Determinants of access patterns to goods and services from wetlands in Tanzania and the impact on sustainable wetland management
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Date
2012
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Academic Journals [Commercial Publisher]
Abstract
Wetlands perform vital role in providing useful goods and services to mankind. Because of their
importance, human beings interactions with the wetlands’ physical environment have caused some of
them to be highly degraded. Due to characteristic nature of wetlands being a common pool resource
(CPRs), most researchers claim their degradation to be a result of poor institutions governing the
interactions. Wetlands in Tanzania are very useful especially, in areas where agriculture is most
prevalent. High pressure to exploit fertile and moist land in those areas has caused wetlands to be
highly degraded. This study focused on the rules and regulations governing the resources access from
the wetlands using Kilombero Valley as a case study. The study used choice modelling to identify the
determinants of the access patterns and their impacts on wetland sustainable management. The results
showed that physical nature of resources and characteristics of the users such as location, income and
education determine what type of access one chooses to accrue products and services from the
wetlands. To ensure wetland sustainable management, the policy makers and conservationists should
consider these factors in enacting rules and regulation which would govern human interactions in the
wetlands. Payment for environmental services could be used to enhance such options.
Description
Keywords
Wetlands, goods and services, institutions, choice modelling