Effectiveness of groundwater governance in Mbarali District, Tanzania
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Date
2017
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Sokoine University of Agriculture
Abstract
Groundwater governance is increasingly becoming critical worldwide. In Tanzania like
other countries in Sub Saharan Africa, water governance including groundwater has been
top on the development agenda. Nevertheless, the extent of effectiveness of groundwater
governance remains unclear. To that effect, the general objective of this study was to
determine effectiveness of groundwater governance with particular focus on governance
structures and institutions that guide water users’ behaviour. The study employed
exploratory sequential research design with two phases. In this design, qualitative data,
using key informant interviews and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), were first collected
and analyzed and the results were used to refine questionnaire used in the second phase of
data collection that adopted a household survey. A random sample of 90 water users
including 50% females was involved in the survey. Qualitative data were analysed using
content analysis. A Summated Index Scale was used to measure the extent of groundwater
users’ awareness of water institutions and effectiveness of governance structures and
institutions. The results show that 66.7% of the respondents depended on the groundwater
(deep wells) for domestic use. The groundwater user’s perception about groundwater
cleanness and the lack of other water sources were reported as the factors that influenced
the use of groundwater in the study area. The mean distance from a household to a
groundwater source was 249.50 metres. The results demonstrate that 50% of the
respondents showed medium awareness of formal institutions; 70% and 48.9% showed
high awareness of norms and values respectively. In addition, respondents showed high
awareness of governance structures particularly Village Councils and Community Water
Supply Organizations (COWSOs) relative to Village Water Committees. In respect to
effectiveness of formal institutions in influencing groundwater governance, 56.6% of the
respondents showed medium effectiveness of formal institutions compared to norms and values that showed high effectiveness by 54.4% and 55.4% respectively. In addition, the
results showed statistically significant difference about awareness of institutions
(P=0.0001) such that respondents showed higher awareness of the informal institutions
relative to formal institutions. Furthermore, the results showed statistically significant
difference between male and female responses on the effectiveness of governance
institutions (P=0.0001). Female respondents reported effectiveness of governance
institutions than male respondents. Based on the results, the study concludes that
respondents were aware about norms and values than formal water institutions. As
reported by female respondents, norms and values were more effective than formal
institutions. The study recommends that further sensitization about awareness of formal
institutions at local level is needed. The study recommends further investigations on
factors that influence limited awareness and effectiveness of formal institutions at a local
level. This will be worth for water policy planning and implementation.
Description
A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN RURAL
DEVELOPMENT OF SOKOINE UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE.
MOROGORO, TANZANIA
Keywords
Groundwater governance effectiveness, Sub Saharan Africa, Water users behaviour