The challenge of sustainable water supply from catchments: the case of Kazimzumbwi forest

The key problem addressed in this study is that, despite the existence of the national water policy and a number of other policies like agriculture, forestry, livestock, Land policy and the national environmental Act of 2005, there are still shortcoming in attaining sustainable use and management of renewable resources in catchments forests. The study also sought to identify and account for the differences in environmental perception between outsiders (those living outside a particular area) and insiders (those living in particular area) in management of catchments areas. The study’s focus is basically related to how water catchments are perceived by the inhabitants of these areas. A case study approach was used to collect information that reflected the perception of local people who lived in the area. The study results show some role of the traditional knowledge which suggests the need for integrated way forward of management of renewable resources in catchments forests. The results also show there is interaction between store of knowledge of both insiders and outsiders. It was concluded that there are many technical and non-technical aspects of resource management that need to be understood by both outsiders and insiders in order to realize sustainable water supply. That means, although the basic aspects of the outsiders and insiders concept in renewable resource utilization from catchments area are similar, the details differ and this appears to influence the perception difference of “outsiders” and “insiders”