The impact of tourism on coastal land use conflicts and people’s livelihoods in Zanzibar a case of Kiwengwa shehia

This research assessed the impact of tourism on coastal land use conflicts and people’s livelihoods in the Kiwengwa Shehia in Zanzibar. The focus of the study was to identify the causes of land use conflicts and their impact livelihoods. About 83 respondents were selected randomly in the three villages of Kiwengwa Sheha. Different data collection methods including Focus Group Discussion and Household Questionnaires were used together information. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and Excel. Given the nature of the study most of the data were analysed using descriptive statistics. The results from the study show that there are a number of causes of the ongoing conflicts between tourism and local communities where tourist activities take place. The causes include restriction of access to marine resources by hoteliers and lack of property rights for landowners in the area. On the other hand, although tourism has created significant job opportunities in the study area, these benefits are taken up by outsiders due mainly to the lack of relevant skills of locals. An assessment of the impact on livelihoods of tourism suggests that people are paying more than benefiting. Generally about 80% of the respondents reported that natural, human and social capital has worsened with the tourism booming. It was only physical capital which was reported by over 40% of the respondents to have improved, especially in the area of roads and communications. Also there was appreciation (by 48.2%) of improved market access to marine and other coastal resources following the boom in tourism in the area, although this does not affect poor consumers. Regarding financial capital only about 18% of the respondents reported it had improved while the other 82% reported either not to have seen any change. This was especially the case of income, savings and access to credit. It is recommended that local communities should be part and parcel of land use planning and zoning in their locality. In order to capture the benefits of tourism, the RGZ should build the capacity of local people through training in tourism skills and hospitality. The government should facilitate local people to lease their land or form joint ventures instead of selling it to investors.