Abstract:
Early attempts to solve environmental problems without local people’s knowledge
and institutions involvement have achieved very little success. Consequently the rate
of natural resources degradation particularly in developing countries is still very high
despite efforts to halt the situation. This study was undertaken to assess the role of
traditional knowledge and local institutions in the conservation of micro-catchment
forests among the Sonjo agro-pastoralists in Ngorongoro district, Tanzania.
Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), household questionnaire survey, participant
observation and focus group discussions were the methods used in data collection.
Data collected through PRA were analyzed with the help of the participants and
Content and Structural-Functional analyses techniques were employed to analyze
qualitative data. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 11.5) programme
was used to analyze quantitative data. The results revealed that there are two types of
micro-catchment forests namely, traditionally managed and formally managed microcatchment
forests. The existence of various tree management practices such as
indigenous tree planting and retention and protection of sacred forests were observed
and that 98% of the respondents retained trees and 54% carry out tree planting while
46% did not engage in tree planting. Further more, the study revealed that the
Benamijie, Batana and Baghorowane were the most prominent internally sponsored
institutions whereas village governments, primary schools and village environmental
committees were the most important externally sponsored institutions involved in the
conservation of micro-catchment forests. The results also showed that age and
education level of the respondents had significant (P < 0.05) influence on resilience of
micro-catchment forests whereas gender inequality was the factor behind the erosion
ii
of the micro-catchment forests. The study concluded by saying that traditionally
managed micro-catchment forests were in good condition as compared to formally
managed ones probably due to effectiveness of traditional institutions although the
local government does not seem to support traditional efforts in micro-catchment
forests conservation. The study recommended that there is a need for local
government in the district to recognize and support the existing local institutions
especially traditional institutions as essential and key partners in the conservation of
micro-catchment forests.
