The Link between the environment and poverty among the people in coastal Tanzania :the case of deforestation in Bagamoyo.

This dissertation presents the results of a study deals with one of the most pressing environmental issues in developing countries and Tanzania in particular which is the problem of deforestation. The purpose of the study was to investigate the extent to which poverty aggravates environmental degradation in general and deforestation in particular. It assumes that in developing countries like Tanzania, the problem of environmental degradation especially deforestation grows in direct proportion with the growth of poverty. The study also investigated the measures taken by the government, non-governmental organisations and other institutions in response to the deforestation problem. The investigation focused on the phenomenon of the rising demand for fuel wood as a manifestation of people's inability to afford other alternative sources of energy because of their increasing poverty, and the need for survival. The investigation assumed that people destroy their environment particularly the forest not because they are ignorant but for survival. Generally, the poor tend to have access only to fragile environmental resources. The study also examined the effectiveness of the short-term and long-term government measures such as aforestation campaigns like the April, 1999 forest management initiative, poverty alleviation measures, with emphasis on improving the people's economic basis. The study was conducted in Bagamoyo district where three administrative divisions out of six were covered. These were Mwambao, Msoga and Msata. Out of these divisions, four wards were selected for the study. They include Magomeni, Dunda, Chalinze and Msata. In each of these only one village was investigated. Bagamoyo was chosen because it is one of the districts in Tanzania where the effects of poverty on environment are clearly manifested.