Abstract:
Mara River Basin ecosystem is shared by Tarime, Serengeti and Musoma districts. While
there is a great understanding on the availability of natural resources in the basin, less is
known on the implications of natural resources use conflicts on the livelihoods and on the
resource base. The overall objective of the study was to assess natural resources use
conflicts and their socio-economic and ecological implications. Data were collected
through PRA, discussions with key informants, questionnaire survey and field
observations. Satellite imageries were used to determine land cover and land use change
between 1990 and 2000. The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) was used to
analyze socio- economic data whereas as Content and Structural-Functional Analyses were
used for qualitative data. Ecological data were analyzed through a computer Arc View
GIS3.2 program. The study indicated that degradation of natural resources in the basin
compelled local communities to compete for natural resources to meet their basic needs.
Identified resources use conflicts were mainly conflicts among cultivators and livestock
keepers. Further more the study indicated that an increase in household size was
statistically significant ( P = 0.012).Similarly, an increase in years of residence was
statistically significant ( P = 0.015) to reduce resource use conflicts. Satellite images
showed land cover change from 139,540 ha of forests in 1990 to 73,867 ha for agriculture.
While for crop production land use changed from 151,419 ha in 1990 to 77,927 ha for
pastures in year 2000. The study concludes that the existing resources use conflicts in the
study area were due to socio–economic factors where the existing weak institutions made
local communities compete for natural resources without being regulated. The study
recommends strengthening of local institutions and providing enabling an environment to
local communities to sustain management of natural resources base in the area.
