Browsing by Author "Lulandala, L"

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Contribution of non-timber forest products to poverty alleviation and forest conservation in Rufiji district Tanzania
(2017) Kimaro, J; Lulandala, L
The study was carried out to determine contribution of Nontimber Forest Products (NTFPs) towards poverty alleviation and sustainable forest management in local communities surrounding Ngumburuni Forest Reserve in Rufiji District, Coastal Region, Tanzania. Data were collected from three villages closest to forest namely Mkupuka, Mangwi and Umwe North using participatory rural appraisal, structured interviews, focused group discussion and participant observation. A total of one hundred and sixty species distributed both in forest reserve and general land were recorded. Local end uses of NTFPs including fuel wood, food, construction materials, medicine and traditional rites items were identified. This indicated significant contribution of NTFPs to local community income and livelihood resilience and thus, incentive for sustainable forest management. While access to NTFP is important to guarantee the socioeconomic well being of the forest adjacent communities, their sustainable management has not been taken seriously by local government officials and policy makers thereby contributing to reduction of biodiversity resources and irretrievable loss of most species. To ensure the sustainable utilization of NTFPs from Ngumburuni Forest Reserve and similar tropical forest environments, a number of conservation approaches are proposed.
Human influences on tree diversity and composition of a coastal forest ecosystem: the case of Ngumburuni forest reserve, Rufiji, Tanzania
(Hindawi, 2013) Kimaro, J; Lulandala, L
This paper reports on the findings of an ecological survey conducted in Ngumburuni Forest Reserve, a biodiversity rich forest reserve within the coastal forests of Tanzania. The main goal of this study was to determine the influence of uncontrolled anthropogenic activities on tree species diversity and composition within the forest ecosystem. It was revealed that economic activities including logging, charcoaling, and shifting cultivation were the most important disturbing activities affecting ecological functioning and biodiversity integrity of the forest. Further to this, we noted that the values of species diversity, composition, and regeneration potential within the undisturbed forest areas were significantly different from those in heavily disturbed areas. These observations confirm that the ongoing human activities have already caused size quality degradation of useful plants, enhanced species diversification impacts to the forest ecosystem, and possibly negatively affected the livelihoods of the adjacent local communities. Despite these disturbances, Ngumburuni forest reserve still holds important proportions of both endemic and threatened animal and plant species. The study suggests urgent implementation of several conservation measures in order to limit accessibility to the forest resources so as to safeguard the richness and abundance of useful biodiversity stocks in the reserve.