Articles, Conference and Workshop Papers Collection

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://10.10.97.169:4000/handle/123456789/979

Browse

Now showing 1 - 20 of 35

Impacts of development of tourism destinations on tourist perceptions of destinations’ attributes and satisfaction in gateway communities, Northern Tanzania
(African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisur, 2023) Alpha J. Mwongoso; Agnes Sirima; John T. Mgonja
Tourists perceptions and satisfaction are likely to be affected by attributes found in a particular stage of destination development. This study examined 24 attributes considered important in influencing tourist perception and satisfaction in three tourism destinations found in gateway communities; Loliondo, lake Natron and Burunge in northern Tanzania. Using confirmatory factor analysis, four factors, namely, Amenities, Accessibility, Core Attractions and Ancillary services, were predictors of tourists’ perception and satisfaction. The Importance- Performance Analysis (IPA) model was also employed to assess tourist’s perspectives on attribute importance and performance towards overall satisfaction. It was found that, attributes for core attraction factor are the most important to tourists and performed well (“Keep Up the Good work” quadrant of IPA grid). Although, the perceived overall satisfaction among the 422 sample tourists was high, some attributes reflecting on Accessibility, Amenities and Ancillary services factors were perceived to be underperforming (“Concentrate here” quadrant), thus demanding immediate attention of destination managers. This study has addressed the knowledge gap emanating from prior studies in gateway communities by examining tourists’ perceptions and extent of satisfaction with destination attributes in the development stage of destination life cycle, thus, provided necessary input information to destination planning for further tourism development.
Plant species identification from leaf images using deep learning models (cnn-lstm architecture)
(Tanzania Journal of Forestry and Nature Conservation, 2021) Banzi, J; Abayo, T
Species knowledge is important for biodiversity conservation. Identification of plants by conventional approach is complex, time consuming, and frustrating tor non- experts due to the use of botanical terms. This is a challenge for learners interested in acquiring species knowledge. Recently, an interest has surfaced in automating the process of species identification. The combined availability and ubiquity of relevant technologies, such as digital cameras and mobile devices, advanced techniques in image processing and pattern recognition makes the idea of automated species identification become real. This paper elucidates development of convolutional neural network models to perform plant species identification using simple leaves images of plants, through deep learning methodologies. Training of the models was performed by using an open database of 100 plant species images, containing 64 different element vectors of plants in a set of 100 distinct classes of plant species. Several state-of the- art model architectures were trained, with the proposed model attaining performance of 95.06% success rate in identifying the corresponding plant species. The significant success rate makes the model very useful identifier or/and advisory tool. The approach could be further expanded to support an integrated plant species identification system to operate in real ecosystem services.
The effect of agricultural intensification on ecosystem Services around Ihemi cluster
(Tanzania Journal of Forestry and Nature Conservation, 2021) Sirima, A; Kashaigili, J.J; Kamau, F.
As the world population continue to increase, the demand for food also increases which necessitate the need for agricultural intensification. Agricultural intensification affects large parts of terrestrial area, therefore, assessment of its contribution to the decrease of ecosystem services is critical for successful conservation in the future. A study was conducted in five districts of Iringa and Njombe Regions, part of Ihemi cluster, to assess the effects of agricultural intensification on ecosystem services. A total of 607 household surveys and 19 Focus Groups discussions were conducted. Descriptive and cross tabulation were used for quantitative analysis while content analysis was used for qualitative data. Findings reveal that there are several benefits communities get from the ecosystem that play a great role on their livelihood. Across all villages, firewood is preferred due to its affordability and availability. Other ecosystems goods such as traditional medicine and mushrooms are hardly available due to clearing of land for agricultural activities, as well as settlement expansion. Community activities, such as valley bottom farming was mentioned as a practice that jeopardize the long-term sustainability of ecosystem resources within the Cluster. Agricultural intensification by investors was also mentioned as a sources of ecosystem depletion. Sustainable agricultural intensification, if adopted, might be one among the solutions to serve the ecosystem around the cluster
Local institutions and forest management: a case of Enguserosambu community Forest, Tanzania
(Tanzania Journal of Forestry and Nature Conservation, 2022) Sirima, A
Governments are shifting the forest tenure systems to local and indigenous communities. This relatively new innovative approach serves as an opportunity for sustainable forest initiatives and economic development for some of the marginalized communities. This paper examines the role of local and indigenous institutions in the management of Enguserosambu Community Forest. One focus group discussion, 12 group interviews and seven individual interviews were conducted. A total of 46 individuals participated, out of these, 17 were females and 29 were males. Thematic analysis was conducted and several themes were generated during the analysis. Results indicate that Enguserosambu Community Forest, which is managed under a complex set of power structure, has five local/indigenous institutions actively engaged in the management of forest resources. There are internal conflicts among institutions, each questioning the role of the other. However, local institutions still play a strong role in the community by creating awareness and capacity building among the community members with regard to the forest and its benefits. Local institutions also ensure that users are identified and the benefits are shared among the right users. It is therefore important to build capacity of local institutions to enable them to effectively contribute to forest conservation and management.
The effectiveness of customer-centric approach in understanding tourist behaviour: Selected tour companies in Arusha, Tanzania
(Tanzania Journal of Forestry and Nature Conservation, 2022) Shemwetta, B.D; Rotich, D
Experience shows that the best way to attract and keep customers is by responding positively to their preferences. The best solution is to understand customer needs and behaviour. Customer-centric approach is predicted on successful understanding and management of customer preferences. However, there is no credible information on the effectiveness of this approach, especially in the East African tourist market. This study examined effectiveness of the approach in understanding tourist behaviour. It specifically assessed influence of customer preferences management and customer- business alignment on tourist behaviour. Out of 446 tour companies licensed in 2018 in Arusha, Tanzania, 210 were randomly selected and studied. Key respondents were sales/marketing managers purposively selected from the samples. The study adopted a quantitative research approach where a semi-structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis and multiple regression for hypothesis testing Findings show that the approach was significantly effective in understanding tourist behaviour (p < 0.001; r = 0.984) through customer preferences management (r = 0.334) as well as customer- business alignment both internally (r = 0.464) and externally (r = 0.318). This study recommends automation of tour operators’ business practices focusing on understanding and addressing new tourist expectations.
Assessing community perceptions about the contributions and impacts of Wildlife tourism to rural livelihoods: Wildlife management areas perspective
(Tanzania Journal of Forestry and Nature Conservation, 2022) Mgonja, J.T.
Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) refer to protected areas in a village land, set aside for conservation of wildlife and tourism activities. Existing studies on WMAs have focused more on the establishment, governance and conservation consequences of WMAs. Relatively few studies have been conducted on the contributions of wildlife tourism from WMAs perspectives to rural livelihoods in Tanzania. The objective of this study was to assess community perceptions about the contributions of wildlife tourism and conservation to livelihoods of communities residing in WMA, using Ikona and Makao WMAs as a case study. Crosstabs analysis using Chi-square ( 2 ) was applied to analyse data collected using questionnaires. Overall, the findings indicate that most people (74.1%) are proud of their villages being in WMA, (59.8%) are aware of tourism activities in their WMA, (71.5%) accept wildlife conservation and (33.6%) agree that WMA increases livelihood options. Overall, the findings indicate that wildlife tourism contributes to local peoples’ livelihoods at a community level but not at a household level. The study recommends WMA authorities to integrate local communities at a household level in all facets of wildlife tourism in WMAs so as to enhance the contribution of WMAs and wildlife tourism to sustainable livelihoods.
Assessment of factors moderating community attitudes towards wildlife tourism And conservation: a case of Ikona and Makao wildlife management areas
(Tanzania Journal of Forestry and Nature Conservation, 2022) Mgonja, J.T; Uswege, D.N.
The purpose of this study was to assess community attitudes towards the impacts of wildlife tourism and conservation interventions in Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) to community livelihoods. The study used Ikona and Makao Wildlife Management Areas as a case study. A cross- sectional study was conducted from October to November 2018 using a semi-structured questionnaire. A total of 559 randomly sampled respondents were interviewed. Data were analysed using SPSS General Linear Model-Univariate. The findings revealed that Social Economic Status (SES) of the respondents significantly influenced respondents’ attitudes while gender and origin of the respondents marginally influenced their attitudes. Majority of the respondents accept WMA in their villages though are not satisfied with the benefits accrued from WMA. Most of the respondents mentioned crops damage and livestock depredation as major factors undermining their attitudes towards WMAs. The study provides empirical evidence that without local communities realizing direct and tangible benefits, it will be difficult to associate conservation and livelihood improvement, a condition that undermines wildlife conservation. The study recommends WMAs authorities to find sustainable solutions to crops damage and livestock depredation problem. The study also recommends introduction of wildlife conservation to schools to create and increase awareness among youths from childhood stage.
Competence in French connected speech: A study on Tanzanian pre-service secondary school French teachers
(2017-06) Chiwanga, F. .E.; Iddy, E.
This paper discusses the competence of Tanzanian pre-service French teachers in connected speech. The study particularly aimed at measuring the extent to which they are capable of comprehending the message through the stream of words from French native speakers and producing a text naturally with liaison and enchaînement. The study was conducted at the University of Dar es Salaam covering 46% of 2014/2015 academic year B.A. Education finalists who were randomly selected. Data were collected through watching a video-clip, and oral discourse test (ODT). As for the analysis, interpretive content analysis was used with the aid of tables. The results show that the subjects scored excellently at 17% in both liaison and enchaînement but had more challenges in enchaînement than in liaison as the scores in the production of liaison ranged from 60% to 77% while that of enchaînement ranged from 53% to 73%. However, the comprehension of native speakers’ conversation was excellent at 33% implying that the subjects were better at understanding than producing the aspects of the French connected speech. The inability of the subjects to comprehend and produce precisely the said features was caused mainly by the influence of the learner’s Bantu L1 and L2 which are deprived of the liaison and enchaînement, lack of enough oral exercises, contact with native French users and poor learning environment. The study recommends that all the factors should be dealt with severely through communicative approach which is the best in the today’s modern teaching-learning process.
Status of post harvesting regeneration of miombo woodlands in Kilosa, Tanzania
(2019) Myonga, P. A.
This study presents findings of post harvesting regeneration status of miombo woodlands of Kilosa,Tanzania specifically where sustainable charcoal project is implemented. The overall objective of the study was to undertake an assessment on the regeneration status of Miombo woodlands in harvested plots and kiln scars. A total of 67 circular plots with 15 m radius established in 2015 were identified for the purpose of making a follow-up study on regeneration. Forty four new circular plots with 5 m radius for the study of regeneration in kiln scars and 10 circular plots with 5 m radius for assessing effects of fire on soil physical and chemical properties were demarcated. It was observed that 87% of all stumps were regenerating through coppices, root suckers or both. About 42% stumps were found to develop coppices with an average of two (2) individuals per stump and with overall mean height of 254 ± 8.3 cm. Twenty three (23%) of the stumps were observed to have regenerated through root suckering with average of two (2) individual suckers per stump with an overall mean height of 252±7.9 cm.Twenty two (22%) stumps were observed to regenerate through both coppices and root suckers with an average of two individual coppices/suckers per stumps with an overall mean height of 251±6.3 cm. Only Thirteen (13%) stumps were not regenerating. Regeneration via seedlings were found to be lower if compared with sprouts. Student T tests and ANOVA were used to compare regeneration mechanisms, regeneration in kilns and effects of fire frequency and grazing intensity on regeneration (Tables in appendices). Signs of regeneration in kiln scars was noted as seedlings of B.boehemii and B.spiciformis were observed. Fire has effects on soil physical and chemical properties. It is concluded that regeneration has improved with reference to previously study; fire and grazing has direct beneficial and deleterious effects on tree regeneration. It is recommended that further monitoring in harvested plots is necessary.
Background of Forestry and Climate Change
(Mkuki na Nyota, 2017) Abdallah, Jumanne; Juma, S.R; Sirima, Agnes
This chapter provides an overview on forestry education and the emergence of participatory forest management (PFM), Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) and their link to climate change in Tanzania. Other emerging issues discussed in this chapter are community perception, the need for paradigm shift, value chain development, governance, and entrepreneurship development.
Nature Reserves
(SAGE Publishing, 2017) Sirima, Agnes
Marine farming and tourism
(Acquaculture New Zealand, 2010) Jodice, Laura W; Hull, John; Sirima, Agnes
The Marine Farming Association of New Zealand developed and published a tourist trail brochure in 2005 with the purpose of upholding the positive image of aquaculture among residents and tourists on the Top of the South Island. Another objective was to strengthen the collaboration between tourism and fisheries stakeholders in promoting the region as a seafood destination. In 2009, the NZTRI research team interviewed a total of 24 local businesses in the region. This article presents the results from the interviews and a short written survey. The research team independently analyzed and transcribed audio-recordings to identify major emergent themes that explore the relationships between tourism and marine farming linked to the Top of the South Aquaculture and Seafood Trail. Results show that businesses recognized that promoting locally caught seafood increased the competitiveness of New Zealand seafood and tourism products. They also recognized that cooperation was important to building shared knowledge and community level acceptance of marine farms and tourism in the coastal zone.
The economic of water in paddy and non-paddy crop production around the Kilombero valley ramsar site, Tanzania: Productivity, costs, returns and implications to poverty reduction
(Journal of Agriculture Science, 2011) Musamba, Emmanuel; Ngaga, Yonika M; Giliba, Richard A; Boon, E. K; Sirima, Agnes; Chirenje, L I
Water scarcity is globally getting worse in the light of increase in demand for water use. Human and ecosystem health and economic development are affected by problems of water scarcity and water pollution. This paper assessed the net benefit of water resource in crop production around the Kilombero Valley Ramsar Site in Tanzania. Specifically, the study determines and estimates costs and benefits in crop production and quantify its monetary value using both market and non-market techniques. Household questionnaires, checklist for key informants, participant observation and participatory rural appraisal techniques were employed for data collection. Questionnaire survey was administered to 120 households to establish the major agricultural activities, crops, costs of production and income accrued from these activities. Data relating to household characteristics and water related economic activities were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences whereby the cost for production, inputs and returns were analysed and compared using Microsoft Excel. The residual imputation approach was used to estimate the value of water in crop production. Findings revealed that, 88.3 percent of the respondents own land and 11.7 percent of them rent the land for crop production. The net values of water for irrigated paddy and non-paddy crops were estimated to Tsh. 273.6 (US$ 0.23) and Tsh. 87.7 (US$ 0.073) per m3 of consumed water respectively. The average productivity of water for paddy and non-paddy crop production is estimated at 0.85 kgm-3 and 0.69 kgm-3 of consumed water respectively. Furthermore, the returns from agriculture are less compared to returns from other water uses. Nevertheless, since majority of households are depending on agriculture this study recommends that emphasis should be put on effective and efficient use of water to improve its productivity.
Sharing Tourism Benefits with the local community: A business perspective from the grassroots in Tanzania
(Journal of Environmental Studies and Management, 2012) Muganda, Michael; Sirima, Agnes; Mkumbo, Peter; Moshy, Batilda
Local communities’ participation in tourism benefit-sharing is central to tourism development. While there is a well-established literature on benefit-sharing from the perspective of wildlife protected areas and adjacent local communities, there is little emphasis on how other tourism businesses do this. Using a case study of Barabarani village, Tanzania, this paper examines how other tourism businesses share benefits with the neighbouring communities. It explores this using: in-depth semi-structured interviews with tourism businesses, NGOs, and key decisionmakers within the community; a two-month period of field observations coupled with the researcher’s experience with the wider community; informal discussions with some members of the local community; and document analysis. The findings show that tourism businesses in Barabarani village have schemes that favourably benefit local people, but the extent to which a particular business has developed its schemes differed from one business to another depending on the nature of business, ownership, and objectives. In some businesses such schemes were automatically created as a ‘by-product’ of particular decisions they make. Overall, public businesses had more systematic benefit sharing schemes than private businesses. Thus, there was no guarantee local communities would receive benefits from private businesses, and if any, they were executed on an ad hoc basis.
A review of "Tourism and sustainability: development, globalization and new tourism in the Third World (3rd ed)
(Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 2012) Sirima, Agnes
The Role of Local Communities in Tourism Development
(Journal of Human Ecology, 2013) Muganda, Michael; Sirima, Agnes; Marwa, Ezra
One of the core elements of tourism development is to encourage local communities’ participation as it is central to the sustainability of tourism industry. While the literature suggests a number of roles local communities could take in tourism development, little emphasis has so far been given as to how local communities themselves feel about this. As a result, there has been little evidence, especially from the grassroots, on what communities really think of their role(s) in tourism development. Using a case study of Barabarani village in Tanzania, this paper contributes to the understanding of community participation in tourism development by examining local communities’ views on their role in tourism development. The paper triangulates both quantitative and qualitative data to bring together perspectives from the grassroots based on household questionnaire survey with some members of the local community and a two-month period of field observations in the study area, coupled with the researcher’s experience with the wider community. The findings revealed that local communities want to be involved when tourism policies are being made to enable policymakers to prepare a policy that meets stakeholders’ needs and addresses their concerns. They also want to be part of tourism development decisions to ensure their needs are incorporated. Furthermore, local communities want to have a voice in development issues (not necessarily tourism development) to enable them to protect community interests, and increase transparency and accountability, and wipe out embezzlements and abuse of offices, which are rampant acts amongst decision-makers. Similar to previous studies, they rejected the statement ‘local people should not participate by any means’ in tourism development. It is clear from the findings that people are against the prevailing top-down approach in decision making when it comes to tourism development in their areas. It also depicts the nature of the central government which controls all the forms of decision making when it comes to development and policy formulation. The study emphasizes on small scale methods in analysing and assessing the role of local communities views of participation from the communities themselves rather than what has been normally imposed on them.
Communities displacement from national park ad tourism development in the Usangu Plains, Tanzania
(Current issues in tourism, 2013-08) Sirima, Agnes; Backman, Kenneth F
Land-use-change conflicts have shaped the conservation and tourism activities and human livelihood debate in the Usangu Plains over the last 10 years. This has led Ruaha National Park to become the largest national park in Tanzania and the second largest in Africa. The need to understand the rationale behind the expansion of Ruaha National Park and the local communities' views on tourism activities has become increasingly important. The purpose of this study was to examine land-use change in the Usangu Plains and its implication to local communities. Community members in five villages, Ikoga Mpya, Igomelo, Nyeregete, Mahango and Luhango, were surveyed using semi-structured interviews, focus groups and field notes. This resulted in a total of 79 semi-structured interviews, 4 focus group discussions and field observation data to analyse the situation in Usangu Plains. Data were analysed using NVIVO computer software for coding and themes’ generation. Major themes that emerged from the analysis were land-use change, tourism as a form of land use, tourism benefits and coping mechanisms. The findings from this study suggest that local communities do not perceive that they are benefitting from the change from agricultural to tourism practices. Changing the way local communities perceived themselves and are involved in conservation activities is the key to achieving the best conservation results and community residents’ involvement in future tourism activities in their areas
A review of ecotourism in Tanzania: Magnitude, challenges and prospects for sustainability
(Journal of Ecotourism, 2015-12) Mgonja, John T; Sirima, Agnes; Mkumbo, Peter J
In the recent past, the concept of ecotourism has been promoted in Tanzania as an alternative, low-impact form of tourism that supports conservation of natural resources, preserves local culture, and provides economic benefits to the communities. Existing evidence shows that Tanzania has not utilised most of its ecotourism potential. The actual amount of ecotourism activity in the country is highly localised and relatively minimal due to the following factors: accessibility problems in some protected areas, inadequate infrastructure, and insufficient marketing and promotion. There is a need for regulatory authorities to articulate clear policies, regulations, and guidelines that delineate strategies on how to implement ecotourism activities in most parts of Tanzania. Such strategies should describe how to increase accessibility of ecotourism benefits to local communities, increase local community participation, and elucidate better mechanisms of sharing revenues generated from ecotourism. Given the abundance and diversity of natural and cultural resources in Tanzania, there is still room for growth, particularly in the southern, eastern, and western tourism circuits.
The Social and Economic Impacts of Ruaha National Park Expansion
(Open Journal of Social Sciences, 2016-06) Sirima, Agnes
Displacement of people to allow expansion of protected areas involves removing people from their ancestral land or excluding people from undertaking livelihood activities in their usual areas. The approach perpetuates the human-nature dichotomy, where protected areas are regarded as pristine lands that need to be separated from human activities. Beyond material loss, displaced communities suffer loss of symbolic representation and identity that is attached to the place. The aim of this paper was to assess impacts of Ruaha National Park expansions to the adjoining communities. Five villages were surveyed: Ikoga Mpya, Igomelo, Nyeregete, Mahango and Luhango. All participants were victims of the eviction to expand the park borders. Based on the conceptual analysis, major themes generated were: loss of access to livelihood resources, change in resource ownership, conservation costs, resource use conflict, place identity, and the role of power. Similar to previous studies, results show that local communities suffered both symbolic and material loss as a result of park expansion. Furthermore, it has shown that conflicts related to land use changes have roots within (pastoralist vs. farmers; Sangu vs. Sukuma) as well as from the outside. Hence, to better understand resource access and ownership, a deeper understanding of community characteristics/composition and their local interaction is important. Further, park expansion needs to take into consideration human livelihood need.
Land Fragmentation, agricultural productivity and implications for agricultural investments in the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT) region, Tanzania
(Journal of Development and Agricultural Economics, 2017-01) Kadigi, Reuben MJ; Kashaigili, Japhet J; Sirima, Agnes; Kamau, Felix; Sikira, Anna; Mbungu, Winfred
There are polarized evidences of the impact of agricultural land fragmentation on land productivity. On the one hand there viewpoints which consider land fragmentation to harm agricultural productivity. On the other hand there are counter thoughts which view land fragmentation as a positive situation which allows farmers to cultivate many environmental zones, minimise production risk and optimise the schedule for cropping activities. We use the case of Ihemi cluster in the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT) to investigate the impact of land fragmentation on crop productivity. We furthermore discuss the nature and causes of land fragmentation in the SAGCOT region and its implication on the future structure of agricultural landholdings and welfare of smallholder farmers in the region. The results showed that the nature and level of fragmentation in the study area were the outcome of combined, rather than isolated influences of supply and demand driven factors. Overall, the results did not support the claim that fragmentation reduces land productivity. This then implies that land fragmentation should not always be considered as defective. There were evidences of increasing chunks of land owned by rich farmers and investors which increased the possibility for increased consolidation of agricultural land under large scale farming. However, the landholdings for smallholder farmers might become increasingly more fragmented as poor smallholder farmers continue selling their land holdings to rich farmers and investors. Releasing the SAGCOT region’s potential for agricultural development will require that smallholder farmers are helped to secure adequate and suitable land for farming, raise agricultural productivity, diversify their sources of income, and adopt good production practices. This requires setting up a strong base of investor - farmer synergies for inclusive agricultural growth.

Browse

Recent Submissions