Assessment of climate change impacts on ecosystem services and livelihoods of communities adjacent to mitarure forest reserve in Kilwa district, Tanzania
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Date
2019
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
University of Dar es salaam
Abstract
Ecosystems are natural resources which provide life-support services of marvelous worth. However these services are under threat from global change and climate change which alter their functionality or even totally expel them over space and time. Human –being depends on the services provided by nature, and people too often damage which is triaggered by human actions up on the environment, directly, or indirectly in turn affect human being through a number of ways, ecosystem services reduction inclusive. This study specifically intended to analyzes climate change actions on Mitarure forest reserve, to examine the dynamics of ecosystem services provision in the study area between 1987 and 2017 sheet, to assess the implication of climate change actions and ecosystem services change on the livelihoods of communities around Mitarure forest reserve. The study used qualitative and quantitative research designs. There was the use of questionnaire survey, in depth interviews, direct observation, focus group discussions, remote sensing and literature review techniques. While key informants and study villages were randomly selected and purposively, about 91 household heads in four selected villages were randomly selected and interviewed by the researcher. The study used Statistical Product and Service Solution (IBM-SPSS) software version 20 to analyze quantitative data and used Microsoft Office Excel 2007 sheet to plot tables, graphs and pie charts so as to give frequencies and percentages while content analysis was used in analyzing qualitative data. Qualitative data were presented in the form of tabular percentage. The study revealed that the study area experiences rainfall variability, increasing incidences of droughts, eruption of pests and diseases, temperature increase, wildfires and increasing disturbances of wild animals as some signs of climate change. The mean annual rainfall has been in decreasing trend at a non-significant rate of R2=0.0023 and both mean annual maximum and minimum temperature have increased in the last 30 years. Satellite images of 15 years interval indicated that the forest composition has changed in three different years (1987, 2002 and 2017) with the decrease of closed woodland by 8,179 ha replaced by grassland in some parts. 96.7% of respondents revealed that ecosystem services have affected the livelihoods of local communities through causing famine and hunger, water scarcity, food insecurity, low incomes and poverty increase. The study also revealed that local communities have developed adaptation and coping strategies such as water harvesting, three planting and participatory Forest Management. The study recommends that more technical studies and awareness creation and climate change science and response mechanisms should be conducted involving government officials and local communities so as to rise awareness on climate change related matters
Description
Available in print form, East Africana Collection, Dr.Wilbert Chagula Library, class mark (THS EAF QC903.2T34G672)
Keywords
Climatic change, Forest and Forestly, Forest community, Biotic communities, Kilwa district, Tanzania
Citation
Gosbert. G (2019) Assessment of climate change impacts on ecosystem services and livelihoods of communities adjacent to mitarure forest reserve in Kilwa district, Tanzania, Masters dissertation, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam.