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Title Marine Resources Conservation and Poverty Reduction Strategies in Tanzania
Full text http://www.sub.uni-hamburg.de/opus/volltexte/2006/2982/
Date 2006
Author(s) Sesabo, Jennifer Kasanda
Abstract Tanzanian coastal areas are abundant in natural resources that are important socially, nutritionally, economically, and environmentally, yet they are vulnerable to both overexploitation and degradation of their habitats. Natural resources are important for living conditions, human and health, food security and economic development. A quarter of the Tanzanian population depends directly and/or indirectly on these resources. Together with marine and coastal resource-based activities, the coastal population's welfare depends on the availability of other employment opportunities. For that reason, both the conservation of coastal areas and the creation of employment are critical to the livelihood of Tanzanian coastal communities/ households. However, the heterogeneous nature of most rural communities continues to be one of the most challenging issues, with implications for policies and programs targeting development-conservation matters. Understanding the diverse characteristics of rural coastal communities/households and the diversity of their livelihood strategies is important for at least two reasons. First, it helps policy-makers to design and implement effective programs or policies that target poverty reduction as well as the management of marine and coastal resources. Secondly, the extent and type of marine and coastal resource-based activities has implications for issues of conservation and sustainable use of resources. The objective of this thesis is to analyze the role of socio-economic dimensions of rural coastal households in influencing livelihood pathways, production efficiency and attitudes towards conservation initiatives of marine and coastal resources. The analysis used econometric and Stochastic Production Frontier techniques. The latter has not previously been used in Tanzanian coastal areas. The estimations were based on data collected through a formal questionnaire administered to 217 households selected randomly from two Tanzanian coastal villages (Mlingotini and Nyamanzi). Informal interviews were also used to collect relevant data and information from key informants, which included village elders and local officials. The findings of this thesis reveal the diverse patterns in participation of households in various livelihoods options, fishing technical efficiency level and attitudes towards management options in coastal villages and identify the main factors, which influence these patterns. Attention to differential patterns of rural coastal households regarding livelihoods participation, efficiency and attitudes towards conservation initiatives are crucial in designing the next generation of conservation-development programs/policies for coastal communities. Rural coastal households and the participation in various livelihood options In the coastal environment of Tanzania, marine and coastal resources contribute in important ways to the well being of the rural population, providing goods and services. Nearly a quarter of Tanzania's population depends on marine and coastal resources. While marine and coastal resource utilization is common in Tanzanian coastal rural areas, the ways in which rural households incorporate marine and coastal resourcebased activities into their livelihood vary considerably. Understanding why livelihood options differ across households is important for both conserving marine and coastal resources and alleviating poverty in coastal areas. Chapter Two estimates a Tobit model, which captures factors influencing the participation in different activities. The variation in activity participation is accounted for by the differences in households' assets endowments (physical, financial, human, natural and social), demographic structure (age structure and labor force) and facilitating factors (market access and location). The Tobit estimation results showed that fishing assets endowments, agricultural land ownership, social capital variable (networks and sharing of inputs) play a significant role in influencing the participation of households in various livelihoods pathways. The results reveal that conservation and development programs in coastal areas that ignore the contextual background factors such as asset endowments, demographic structure and facilitating factors, are basically flawed. The results suggest that challenges facing government, non-governmental, and International organizations dealing with conservation and development in coastal areas are considerably more complex than has commonly been appreciated. As a result, the findings from this chapter provide researchers and practitioners with knowledge which may be useful in identifying appropriate targets both in terms of scale (such as village location) and activity (such as income generating activities). Finally, an improved understanding regarding the determinants of activity choice allows for improved strategies for working with target populations. Technical Efficiency and Small-scale Fishing Households The effort to conserve fisheries resources and improve the welfare of small-scale fishing households is an important concern of policy makers and resource managers in Tanzania. The success of policies or programs targeting fisheries conservation and poverty reduction in coastal areas, however, depends on the variation and level of technical efficiency within small-scale fishing households. In Chapter Three, technical efficiency is estimated using a Stochastic Frontier model with a technical inefficiency effect. The results indicate a significant room for efficiency improvement, while the pattern of technical efficiency was found to vary between small-scale fishing households. More importantly, the results reveal that the efficiency score of individual fishing households is positively associated with fishing experience, agricultural land ownership, distance to fishing ground, and potential market integration. The fact that the productivity of smallscale fishing households depends on the inputs and market structure implies that significant improvement of small-scale fishing households' efficiency could be related to the improvement of credit facilities, market conditions as well as creation of new employment opportunities. This could represent an effective measure to secure a winwin scenario if and only if simultaneously measures are taken to check the excessive efforts, overcapitalization and open access problems. Attitudes towards marine and coastal conservation measures Support and participation of local communities/households remain important in order for policy makers and conservationists design effective programs targeting the development and conservation of natural resources in coastal areas. Chapter Four provides an empirical assessment of attitudes of households towards marine and coastal resources conservation in two the Tanzanian coastal villages. The survey results indicate a significant variation in attitudes towards a potential introduction of Marine Protected Area (MPA) near the villages. Out of 217 surveyed households, 50% hold a favorable attitude towards an introduction of MPA. The Probit model estimates reveal that the variation in attitude towards introduction of MPA is influenced by perceived costs and benefits which would accrue from the introduction of a MPA, existence of rules that govern the use of marine and coastal resources, dependency on marine and coastal resource-based activities, perceived resource condition (such as fisheries), wealth and location variables. From the findings it can be argued that conservation programs through the introduction of MPAs may be beneficial, promising, and effective if and only if policy makers, resource managers, and conservationists understand the characteristics and behavior of coastal communities prior their planning and implementation process. In addition, conservation initiatives should be based on the consensus building and participation of all stakeholders. Closing Remarks This thesis attempts to illustrate how socio-economic dimensions of rural coastal households play a crucial role in choosing between various livelihood options, efficiency and attitudes towards coastal area management programs. The thesis reveals that the sustainable use and maintenance of the coastal environment depends on more factors than regulation and management aspects of marine and coastal resources alone. Inclusion of communities as well as their characteristics regarding contextual background (such as asset endowments, markets structure, households' demographic structure etc) and resources use patterns also provides essential ingredients when designing conservation-development policies. Ignoring these issues has led to management failures in the past and will continue to do so if they are not included in the planning and implementation of conservation initiatives. Promoting sustainable development successfully in coastal areas of Tanzania depends to a large extent on systematic information gathering. This includes multidisciplinary information that incorporates ecological, socio-economic dimensions, community characteristics and institutional arrangements along the entire coastal environment. This would enable local and international policy makers to sharpen their approach and carefully choose the set-up of conservation-development initiatives.
Subject(s) Meeresressourcen; Armut; Tansania; Ökonometrie; Küstenforschung; Küste; Küstendorf; Marine resources; conservation; poverty; coastal villages; Tanzania; Economics; Agrarwirtschaft; Entwicklungsökonomie; Volkswirtschaftliche Ressourcen, Umweltökonomie
Language eng
Publisher Universität Hamburg; Wirtschaftswissenschaften. Wirtschaftswissenschaften
Type of publication Text.Thesis.Doctoral
Format application/pdf
Rights Copyright der Metadaten: SUB Hamburg
Identifier urn:nbn:de:gbv:18-29825
Repository Hamburg - University of Hamburg
Added to C-A: 2008-12-22;01:58:48