Impacts of population change on forests and woodlands in western Bagamoyo, Tanzania

This study on the impacts of population change on forests and woodlands was conducted in western Bagamoyo district. The main objective of the research was to investigate the impacts of population change on forests and woodlands in western Bagamoyo. The aim was to show how population increase had resulted into deforestation. Data collection methods used in the study comprised review of secondary data, direct observation, focus group discussions, administration of questionnaires, informal interviews and interpretation of aerial photographs and satellite images. Ms Excel and SPSS were used for data analysis. The results were summarized in frequencies and percentages, and presented in figures, narrative forms and tables for easy comparisons. Most of the respondents in the surveyed villages have limited alternative sources of livelihoods. This forced them to rely on easily accessible resources such as forest resources to earn their living. Income from forest related activities appeared to be stable and subsidized other sources of the household income. This situation accelerated deforestation. This subsequently reduced available forest resources. Off-farm activities in all study villages are on the increase and complement other livelihood means such as farm activities and forest related product extraction. Analysis of land use/cover maps shows a significant change between forest and woodland where in 1966 woodland covered 61.8% of the study area while in 1982, woodland still dominated the areas but area coverage decreased to 49.1%; a decrease of 12.7%. In 2007 woodland decreased to 27.8%. New land uses, shrub-land and stone quarrying appeared in the study areas, occupying 28.6% and 0.7%, respectively. Results showed that population increase has contributed to deforestation though there are other causes like implementation of the resettlement programme in 1970s, poor farming methods, charcoal making and farm clearance. In the 1990s and 2000s, 1494 and 1667 bags of charcoal were made per month respectively in Western Bagamoyo and transported to Dar es Salaam and its neighboring cities. The study suggests that massive tree planting campaign should be implemented to plant trees for fuel wood, timber, and building poles. Villages should be encouraged to engage in alternative income generating activities and alternative energy sources apart from the use of charcoal and fuelwood for cooking.