africana (21%) Erythrina lysistemom (21%) Albizia spp. (21%) Phytolacca dodecandra (21%)
The value of rough cut lumber from a 20 year old Grevilea robusta was approximately
$6249. Unfortunately the stumpage value was unknown. All lumber was cut by hand
using pit saws. The fact that tree inventory respondents planted an average of 32
Grevilea robusta evidenced that farmers indeed captured the market benefits of the
lumber produced from this multi-purpose tree. Grevilea robusta had an important
substitution value as well. A common tree management saying in the village was that
‘trunks are for men and branches are for women’. While men grew Grevilea robusta 49 This figure is the result of calculations with Barjomot Village’s primary timber grower, John Delek. Mr. Delek estimates that an average 20 year old Grevilea robusta in Barjomot contains 40 2 inch by 6 inch by 6 foot boards. Each board can be sold for 2000Tsh. 2000Tsh x 40 = 80,000Tsh. 80,000Tsh/ 1300 (the Tsh/USD exchange rate in spring 2007) = $62.
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for the timber market, women valued the species for the branches (fuelwood) that can
be lopped at the end of the dry season.
Illegally harvested local forest products also had market values. The most
valuable hardwood timber species in the NFR were Juniperus procera and Podocarpus
latifolius. These were the target of nearly all illegal timber activities in the NFR
because average specimens of either of these species yielded approximately $11550 of
rough cut lumber. Another illegally harvested, but non-timber species, was Osyrus
tenuifolia. The essential oil extracted from Osyrus tenuifolia’s roots had cash value in
Barjomot in 2003. According to Patrick, one back load (approximately 15 kilograms)
was worth 25,000Tsh in 2003 (or approximately $20). Numerous informants described
how cash from Osyrus tenuifolia’s roots paid for most of the brick and metal structures
within the village. To protect this species, national regulations were adopted that
removed its market, according to Ailoi, “soko yake imeharibika sheria ime kuwa kali”–
‘(Osyrus’s) market is gone, the law got tough’. Regardless, Osyrus was a commonly
cited example of a local forest product with significant cash value.
SOCIO-ECONOMIC SFM CRITERION II: LEADERS AND FARMERS SUPPORT SFM
Leaders’ and farmers’ support for SFM was relatively inconsequential and
inconsistent. As discussed in Chapter III scholarly basis for the SFM criteria, ethics
were measured through rhetoric. Furthermore, the ethics of those closest to the
resource (farmers), whose actions have the most tangible impacts, are far more
important than rhetoric from national and district level officials.
An “absent” conclusion was made in spite of the fact that national and district
level leaders’ forest related rhetoric was consistent with SFM. This was due to the fact 50 This figure is based on estimates by Ted, the Barjomot Village Environment Committee chairman. In spite of being illegal to harvest Juniperus procera is commonly used in the walls of homes across the village. An average tree yields approximately 150 poles that can be sold for 1000Tsh each. Podocarpus latifolius is also unavailable outside of the Mt. Hanang National Forest Reserve (and is therefore illegal to harvest). Regardless, Podocarpus boards are available in the neighboring village for 3000Tsh each. An average tree (which is necessarily nearly a century old) yields approximately 50 boards.
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that verifiers indicated that farmers’ environmental ethics, which were more highly
valued, were not consistent with SFM.
National and District level leaders support SFM
Tanzanian Presidents have been encouraging SFM for decades. Local farmers
often cited Ali Hassan Mwinyi, President of Tanzania from 1985 to 1995, as the source
of the “kata mti, panda mti” – ‘cut a tree, plant a tree’ campaign. Such basic tree
planting promotion was generally espoused from the national level down to the lower
ranks of Hanang District officials. One of the most ardent advocates of SFM was the
Hanang District Councilor51. The Hanang District Councilor once exclaimed, “Miti ya
mungu iko lakini tunaharibu yote. Mwakani kila mtu apande miti kwenye shamba
yake!” – ‘Trees from God are here yet we are destroying them all. In the years to come
everyone should plant trees on their farms!’ (Hanang District Councilor, Barjomot
Village Assembly, April 5th, 2006). The Councilor often made the connection between
the health of the NFR and private tree management, with public statements such as,
‘This mountain is our mother, leaders alone cannot protect it. It is necessary that we
change and protect our environment. Plant trees!’ (Hanang District Councilor, Gitting
Ward Heifer Project International Dairy Cow Seminar, September 28th, 2006). Historic
and current encouragement of SFM leads to the 1st level conclusion “present”
(Reference Table 10).
District officials’ rhetoric was often supported by calls for specific tree planting
quotas and reforestation initiatives. For example, the Hanang District Environment
Officer ordered that every household in Barjomot must plant 20 seedlings in the year
2007 (Barjomot Village Assembly, February 2, 2007). Also, on March 4, 2007 a new
district government initiative was announced in which it promised to pay for 100% of
the tree nursery and planting costs associated with tree planting to prevent soil erosion.
51 The District Councilor is a local-level official who works closely between the Hanang District Council and the village governments
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Through statements and policies, National and District officials espoused
support for SFM. However, agricultural expansion policies clearly take precedence.
How can a farmer reconcile the conflicting statements of President Nyerere, “fungueni
mashamba makubwa, siyo madogo" – ‘clear large farms, not small farms’ with the
sayings of President Mwyinyi “kata mti, panda mti”- ‘cut a tree and plant a tree’? This
confusion of national policies contributed to the 2nd level result of “absent”.
Village leaders inconsistently support SFM
Inconsistent village government support for SFM contributed to the
“ambiguous” 1st level conclusion. This inconsistent support was verified by
unsupported tree nursery proposals and disregard for VFR boundaries. Although the
village government requested Peace Corps volunteers to start tree nurseries (10,000
and 20,000 seedlings requested in 2003 and 2004 and $1500 dollars for a tree nursery
in 2006), they failed to follow through with the requisite paperwork. Worse than
unsupported proposals was the former village chairman’s blatant disregard for the
integrity of the Mashonda VFR. In 2006, he illegally sold plots of land within the
VFR. His successor, conversely, spoke passionately of trees, soil and erosion at the
November 11th, 2006 Village Assembly. Thus, village government’s support of SFM
is inconsistent and its effect on SFM is “ambiguous”.
The village’s informal leadership, exemplified by the Baraza la mila52 (Elder
council), supported SFM for the NFR. The most telling example was the case of a
forest fire started by farmers from the village in the fall of 2006. Following the fire,
the Elder Council fined those responsible 33,000Tsh per person. The fine was then
split among those present at the meeting (the author included, free soda!). After the
52 The elder council is a traditional organization consisting of respected and elderly men in the village. There is also a women’s elder council, although the two councils rarely meet together. The elder council is externally recognized, and they are the first level conflict resolution mechanism in the village. As a first level conflict resolution mechanism the elder council settles many of the minor land and domestic disputes in the village. Their output is sometimes monetary in the form of a simple fine (often the threat of a bull or cow) and other times their punishment is in the form of a traditional “baini” – ‘curse’. If those punishments are ineffective the elder council is formally recognized by the Hanang District court.
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fine the elders climbed the mountain and sacrificed a black sheep at the base of a Ficus
sycamore in order to appease the mountain and ensure rains in the upcoming year. The
elder council did indeed support SFM, if only in the NFR.
Farmers inconsistently support SFM
Farmers’ inconsistent support for SFM leads to the related “absent” 1st level
conclusion listed in Table 10. Colonialists, academics, and modern-day environmental
activists romanticize the environmental ethics of subsistence farmers in east Africa. In
fact, like people everywhere, different groups have different values. The verifiers
presented below roughly characterize farmers’ support for SFM. Farmers in Barjomot
were found to have an incredibly close relationship with their land, yet they were not
necessarily, to borrow Rutton and Mulder’s (1999) phrase, “Ecologically Noble
Savages,” The author’s findings were consistent with Franzel et al (2002), who
conclude that most farmers in east Africa lack a “tree planting culture” (p. 9). Farmers
in Barjomot did indeed support SFM, yet, not to a degree which would overcome
agriculture’s dominance as a development strategy.
Local farmers supported SFM. Nine male and six female farmers identified the
environment (namely soil erosion, fuelwood scarcity and climate effects) as the
number-one problem facing the village as a whole in a Participatory Assessment and
Community Action (PACA) meeting facilitated by the author. Farmers’ common
quotes, “miti ni uhai ya binadamu53”– ‘trees are life’ and “kwa bahati mbaya miti
zimeisha” – ‘unfortunately, the trees are gone.’ showed their support for trees generally
and laments for deforestation. These sentiments were supported in practice on private
lands; tree inventory respondents actively planted and retained over 60 species of
exotic and indigenous trees on their homesteads and farmers. SFM support on public
lands was verified by the participatory establishment of two VFRs and a CFR in
53 This is actually the slogan of a widespread national environmental campaign. Farmers seem to have internalized it.
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Barjomot. In sum, farmers generally supported SFM, actively planted and retained
trees and had established forest reserves.
Serving as a caveat to encouraging rhetoric and practices consistent with SFM
was the fact that these verifiers represented the minority of farmers. When asked to
name the best purpose for a particular forest remnant in the middle of the village,
farmers commonly responded that it was a great area for future homes and farms. Ailoi
described young farmers’ perception of SFM as: “ni kama hawa pendi miti, hawajaona
muhimu yake. Wanapenda sana hela, hawajui miti inafaidha baadaye” – ‘it is like
they do not like trees, they have not seen their importance. They love money; they
don’t know that trees have value later.’ The author’s conversations with young farmers
confirmed Ailoi’s analysis; young farmers commonly diminished the importance of
deforestation because, ‘by the time the trees are gone we will have electricity.’ Ailoi
further estimated that less than 25% of the village farmers appreciated the value of
trees enough to pursue SFM.
Patrick confirmed Alio’s low estimation of farmer’s support for SFM. Patrick
argued that farmers in Barjomot would not alter their forest management until
Barjomot was as deforested as Gitting was in the 1970s – a time when Gitting was
devoid of trees. He added that not only would Barjomot have to experience scarcity on
the level that Gitting did but that Birsima, in 2007 the nearest source of natural
woodlands, would also go the way of Gitting and Barjomot before farmers would
support SFM.
In addition to complacency for SFM there was opposition to the establishment
of forest reserves. In April of 2006 an older farmer argued to the village government –
and to the apparent approval of the majority of the assembled farmers – that
‘everything is becoming a park, where are we supposed to graze our cattle?’ In
summary, farmers apparent support for SFM represented a minority view. Inconsistent
support verifies the “absent” 2nd level result for Socio-economic SFM criterion II listed
in Table 10.
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SOCIO-ECONOMIC SFM CRITERION III: HIGH LEVELS OF TRUST BETWEEN RULE MAKERS,
ENFORCERS AND RESOURCE USERS
Corruption
As described in Chapter II Tanzanian forest policy has devolved control of
many forest reserves to the villages. In Barjomot, this devolution had given the village
government rule making (Institutional SFM Criterion I) and rule enforcement
responsibility. Local rule making and enforcement authority extended over the
reserves summarized in Table 3. Rule makers are village leaders, enforcers are village
forest reserve guards and users are local farmers.
This criterion was assessed using two indicators: (i) corruption of local forest
rule enforcers and (ii) corruption of forest rule makers. During the author’s 22 months
in the village, he observed a fundamental lack of trust between village leaders, forest
guards and forest users. The most significant distrust observed by the author was
related to the complacency and corruption of forest guards and the village government.
The prevalence of these two types of corruption in Barjomot verified the “absent” 2nd
level result for Socio-economic SFM Criterion III.
Forest rule enforcers exhibit corruption and complacency
Forest rule enforcers exhibited significant corruption. Fines for forest related
offenses varied but the most common was 50,000 Tsh (or around $40) for illegal
fuelwood or building materials harvesting within the NFR54. Fifty thousand Tsh was
far more than the actual value of the illegally harvested fuelwood, which, as described
above, sells for approximately 8,000 Tsh per wagon load. A fifty thousand Tsh fine for
building materials was also too large to be considered a cost of doing business. For
instance, the lumber from average Podocarpus latifolius sells for approximately
150,000 Tsh. A 50,000 Tsh represented fully one third of the possible revenue from
54 See Chapter V, Research Objective II, Institutional SFM Criterion I for specific forest access and management rules.
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the illegally felled tree. Guards were paid up to 30% of fines so a 15,000Tsh bribe was
the same benefit to the guard and a bargain for an illegal logger, if not necessarily for
an illegal fuelwood gatherer (Hanang District Government, 2003). Relatively high
fines for forest rule breaking created a strong incentive for the persistence of corruption
among forest rule enforcers.
The collection of bribes was, in fact, more common than fines. Mark
commented on what to expect if one was caught breaking a rule in the NFR:
“wanapata posho kidogo yule mtu asifikishe ofisini. Ni wachache sana wanayo letwa
ofisini” – ‘the guards collect a small bribe so that the offender is not sent to the Village
office. Very few people are actually brought to the office.’ There was obvious
collaboration between offenders and guards. A bribe interaction was more likely to be
initiated by a self interested offender than a guard. Regardless, this de-facto flexibility
in terms of rule enforcement reduced the amount of trust55 between forest users, guards
and rule makers.
Forest rule makers exhibit corruption
More damaging to the prospects for SFM than corruption among forest
monitors was corruption within the village leadership. Corruption within the village
leadership was verified by a lengthy and stagnating political scandal that occurred from
April to August 2006, described briefly below. This scandal dominated nearly all of the
government’s actions for at least one year and was consistently cited by Hanang
District officials as exemplifying the village’s political situation. In short, the scandal
involved theft of community contributions and illegal land sales. Outcomes of the
scandal included the forced removal of the village and a sub-village chairman. The
result of the series of associated scandals was an obvious lack of trust in the village for
their leaders.
55 See Chapter III, Scholarly basis for SFM Criteria
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These scandals and the resultant lack of local leadership directly and indirectly
damaged the sustainability of the local forest management system by slowing the
progress of PFM on public lands and agro-forestry projects on private lands. Specific
obstacles to PFM included the cancelation of a series of capacity building meetings that
were to be held by the District Catchment Forest Officer in 2007. Obstacles to agro-
forestry included the failed establishment of a small tree lot behind the elementary
school. More generally, small factions of special interest groups became more
pronounced within the village and began making plans to change borders within the
village and to extend agricultural lands. One group of politically significant farmers
worked to derail the Barjomot Women’s Gardening Group. The list of complications
and challenges presented by an untrustworthy and later non-existent village
government was substantial. Regardless, it was clear that during the author’s period in
Barjomot there was a fundamental lack of trust in local formal governance56.
SOCIO-ECONOMIC SFM CRITERION IV: EASY RULE BREAKER IDENTIFICATION
The ease with which rule breakers can be identified within Barjomot was a
sustainable aspect of the local forest management system. This criterion was “present”
because the indicators “illegal loggers are easy to identify” and “illegal fuelwood
gatherers are easy to identify” were verified by informants and participant observation.
Illegal loggers and consumers of illegally logged building materials were easy
to identify. The most significant illegal logging for building materials occurred within
the NFR. The author traveled many of the illegal loggers’ foot paths57 throughout the
forest and witnessed numerous illegally felled trees and two pit saw sites.
56 The trust situation appeared to be improving at the end of the author’s field period with the election of a new chairman. 57 The most infamous illegal logging paths are locally known as Dakho, Shooti and Haidom 1996.
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Figure 10. Picture of illegally cut Juniperus procera in NFR
Figure 11. Pit saw frame used to cut Podocarpus latifolius in NFR
Figure 12. Small scale pit saw frame in NFR
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Figure 13. Local farmer using pit saw frame
The history of each of the trails, including their builders, was well known to the
Village Environment Committee chairman. He was also able to identify the three most
active illegal loggers from Barjomot as well as the twenty or so illegal loggers from
neighboring Gitting. Knowing who broke the rules was not an issue; rather, the
capacity to make the arrest safely (See Institutional SFM Criterion III: Ease of rule
enforcement).
Consumers of illegally harvested products were also easy to identify. A home
or structure utilizing illegally harvested Juniperus procera poles (Figure 14) looked
fundamentally different from a home utilizing poles from indigenous species (Figure
15). Tree species used in home construction was readily recognizable by local farmers.
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Figure 14. Home with wall poles from illegally harvested Juniperus procera poles
Figure 15. Home with wall poles from trees other than Juniperus procera
In summary, local farmers’, enforcers’ and leaders’ awareness of each other’s
activities made rule breaker identification easy. In the case of illegal logging it was
obvious, their products were large and the consumers local.
INSTITUTIONAL SFM CRITERIA
This section presents and discusses the verifiers and conclusions for three
Institutional SFM Criteria: (I) forest access and management rules are locally devised,
(II) women are empowered forest managers, (III) harvest restrictions match
regeneration of resources and (III) ease of rule enforcement. As with physical and
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socio-economic SFM criteria, each of these criteria was tested to determine whether it
represents a sustainable or unsustainable aspect of the local forest management system.
Institutional SFM criteria were different than both physical and socio-economic
criteria in several important ways. Although many informal institutions have roots in
pre-colonial and colonial periods, most of the forest resource related formal institutions
are particularly new; they are facilitated by The National Forestry Policy of 1998 and
The Forest Act of 2002. Although some aspects of the institutions affecting private
forest management – in particular women’s empowerment – are discussed below, this
section focuses primarily on aspects of the local forest management system related to
forest reserves.
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Table 12. Summary of Institutional SFM Criteria results
Institutional SFM Criteria Indicators 1st level
results 2nd level
results Category
result
I. Forest access and management rules are locally devised
Secure land tenure for locally devised forest rules on private and public lands
present
present
present
External and internal support for local forest management rule-making responsibility
present
II. Women are empowered forest managers
Formal institutions empower women as forest managers ambiguous
ambiguous Informal institutions empower women as forest managers ambiguous
III. Harvest restrictions match the regeneration of resources
Harvest restrictions match the regeneration of woody biomass in forest reserves.
present
present Harvest restrictions match the regeneration of woody biomass in the Hudhuma58
absent
IV. Forest management rules are easily enforced.
Monitoring subsistence level rule-breaking is easy absent
absent Monitoring illegal logging is easy absent
58 See Chapter, II, Barjomot Village, Forest resources
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INSTITUTIONAL SFM CRITERION I: FOREST ACCESS AND MANAGEMENT RULES ARE
LOCALLY DEVISED
Introduction
Verifiers indicate that access and management rules were, in fact, locally
devised. Institutional SFM Criterion I was “present”. This 2nd level result was based
on a combination of 1st level results relating to secure land tenure and external and
internal support and participation for local design of forest access and management
rules.
Secure land tenure for locally devised forest rules on private and public lands
Secure land tenure relating to the local establishment of forest rules on private
and public lands verified a “present” 1st level result for this indicator. On private lands
secure tenure enabled farmers to make long-term decisions, a fundamental aspect of
SFM. In fact, 100% of the case study interview respondents perceived their tenure
relationship with their farms and homesteads as “ownership”. “Ownership” was
characterized by respondents’ confidence that they had the rights to sell or manage
their land as however they wanted. On public lands, a secure public lands tenure
situation was characterized by external support for PFM59. The village’s establishment
of two VFRs, a CFR and entering into a Joint Management Agreement (JMA) for the
NFR (described below) verified the fact that land tenure responsibility for forest
resources resided with local farmers and the village government.
External and internal support for local forest management rule-making responsibility
There was significant external and internal support (and cooperation) for the
local design of forest access and management rules. Formal national policy supports
CBFM and JFM under the larger umbrella of PFM60. This external support of local
59 See Chapter II, Barjomot Village, Forest Resources 60 See Chapter IV, Current Forest Policy and Land Law; Table A. 7 and Wily et al. (2001 who conclude that forest management in Tanzania is so strongly encouraged that it is obligatory.
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forest management rule-making responsibility through PFM was exemplified in
Barjomot by the 2003 JMA between the Hanang District Council and Barjomot
Village. In 2003 each of the nine villages bordering the NFR were assisted (required61)
to produce a, “Sheria Ndogo za (Kulinda na Kutunza Eneo la Msitu wa Hifadhi Kijiji
cha Barjomot Kwenye Msitu wa Hifadhi ya Taifa Mlima Hanang)” – ‘By-law (to
protect and manage Barjomot’s area of the Mt. Hanang National Forest Reserve)’
which from this point forward will simply be referred to as the JMA. The process by
which the JMA was produced verifies the “present” 1st level result for the external
support for local forest management rule-making responsibility listed in Table 12.
The JMA is the product of many months of work by Mr. Marongi and three
weeks of participation from the village. During that period the village government was
given the opportunity to edit the by-law as written by Mr. Marongi. There were very
few edits or changes from the village government or assembly. Mr. Marongi’s
authorship, however, did not preclude the JMA from verifying local forest access and
management rules. First, the JMA was a technical document produced for a village in
a district with a literacy rate of 56% (JICA, 2006). Despite this challenge the village
government participated in the creation of the JMA and the village assembly did assent
to its passage (Mig, personal communication, May, 5th, 2007). The participatory roles
of various JMA stakeholders are summarized in Table 13.
61 Assessing the extent to which PFM is “participatory” would be a valuable future study.
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Table 13. PFM responsibilities from Barjomot’s JMA
Village Government – lead
role
- Organize the planning process - Design and implement by-laws (Sheria ndogondogo) - Oversee that the village environment committee is performing its duties - Monitor and follow up on the JFM plan implementation.
Villagers
- Extinguish forest fires - Report evidence of rule breaking and, if possible, identify rule breakers - Plant trees - Attend meetings
District Foresters
- Provide support and expertise - Assist tree nurseries and tree planting - Facilitate understanding and awareness of forest law - Monitoring and reporting on JFM plans - Assist in JFM plan implementation
District Leadership
- Support and encourage JFM and CBFM - Guarantee support of police and district courts for CBFM and JFM - Coordinate with central government - Assist with conflict resolution
(Hanang District Government, 2004 – original in Swahili)
Table 13 shows that local access and management rule making responsibility was
focused on the village government, with villagers, district foresters and district
leadership playing supporting roles. De-jure and de-facto support for the design of
local forest access and management rules was “present”, especially in relation to the
formalization of PFM roles in the JMA.
INSTITUTIONAL SFM CRITERION II: WOMEN ARE EMPOWERED FOREST MANAGERS
The status of gender equality62 and its effect on SFM in the village was difficult
to gauge, hence, the related “ambiguous” 2nd level result listed in Table 12. Although
de-jure formal institutions in the area of forest management can be characterized in
Tanzanian society as empowering women, informal institutions (namely cultural
62 Gender equality is a sensitive and loaded topic and is beyond the scope of this paper. Therefore, the study does not purport a universal definition of gender equality progressiveness, rather a relative one – based on cultural mores in the village.
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mores) were patriarchal. These complicated interactions show that, in practice, gender
equality was not present in Barjomot. Regardless, their effect on SFM was ambiguous
and simply cannot be assessed as either an opportunity or obstacle without significant
additional study.
De-jure formal institutions empower women as forest managers
Local formal institutions verified the de-jure empowerment of women as forest
managers, but, de-facto women’s empowerment through formal institutions was
unclear. First, the JMA required that 30% of the Village Environment Committee be
female (Hanang District Government, 2003). This type of quota was common in
Barjomot. Second, tenure requirements were gender-neutral; they referred simply to
“head of household” (Mr. Sahati, Village Executive Officer, personal communication,
May 2007). The dynamics of the village environment committee and “heads of
household” was beyond the scope of this paper, and therefore, the related 1st level
result for “Formal institutions empower women as forest managers” was “ambiguous”
Informal institutions dis-empower women as forest managers
Informal institutions were far less progressive; women had considerably less
power to access income from forest-based products and control land management
decisions without the approval of the male in the household. When asked about the
woman’s role in the household Samantha (age 85) laughed and responded, “Kata kuni,
kusaga mahindi na kupika ugali” – ‘cut fuelwood, mill corn, cook hard porridge’. In
spite of the generally patriarchal nature of informal institutions and women’s role in
forest management, verifiers indicated an “ambiguous” 1st level result because women
play a significant and complex role in household decision making.
In order to understand women’s role in the management of private forest
resources the author asked male and female respondents the question, ‘Who makes
land management decisions?’ Three of eleven respondents answered that land
management, including tree management, was the man’s responsibility. Five of eleven
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respondents said that they worked together to make decisions. Mark’s response
articulated this general equality in decision-making responsibility within the
household, “Mzee anaongoza nyumba, lakini mama anasaidia sana kushauriana” –
‘The man is the head of household, but the wife helps a lot to advise her husband’.
Finally, three respondents reported having essentially separate plots of land over which
the husband and wife each had separate responsibility.
Despite the above testaments to shared land management decision making,
informal institutions (including cultural mores and norms) were found to be generally
patriarchal and paternalistic. One can see Paulina’s position as a good example of the
complex interaction between gender relations (patriarchy/paternalism), land
management decisions and SFM. Paulina was an avid and diversified tree planter.
Around her homestead she planted thirteen species of trees, which was far more than
the average number of tree species planted around homesteads for all tree inventory
respondents (4.83 species). Local farmers commonly joked that she was “Chagga”,
referring to an ethnic group famous for their bio-diverse home gardens. Her stated goal
was to earn school money for her daughters by selling fruit - “Mahitaji yote ya nyumba
ni ya wanawake” – ‘All needs of the household are met by women’. However, her
husband disagreed with her initiative. She quoted him as saying, “Shule ya wasichana
ni ya nini?” – ‘School for girls has what purpose?’ When she cut down some of what
she considered her trees in 2004 and planned to sell them for school fees, her husband
used them instead as a floor to their pit toilet. This example is complex and ambiguous
in its effect on SFM. How gender, poverty, health, education and SFM inter-relate is a
question requiring significant further research. Hence, the “ambiguous” 2nd level result
listed in Table 12.
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INSTITUTIONAL SFM CRITERION III: HARVEST RESTRICTIONS MATCH THE
REGENERATION OF RESOURCES
Introduction
Institutional SFM Criterion III was “present”; harvest restrictions matched
resource regeneration. Unfortunately harvest restrictions related only to forest
reserves, approximately 7% of the total village area. Harvest restrictions relating to the
natural woodland area of the Hudhuma63 did not match regeneration
Harvest restrictions on harvests in the forest reserves match regeneration
De-jure harvest restrictions for all of the forest reserves match regeneration and
verified the “present” 1st level result for this indicator. First, the JMA’s current harvest
restrictions match regeneration. During the colonial time period and after
independence until 1986 many harvesting activities were allowed with an appropriate
permit. In 1986 a harvesting moratorium was enacted. In 2003 the moratorium was
effectively lifted and the JMA explicitly identified all permitted, forbidden and permit
requiring activities (Table 14).
63 See Chapter, II, Barjomot Village, Forest resources
111
Table 14. Summary of JMA harvest restrictions for the NFR
Permitted Forbidden Allowed with permit (payable to Village
Environment committee) Collect dead and down wood three times/ week (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) Cut grass Collect soil Cut herding sticks Cut toothbrush sticks Cut vines for home construction Make religious offerings
Damage forest spring Construction of any kind Harvest honey Hunting Farming of any kind Grazing Fire Felling live trees Mining of any kind
Collect downed timber (1900Tsh) Collect dry pole (950Tsh) Collect one load of sticks (1800Tsh) Collect traditional medicine (1500Tsh) Environmental education (10,000 Tsh) Mountain climbing (2500Tsh per guest)
(Hanang District Government, 2003 – original in Swahili)
Overall, forbidden activities matched resource regeneration, with no felling of live
trees being of particular importance. Both permitted activities and allowed with a
permit activities were low-impact and consistent with SFM. Unfortunately these
restrictions were not closely followed64.
Within the VFRs and CFR, all harvesting of any living woody plant and
grazing was forbidden. The only harvesting allowed was the cutting of grass and
collection of dead and downed woody material. Grass regenerates quickly if cut by
hand and the root structures are not destroyed by over-grazing. Within the CFR the
harvesting of honey by only the Barjomot Beekeeping group was allowed. All of these
harvest restrictions matched regeneration.
Harvest restrictions match the regeneration of woody biomass in the Hudhuma
Restrictions within the village Hudhuma (communal land) did not match the
regeneration of resources and, therefore, verified the “absent” 1st level result listed in
Table 12. Hudhuma restrictions, like those of the VFRs and CFR, forbid the cutting of
64 See Institutional SFM Criterion III – Ease in enforcement of rules.
112
any live vegetation. Seasonal grazing of bulls during planting season was, however,
allowed. This seasonal grazing effectively matched the regeneration of grasses but not
of trees (almost exclusively Acacia drepanolobium). According to Amy (age 42) the
Acacia drepanolobium was so thick when she was young that, “hujaweza kuingia” –
‘you were not able to walk into it’. In 2007 suppressed regeneration caused by
seasonal grazing had drastically reduced the Hudhuma’s tree density (Figure 16).
Figure 16. Photo showing suppressed regeneration in the Hudhuma
Harvest restrictions in the VFRs and CFR matched regeneration, but restrictions in the
Hudhuma had been less effective. Overall restrictions on harvests in forest reserves
and protected areas on village lands matched regeneration of forest resources and were
a significant opportunity for SFM and partial explanation of fuelwood and cultural
services adequacy as measured in Research Objective I.
INSTITUTIONAL SFM CRITERION III: FOREST MANAGEMENT RULES ARE EASILY
ENFORCED
Although forest access and management rules were locally devised and match
the regeneration of resources, enforcement was difficult. The conclusion for
Institutional SFM Criterion III was necessarily “absent” (See Table 12). Verifiers are
presented for two indicators: (i) monitoring subsistence level rule-breaking is easy and
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(ii) the monitoring of illegal logging for cash is easy. Powerful socio-economic forces
made the enforcement of rules for both types of offenses difficult.
Monitoring subsistence level rule-breaking is difficult
Farmers in Barjomot practice subsistence-level rain-fed agriculture;
accordingly, their dependence on forest resources for livelihood strategies cannot be
over-emphasized65. This strong socio-economic force made monitoring their illegal
activities difficult and verified the “absent” 1st level result for this indicator. Mama A,
Mama G and Paul exemplified some of the complications between clear forest
restrictions and livelihood strategies. Mama A was, according to Ailoi (the Hudhuma
guard), one of the very few villagers who consistently harvests fuelwood illegally from
the Hudhuma. She told the author that she harvested with anxiety, knowing that she
could get caught at any point. Fortunately for her, Village Environment Committee
and Hudhuma guards consistently looked the other way because they respect the
unique challenge of her status as an essentially single mother with five children. Mama
A’s anxiety for illegal harvesting was shared by Mama G, who often harvested both
from the fringes of the Hudhuma and trespassed on neighboring private lands. Mama
G’s husband’s debilitating medical conditions contributed to guard’s empathy for her
difficult situation. Although she was often caught by guards and landowners, she was
never fined. The challenge with monitoring illegal subsistence level activities like
those of Mama A and Mama G was not ease of identification, but reluctance to enforce.
To be sure, the dependence of all local farmers on fuelwood was a disincentive to strict
rule enforcement. Even forest guards enjoy a hot meal!
Monitoring illegal logging is difficult
Monitoring illegal logging, like illegal fuelwood gathering, was difficult not
because of unknown offenders (Socio-economic SFM Criterion IV) but because
arresting illegal loggers was beyond the capacity of village guards (Physical SFM 65 See Chapter II, Hanang District and Barjomot Village and Socio Economic Criterion I – Forest resources and development strategies.
114
Criterion I). Illegal loggers were essentially known within the village; the Barjomot
Village Environment Chairman claimed to be able to name all of them. Some of the
illegal loggers, though, were hardened criminals and men in desperate economic
situations. Getting arrested and going to jail would be strongly resisted and, now,
thanks to the JMA “Ulinzi shirikishe” – ‘Participatory monitoring/guarding’ the arrest
responsibility was with local volunteer guards. Unfortunately local volunteer guards
were under-equipped (Physical SFM Criterion I) and police backup was uncertain (it
often took days or weeks for police to reach the village for any offense) and distant (the
nearest station is 25 km away). This final related “absent” conclusion is based on
complex interaction effects that are further discussed in the next chapter.
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CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
This chapter (i) summarizes key research findings, (ii) synthesizes two
important interaction effects between SFM Criteria and Indicators, (iii) provides
recommendations for supporting SFM in Barjomot and (iv) lists potential future
research.
Summary of key research findings
Research Objective I: Assess forest resources in Barjomot Village, was made
operational through Research Question I: Do forest resources in Barjomot Village
provide adequate goods (building materials and fuelwood) and services (environmental
and cultural) for local farmers? Results from Research Objective I show that forest
resources in Barjomot did not adequately provide goods and services for local farmers
during the time of the author’s 22 month field work period from 2005-2007.
Local forest resource scarcity was not uniform. Results for the adequacy of
fuelwood were ambiguous. Although the distances traveled were greater than they had
ever been before, the task remained essentially unchanged; women still spent
approximately half a day two to four times a week gathering fuelwood. Building
materials were scarce. The task of harvesting indigenous hardwoods for traditional
home construction had fundamentally changed. Farmers travelled over 15 kilometers
to Qao or harvested their building materials illegally from within the adjacent NFR.
Environmental services were scarce as well. Farmers reported decreased flows from
forest springs and rain as a result of local deforestation. In contrast, cultural services
remained adequately provided for by the local forest resource.
Research Objective II’s evaluation of local forest management’s sustainability
“explains” assessed levels of forest resource adequacy. Five of the SFM Criteria were
found to be “present”, sustainable aspects of the local forest management system, five
were found to be “absent”, unsustainable aspects of the local forest management
system and one was “ambiguous”. This even division of sustainable and unsustainable
aspects of the local forest management system “explains” why forest resources were
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not uniformly inadequate. The two most sustainable aspects of the local forest
management system were the physical clarity of forest reserve boundaries and the local
design of forest access and management rules. The two most significant unsustainable
aspects of the local forest management system, and likely causes of local forest
resource inadequacies, were the dominance of agriculture as a development strategy
and difficult forest rule enforcement.
INTERACTION EFFECTS
Important interaction effects associated with the two most unsustainable aspects
of the local forest management system are summarized below. Both agricultural
dominance as a primary development strategy and difficult rule enforcement interact
with numerous other SFM Criteria and Indicators. These interactions are exemplary of
type of interactions occurring between all of the SFM Criteria and Indicators.
Agriculture, development strategies and support for SFM
The role of forest management as a development strategy (Socio-economic
SFM Criterion I) and leaders and farmers support for SFM (Socio-economic SFM
Criterion II) was a multi-dimensional cause of forest resource inadequacy.
Contradictory national development slogans were reported; President Mwinyi argued
that farmers should, “Kata mti, panda mti” – ‘cut and tree, plant a tree’, while President
Nyerere clearly set Tanzania on a development path dominated by agriculture,
“fungueni mashamba makubwa, siyo madogo" – ‘clear large farms, not small farms’.
The battle between agricultural expansion and SFM continued in Barjomot in 2007.
Market interactions show development strategy priorities and forest products
were unduly dominated by agriculture (Socio-economic SFM Criterion I).
Agriculture’s dominance of the local market (although not complete) was a key
influence undermining support for SFM (Socio-economic Criterion II).
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Difficult rule enforcement is a multi-dimensional cause of forest resource scarcity
Difficult rule enforcement was an unsustainable aspect of the local forest
management system and is best understood in relation to the NFR. During the colonial
and independence periods the NFR had a distant tenure relationship with local farmers.
The ironic juxtaposition of those physically closest to the resource having the most
distant tenure relationship led many farmers to think that illegal harvesting was stealing
from the Kaiser, Queen or President, but not necessarily from themselves. Recent
devolution of forest management, in the form of a JMA in Barjomot, had begun the de-
jure process of reversing this trend. In 2007 the NFR adjacent to Barjomot was
monitored by local volunteer guards. Also, access and management rules for the
clearly bounded NFR were locally devised (Institutional SFM Criteria I and II and
Physical SFM Criterion I).
Unfortunately, recent devolution was not without challenges. Forest monitors
did not have the equipment needed to enforce locally devised rules (Physical SFM
Criterion III). As a result, illegal fuelwood and building materials harvesters and
illegal loggers, although easily identified (Socio-economic SFM Criterion IV),
continued their unsustainable practices. If these practices continue, the condition of the
NFR may become such that the feasibility of improvement from active management
will decrease (Physical SFM Criterion II). Altogether the inter-connected criteria
listed above accounted for the difficulty in enforcing forest management rules in the
NFR and were therefore significant causes of forest resource inadequacy.
SFM RECOMMENDATIONS
In spite of the complex nature of the sustainability evaluation completed for
Research Objective II key findings can be used by farmers, local leaders, district level
government officers and concerned development practitioners interested in supporting
SFM in Barjomot. The SFM recommendations inspired by key research findings
presented below are broadly organized into Agro-forestry for private lands and PFM
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for public lands. This section supplements readily available agro-forestry or
community based forestry technical manuals66 and literature67.
All of the following recommendations are made with the financial capacity
levels of the Barjomot Village Government, the Hanang District Government and the
U.S. Peace Corps in mind. Implementation of the recommendations is possible with
small scale support from these formal institutions. Grants and fund raising events from
resources available at the village and district levels are to be preferred. The U.S. Peace
Corps may also be a source of support. Furthermore, the author suggests the alteration
of existing projects wherever possible. The creation of new projects, although
sometimes necessary, requires inherently inefficient uses of already limited budgets.
Agro-forestry: making forest management a primary development strategy.
Agro-forestry projects around homesteads and on farms in Barjomot should
take findings from both Research Objectives into consideration. Any agro-forestry
project should aim to (i) decrease the forest resource scarcity assessed in Research
Objective I and (ii) decrease unsustainable aspects of the local forest management
system identified by Research Objective II. In other words, agro-forestry should aim to
plant indigenous hardwoods for building materials and increase the value of forest
management as a development strategy. The following agro-forestry recommendations
take these findings into account.
1. Rather than begin a tree nursery from scratch, support current tree nursery
entrepreneurs. During the author’s field period there were four nurseries each
producing hundreds of seedlings. There were also numerous other small scale
nurseries. Supporting these entrepreneurs has a higher chance for long term
sustainability than starting anew because they have already established seed
sources, nursery expertise and local markets. Profitable farmer owned tree
66 See, for instance, FAO (1990) 67 Agro-forestry is a general term for the combination of trees and shrubs with crops and livestock. See, for instance, Franzel et al. (2002)
119
nurseries will increase the value of forest management as a development
strategy.
2. When supporting tree nursery practices one should focus on diversifying
species. Diverse species sets in tree nurseries better support the varied needs of
local farmers from all socio-economic classes. Some recommended tree
nursery species include68
a. Indigenous hardwoods for traditional home construction: Olea sp.,
Combretum sp., Podocarpus latifolius, Juniperus procera, Acacia
nilotica, Dombeya rotundifolia, Cordia monoica and Grewia sp..
b. Multi-purpose trees for farms: Grevilea robusta, Casuarina
junghuhniana, Jacaranda mimesofolia, Sochandi, Croton
macrostachyus, Schinus sp. and Senna siamea
c. Livestock fodder and nitrogen fixation species: Faidherbia (Acacia)
albida, Gliricidia sepium and Leucaena sp.
d. Fruit trees: Annona Senegalensis, Carica papaya, Persea americana,
and Syszgium cordatum69.
3. Agro-forestry training should be as local as possible. Coordinating and
supporting meetings between interested farmers in Barjomot and progressive
agro-foresters in Gitting and Nangwa villages is an effective and low cost
method to raise awareness and add value to local practices. Honoring local
progressive farmers will have more benefits for Hanang District than study
tours to distant agricultural training centers because they better reflect local
social and environmental conditions.
Local study tours can be made more “exciting” by ensuring that a high
profile honored guest (perhaps a well known expert from a distant agricultural
training center!) is involved and offering certificates of completion. The 68 Table A. 2 is a list of all the trees planted or retained by respondents on their farms and homesteads. The list also reports the numbers planted or retained. Table A. 2 can be used to learn which trees grow in Barjomot and which species farmers generally prefer. 69 Syszium cordatum, or Matlarmo in Iraqw, is the most popular indigenous fruit tree.
120
prestige bestowed upon the host (who should be compensated for their time)
creates positive social pressures for best practices.
4. Instead of coercive tree planting requirements (See Socio-economic SFM
Criterion II), organize a tree planting contest. This contest could be organized
at the district level and prizes could be given at the village, sub-village and/ or
household level.
Combining forest management with agriculture will help to make farmers
apparent yet inconsistent support for SFM (Socio-economic SFM Criterion II) a more
viable livelihood and development strategy.
PFM: reducing the difficulty of rule enforcement through participation
In addition to agro-forestry on private lands, PFM capacity should be increased
on public lands. All of the requirements for PFM will help to overcome key
unsustainable aspects within the local forest management system such as: insufficient
monitors’ technology (Physical SFM Criterion III), inconsistent leaders and farmers
support for SFM (Socio-economic SFM Criterion II), low levels of trust between rule
makers, enforcers and resource users (Socio-economic SFM Criterion III) and, most
importantly, the difficulty of forest rule enforcement (Institutional SFM Criterion III).
Research findings suggest four recommendations for increasing PFM in
Barjomot.
1. The forest management capacity of the village environment committee should
be increased. This committee is responsible for monitoring and rule
enforcement in the VFRs and NFR and should be provided with technical
training and equipment. Small scale grants to the Peace Corps or TASAF
would be appropriate sources of resources for this capacity building.
These grants should include the provision of gas for district foresters to
facilitate training or for farmers’ travels to community based forestry
conferences. Technical training should center on protection of environmental
services (e.g. forest springs) and restoration of degraded lands. Forest
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monitoring equipment that could be purchased either with community
contributions, small scale grants or a combination of the two include boots,
overalls and cell phones.
2. The forest management commitment and capacity of the Hanang District
Government should also be increased. These improvements could be facilitated
through well written and timed letters to the local parliamentarian.
Parliamentary support for district participation with village environment
committees on conflict resolution would help to ease the difficulty of rule
enforcement (Institutional SFM Criterion III). Specifically, district police and
judges should be formally encouraged to more directly support village level
forest guards.
3. Farmers should be educated of their legal right to establish CFRs. There are
numerous small areas of natural woodland scattered throughout the village that
are valued by their immediate neighbors. These scattered woodlands could
become CFRs managed by small groups of farmers. The Barjomot Beekeeping
Group provides an ideal model.
4. A PFM sustainability competition should be organized at the district level.
VFRs and CFRs could be evaluated on their size, clarity of physical boundaries
(Physical SFM Criterion I) and condition (Physical SFM Criterion II). The
competition would encourage sustainable PFM in the district by recognizing
community efforts for SFM.
FUTURE RESEARCH
This thesis explored numerous and varied aspects of forest resource adequacy
and forest management sustainability. Future research could use findings and methods
contained herein to be more specific, comparative and statistical. Any researcher
interested in the sustainability of a forest management system in a less developed
country should become familiar with the work of the Center for International Forestry
Research (CIFOR, see, for instance, CIFOR, 1999) and International Forestry
122
Resources and Institutions (IFRI) Research Program (see
http://www.indiana.edu/~ifri/). Both of these organizations have developed multi-
disciplinary research methodologies similar to the one developed by the author for this
thesis. Specific potential future research inspired by this thesis includes, but is not
limited to:
• Future research related to Research Objective I
o Fuelwood adequacy could be quantitatively assessed through a
statistical comparison of the estimated volume of wood consumed per
capita per month and the estimated growth rate of woody biomass in a
given area.
o Building materials adequacy could be more quantitatively assessed
through random sampling of the prevalence and diversity of trees used
in the walls of farmers’ homes. Analysis of the trees used in the
construction of homes built at different times and in different places
would yield important information on the changing biophysical reality
of the local forest resource and farmers’ livelihood strategies.
o Environmental services adequacy, especially forest springs, could be
quantitatively assessed. Forest spring flow measurements could be
compared to water use per capita to assess the adequacy of the forest
spring for local farmers water needs. The flow measurements, along
with precipitation data, would become a baseline for the health of the
forest spring itself.
• Future Research related to Research Objective II
o A market analysis of valuable legal forest products would yield
actionable information for local entrepreneurs. What is the local,
national and global market for local forest products? What is the value
of an average harvest? What are net profits over time?
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o An analysis of valuable illegal forest products would yield actionable
information for forest rule makers and enforcers. Who are the illegal
harvesters? What are they harvesting? What are the markets? Who are
the monitors? What are their limitations? How common are fines/
bribes?
o A gender analysis would also be useful. What are women’s tree species
preferences? How do they differ from men’s? Would women be more
effective managers of forest reserves?
o Informal institutions’ contribution to conflict resolution mechanisms
should be better understood. What role do traditional belief systems
play in determining local support for SFM? How do informal
institutions such as the Hoyodah70 emergency call and baini (curses)
contribute to forestry related conflict resolution mechanisms at the
village and district level?
CONCLUSION
This thesis is a snapshot of forest resources and their management in Barjomot.
Deforestation, a global, continental, regional and national trend was indeed a threat to
the livelihoods of farmers in Barjomot in 2007. Their local forest resource
inadequately provided goods and services. Causes for this scarcity were mostly related
to socio-economic pressures. Physical and institutional factors presented significant
opportunities for SFM.
In hindsight the author’s conclusions seem intuitive; of course agricultural
expansion negatively impacts forest resource adequacy. Prior to completing the study,
however, the questions of whether or not the resource was adequate and which aspects
of the local forest management system might have caused scarcity or adequacy were
unknown. Now, increased understanding of the contextual realities of Barjomot’s
70 Hoyodah! is an emergency call particular to the Iraqw.
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forest resources and their management can be used to appropriately and effectively
support SFM in the future.
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ACRONYMS
CBFM – Community Based Forest Management
CFR – Community Forest Reserve
CIA – Central Intelligence Agency
CIFOR – Center for International Forestry Research
CIPEC – Center for the Study of Institutions, Population and Environmental Change
CPR – Common Pool Resources
FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
FBD – Forestry and Beekeeping Division
GPS – Global Positioning System
IFRI – International Forestry Resources and Institutions
ITTO – International Tropical Timber Organization
IUCN – The World Conservation Union
JFM – Joint Forest Management
JMA – Joint Management Agreement
MNRT – Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism
NFR – National Forest Reserve
PCMI – Peace Corps Master’s International
PFM – Participatory Forest Management
SFM – Sustainable Forest Management
TASAF – The Tanzania Social Action Fund
Tsh – Tanzanian Shilling. One US$ was equal to 1300Tsh at the time of this study.
UN – United Nations
URT – United Republic of Tanzania
VEO - Village Executive Officer
VFR – Village Forest Reserve
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APPENDIX: BACKGROUND FIGURES AND TABLES
1. Personal Information: Name, age, education, marital status, religion, ethnic group, social/ economic position: 2. Household Composition:
3. Livelihood resources: Land:
Land type # of parcels
Total # of acres
# acres w/ natural vegetation
Plot Farm Totals
Farm and homestead ownership history and tenure situation? Labor: Land management decisions made by? Farm labor mostly done by? Crops: Crop type Priority ranking
food money Corn Beans Other
Livestock:
Livestock type # comments
Cows Goats Sheep Other
Trees: (E-Exotic, I-Indigenous, P-Planted, R-Retained) Home and Farm Tree Resource
type mngmt. Species E I # Area Uses/ Comments P R
Figure A. 1. Questionnaire (Kajembe, 1994)
<18 18-55 55+ Male Female
137
Table A. 1. Compiled socio-economic and demographic data
138
Table A. 2. Compiled data from 14 tree inventories Summarized results from 14 tee inventories, (e) = exotic or
naturalized, p = planted, r = retained
# respondents reporting species Total
# p and r
home farm Latin Iraqw Swahili p r p r ? aantsi 0 0 0 1 1 ? efhitimo 0 0 0 1 1 ? gundi 0 1 0 0 5 ? hhatsimo 0 0 0 1 1 ? marongi 0 1 0 2 21 ? maskariandi 0 0 0 0 0 ? michongoma 3 0 1 0 1080 ? mringaringa 1 0 1 0 13 ? muri 0 0 0 2 4 ? nitsistiamo 0 1 0 0 1 ? nyonyo 0 1 0 0 50 ? prieto 1 0 0 0 1 ? qarwahi 0 1 0 0 80 ? sasagi 0 0 0 0 0 ? sochandi 0 3 0 1 9 ? tlakay 0 3 0 2 27 ? tloomo 0 0 0 0 0 Acacia brevispica ngoja kidogo 0 1 0 0 2 Acacia drepanolobium qarbu 1 1 0 1 303 Acacia nilotica barjamot 0 4 0 3 21 Acacia kirkii fisito 0 4 0 6 653 Acacia tortillis harbegheidi 0 2 0 2 31 Acacia xanthoploea naarmo, nari 1 3 0 5 152 Acrocarpus fraxinofolius (e) 3 0 0 0 13 Agave sisalana (e) katani 1 1 3 0 770 Albizia sp. tlahhamo 0 1 0 3 4 Annona senegalensisSenegalensis (e) mtopetope 3 0 0 0 13 Azadiracha indica (e) mwarobaini 0 0 1 0 4 Boscia mossambiscensis notschandi 0 1 0 1 11 Carica papaya (e) paipai 2 0 1 0 25 Carrissa edulis titiiwi 0 1 0 2 70 Cassia didymotrya siguena garerei 0 2 0 0 9 Casuarina junghuhniana (e) mvinje 1 0 1 0 19 Citrus limon (e) malimau 3 0 0 0 16 Citrus sinensis (e) machungwa 3 0 0 0 46 Commiphora africana naamo 0 0 0 3 82 Commiphora emnii zimmermannii bakchandi 1 3 0 2 22 Cordia africana sei 2 0 0 0 3
139
Cordia monoica/ ovalis baqarmo 1 2 0 2 54 Croton macrostachyus ailoi 1 1 1 0 17 Croton menyhartii gilgirmo 0 1 0 1 80 Cussonia sp. mananei 0 1 0 0 2 Dombeya rotundifolia gwadaat 0 4 0 5 21 Erythrina lysistemom qanqari 0 2 0 3 17 Eucalyptus sp. (e) mkaratusi 6 0 2 0 537 Euclea divinorom minighit 0 1 0 2 51 Euphorbia candelabrum athlang 0 0 0 1 3 Euphorbia tirucalli minyaa 2 0 0 0 122 Ficus thonningii aantsi, tiita 0 0 0 0 0 Gliricidia sepium (e) 1 0 0 0 2 Grevilea robusta (e) mieresi 7 0 3 0 460 Grewia fallax/ mollis lagangi 0 1 0 1 24 Jacaranda mimosifolia (e) 3 0 1 0 19 Juniperus procera duku 0 1 0 1 11 Kigelia africana mangafi 0 0 0 1 1 Leuceana sp.(e) mlusina 2 0 1 0 8 Lippia kituinensis ufani 0 1 0 1 300 Mangifera indica(e) mwembe 1 0 0 0 4 Manihot sp.(e) mihogo 2 0 1 0 185 Musa sapientum (e) ndizi 2 0 0 0 30 Myrsine africana maheli 0 1 0 0 200 Olea sp. sahati 0 1 0 0 3 Osyrus tenuifolia msandale 0 1 0 0 10 Pappea capensis getaqubai 0 1 0 0 1 Passiflora sp. 3 0 0 0 7 Persea americana (e) parachichi 3 0 1 0 27 Phytolacca dodecandra tlontli 0 1 0 3 147 Podocarpus latifolius noki 0 0 0 0 0 Psidium guajava (e) mpera 5 0 0 0 13 Rhus natalensis sirongi 0 4 0 2 174 Schinus mole (e) mpilipili 1 0 1 0 2 Schrebera elata pararraamo 0 1 0 0 15 Scolopia sp. mumui 0 1 0 1 22 Senna siamea (e) mjohoro 2 0 0 0 11 Solanum sp. (e.g. incanum) hangeli 0 0 0 1 100 Syszgium cordatum matlarmo 0 4 0 2 22 unknown 0 1 0 2 54 Vernonia excertifolia ankway 0 0 0 1 100 Ximenia caffra maayangu 0 1 0 1 11 Ziziphus sp. gulaliandi 0 2 0 0 3
1 meter of live fence (sisal,michongoma, minyaa) = 1 tree
Table A. 2. (cont.)
140
Table A. 3. Physical SFM Criteria, Indicators and Verifiers Physical Factors
PRIVATE LAND
Verifiers Trees: types; Land: size; Location: of trees and land
SFM C & I
Trees: appropriate types for environmental context, Land: large enough for livelihood strategy that includes trees, Location: nurseries of seedlings close to farms and
homesteads
PUBLIC LAND
Verifiers Forest: size, condition, boundary and relative location to users, monitors and policy makers
SFM C & I
Forest: small enough to match technology of monitors, good enough condition to reward management, clear
physical boundary and users, monitors and policy makers should be reasonably close
141
Table A. 4. Socio-economic SFM Criteria, Indicators and Verifiers Socioeconomic and Demographic Factors
PRIVATE LAND
Verifiers Social: status, ethnicity, gender, age, religion;
Economic: markets, wealth and livelihood strategies; Political: types of leaders
SFM C & I
Social: SFM should be socially valued by different demographic groups; Economic: trees should play important roles in markets and livelihood strategies across wealth classes; Political: leadership should
support SFM
PUBLIC LAND
Verifiers
Social: status, ethnicity, gender, age, religion; Economic: markets, wealth and livelihood strategies;
Political: types of leaders, power relations among sub-groups, experience with communal action, levels of
trust, level of rules awareness
SFM C & I
Social: homogeneous identity, easy identification of rule breakers; Economic: heterogeneity of
endowments, external aid for conservation, even distribution of benefits, low discount rate; Political:
high levels of trust, prior communal action experience, high rules awareness, SFM enlightened leadership that is autonomous, young, aware of external political and legal environment and connected to traditional elite
142
Table A. 5. Institutional SFM Criteria, Indicators and Verifiers Institutional Factors
PRIVATE LAND
Verifiers
Informal: specific rules, community mores, gender relations; Formal: policy and law concerning private property including tenure and tree requirements and
gender roles
SFM C & I
Informal: Traditional conservation ethic and related rules, women's rights; Formal: private property
secured by law, policy encourages SFM, women's rights
PUBLIC LAND
Verifiers
Informal: specific rules, availability of conflict resolution mechanisms, community mores; Formal:
Communal property and gender balance land law and policy, level of congruence with local conditions,
users role in rule-making, accountability of monitors to users, gradation in sanctions, external recognition of
local rules
SFM C & I
Informal: high availability of conflict resolutions at low cost, traditional conservation ethic and related
rules, women's rights; Formal: policy and law (authorized communal land tenure and women's rights), rules (congruent with local conditions,
appropriators are empowered rule setters, monitors accountable to appropriators, simple and easy to
understand, easy to enforce, fairly allocate benefits, graduated sanctions, externally recognized)
143
Table A. 6. Rough ranking system for determining 11 SFM criteria.
Level 1: Categories Level 2: SFM Criteria
Pres
ence
Impo
rtanc
e
Phys
ical
con
ditio
ns
Priv
ate
Land
Trees Appropriate for biophysical environment h m Land Large enough for trees h l
Location seedlings close to planting sites h m
Publ
ic L
and
NFR
size = monitor's technology l m condition = feasible improvement m h
clear physical boundary h h Users, monitors, rule makers close proximity h m
VFR
size = monitor's technology h m condition = feasible improvement m h
clear physical boundary l h Users, monitors, rule makers close proximity h m
CFR
size = monitor's technology l m condition = feasible improvement h h
clear physical boundary m h Users, monitors, rule makers close proximity l m
Soci
o-ec
onom
ic a
nd d
emog
raph
ic c
ondi
tions
Priv
ate
Land
Social conservation ethic l m
Economic trees important part of livelihood strategies all wealth classes l h
Political Traditional (informal leadership effectively
supports SFM) m h
Formal leadership effectively supports SFM m h
Publ
ic L
and
Social Homogeneous Identity h m Easy identification of rule breakers h h
Economic Heterogeneity of endowments but even dist. Of
benefits. l m
external aid for conservation l m
political
Traditional (informal leadership effectively supports SFM) l h
Formal leadership effectively supports SFM l h high levels of trust l m
prior communal action experience m m high rules awareness m h
Inst
itutio
nal
cond
ition
s
Priv
ate
Land
Informal rules…
relate to conservation ethic h m secure private property tenure h h support SFM on private land h h
gender balance m h formal rules…
relate to conservation ethic m m secure private property tenure m h
144
support SFM on private land m h gender balance l h
Informal rules…
secure communal property tenure m h secure gender balance l m
congruent with local conditions h h Appropriators are empowered rule setters m h
Monitors accountable to appropriators h h Simple and easy to understand h h
Easy to enforce h h Fairly allocate benefits h h
Graduated sanctions h h Externally recognized. h h
formal rules…
secure communal property tenure h h secure gender balance l m
congruent with local conditions m h Appropriators are empowered rule setters l h
Monitors accountable to appropriators l h Simple and easy to understand m h
Easy to enforce l h Fairly allocate benefits l h
Graduated sanctions l h Externally recognized. h h
Table A. 6. (cont.)
145
a. To promote [and] to enhance the contribution of the forest sector to the sustainable development of Tanzania and the conservation and management of natural resources for the benefit of present and future generations;
b. To encourage and facilitate the active participation of the citizen in the sustainable planning, management, use and conservation of forest resources through the development of individual and community rights, whether derived from customary law or under this Act, to use and manage forest resources;
c. To ensure ecosystem stability through conservation of forest biodiversity, water catchments and soil fertility;
d. To delegate responsibility for management of forest resources to the lowest possible level of local management consistent with the furtherance of national policies;
e. To ensure the sustainable supply of forest products and services by maintaining sufficient forest area under efficient, effective and economical management;
f. To enhance the quality and improve the marketability of forest products and regulate their export;
g. To promote coordination and cooperation between the forest sector and other agencies and bodies in the public and private sectors in respect of the management of the natural resources of Tanzania;
h. To facilitate greater public awareness of the cultural, economic and social benefits for conserving and increasing sustainable forest cover by developing programmes in training, research and public education;
i. To enable Tanzania to pay, fully in contributing towards and benefiting from international efforts and measures to protect and enhance global bio-diversity (p. 1169).
Figure A. 2. Objectives of the Forest Act (MNRT, 2002)
