UNDP-FAO-GEF PROJECT: REDUCING BIODIVERSITY LOSS AT CROSS BORDER SITES IN EAST AFRICA.

DISCUSSION NOTE

ALTERNATIVE RESOURCE USE STRATEGIES AND ALTERNATIVE LIVELIHOOD STRATEGIES FOR COMMUNITIES AROUND FORESTS

1.  INTRODUCTION

The East African Cross-borders Biodiversity Project aims to “Reduce the rate of loss of forest biodiversity in specific cross-border sites of national and global significance in East Africa” The Project seeks to achieve this border goal through implementation of activities through a set of Immediate Objectives, Outputs and Activities:

The national level project log frame (see new Log-Frame document) has two Immediate Objectives within the overall goal of reducing biodiversity loss at the selected cross-border sites. Objective A seeks better regulation of biodiversity use practices (conservation).  Objective B seeks support to local communities for alternative strategies of resource use (Output B2) and the development of Alternative Income Strategies (Output B3).  The site plans for the Sango Bay and Minziro swamp forests; and for Monduli and Same District forests (see separate documents on site log frames and plans), fit in with the national log-frame as they address the issue of developing alternative resource use strategies.

Activities to be planned and implemented to achieve immediate objective B need to address resources which are extracted in non-sustainable ways at the key resource sites through human activity and thereby cause a loss of biodiversity. The loss of biodiversity can only be reduced when the demand and supply of the resources is brought into balance leading to sustainable use of biodiversity resources. In order to bring the necessary balance the project implements various activities in the field including those which:-

·        Bring in mechanisms for the sustainable harvesting of key products

·        Provide for alternative supplies of major resources (fuel, poles etc) e.g. through promoting on-farm tree resources

·        Provide for livelihood and income strategies by stakeholder communities that reduce natural resource dependence, e.g. alternative technology strategies, alternative income strategies and alternative use strategies.

This project is thus an Integrated Conservation and Development Project (ICDP), which seeks to meet conservation goals and social priorities of the people.  The participatory intervention planning process at all project sites (see papers by Consultant Sejal Worah) have led to interventions to integrate conservation and community needs.

THE UGANDA EXPERIENCES

Establishing alternative livelihoods for communities, and establishing alternative resource use strategies adjacent to the Sango Bay Forest Reserve is one of the interventions to address the project site level objective, “Off-take of key forest resources in Sango Bay reduced”. Arising out of the site specific participatory intervention planning process, implementation of some of the field activities relating to alternative livelihoods and alternative resource use strategies for the communities has started. 

A: Establishing alternative resource use strategies for key forest resources firewood, poles, timber, medicinal plants, fish and palm leaves.

Tree nursery activities

These activities are going on, for the case of Rakai, in the three target sub-counties of Kyebe, Kabira and Kakuuto Subcounties (LC3 level). The tree nurseries are intended to provide alternative sources of poles, firewood, agroforestry trees, palm leaves and income from the sale of the surplus seedlings and poles.  Both long-term timber trees, and short-term firewood, poles and agroforestry trees are promoted. Through Local Government and NGO partners, the project has adopted a three-pronged approach in order to increase on-farm tree production.  This integrated approach meets the needs of both subsistence scale tree growers, as well as the medium scale commercial tree farmers.

Central Nurseries at Sub-County Level (Local Government through MoUs).

These are run in a cost-sharing manner with the subcounties. The sub-counties have received an assortment of nursery tools and materials.  District Forest extension staff, working hand in hand with the sub-county secretaries for production and environment provide technical support.   The subcounty provides locally available inputs such as labour, construction materials and local seeds. The tree nursery at Kabira initially raised Eucalyptus for poles and fuelwood, and pines, Maesopsis eminni (Musizi) and Podocarpus usambarensis (Podo) for timber.   The nursery at Katera (Kyebe) began with Podocarpus usambarensis, Maesopsis eminni and Beilschmedia ugandensis (locally known as Mwasa) for timber.  Fruit and agroforestry trees are also now being raised. 

Seedlings from the nurseries are sold to local communities at subsidized prices (as an incentive). The Sub-Counties have budgets for agriculture and forestry activities, and some of this money is used to support nursery activities.  In addition, the funds raised from the sale of the seedlings go back into the running of the nursery.  Both of these attributes contribute to the sustainability of activity

Central Nurseries at Village Level (Involving CBOs):

Through our partner NGO Integrated Rural Development Initiatives (IRDI), CBOs in villages have established tree nurseries.  Village nurseries serve 1-4 villages. To date village nuseries have been established, Kigazi, Buzinde, Mayanja, Lukoma and Matengeto. The nursery at Mayanja contains medicinal herbs as well. Planting out of seedlings from the nurseries has started.  This approach of establishing nurseries at village level promotes community self-mobilization for biodiversity and environmental management in general.  Initially, the villagers shared the seedlings, but have started selling.  The funds raised will be used to run the nurseries to ensure continuity.

Home nurseries at household level (dealing with interested individuals):

The partner NGO in Kabira Sub-County- Vi Agroforestry Project uses this approach.  Through the partner, the project is facilitating extension workers who deal with individual households. This approach ensures that farmers raise and plant the trees of their choice.

Table 1:  Summary of Project Nursery Activities

Efficient use of firewood

A baseline survey carried out by the NGO partners in the project area reveals that the majority (over 80%) of the community surrounding the Sango Bay collect firewood from the forests.  The survey further reveals that over time (five-ten years back), there has been a sharp decline in firewood availability outside the forests mainly due to deforestation, agriculture and settlement expansion, restrictions by lease holders and charcoal burning; thus the shift to the forest reserve as the major sources of firewood.  While addressing the issues of alternative sources, the project is at the same time promoting efficient resource use technologies.

Through partner NGOs (IRDI, Vi and ICR[1]) the project promotes both the UNICEF and LORENA firewood saving stove models in Kabira Kakuuto and Kyebe Sub-counties. The stoves save between 50-60% of the energy burned through traditional three stone stoves.  This efficiency rating agrees with the information from the beneficiaries who say that (collecting the same sizes of firewood bundles from the forest), they have reduced the number of times they used to go to the forest per week by half.  Initially the NGOs, (especially IRDI) trained the district extension staff, who in turned went out to train groups of interested people in the villages.  The trained villagers in turn have trained other people in the village who did not have the opportunity to participate in the training by extension staff. This kind of approach has had a multiplier effect as well as positive sustainability implications.  The stoves are inexpensive since they are entirely made out of locally available materials (a mixture of sand, clay, cow dung, extract from potato leaves and water, plus five bricks).

Table 1: Project Coverage for Improved Cook-Stoves: The case of IRDI for Parishes  around Sango Bay after a few weeks implementation.

Alternative Energy Technologies

IRDI is promoting the use of biogas in the communities adjacent to the Sango Bay forests.   This is being piloted with two farmers in Katovu area in Kakuuto Sub-county and the technology is expected to be extended to more households with time.  

B: Alternative Income Strategies 

Improved Crop production:

Regarding alternative sources of income, the project supports general extension through NGOs. The latter work closely with the District extension staff. A survey done in the focus sub-counties revealed that banana, coffee, sweet potatoes, beans, cassava, maize and groundnuts are the major on-farm sources of income for the majority of the community. However, the farmers say comparing the current crop production with that 5-10 years ago, the production has declined.  The yields are poorer.  Some farmers therefore supplement on-farm income with income from sale of handcrafts (especially mats), carpentry, charcoal burning, pitsawying, brickmaking and fishing, all of which have a direct impact on the biodiversity of Sango Bay.

The project therefore, through partners supports agriculture and forestry extension in order to boost on-farm sources of incomes for the farmers in the target sub-counties. While the sub-counties are helping farmers to acquire high yielding seeds of some of the major crops (beans, cassava, maize and sweet potatoes), the project came in to support soil management practices, coffee growing and better banana management practices.   At Kabira and Kakuuto, the sub-counties, jointly with the project support coffee and tree nurseries. The coffee seedlings when ready for planting will be sold to the farmers at subsidized prices.  While the entire community benefits from these interventions, the project pays special attention to resident charcoal burners and palm leaf collectors, who have land and can concentrate on crop production.  The ultimate objective is to reduce dependency on the forest for income.

Table 2: Extent of Improved Banana Establishment in Parishes around Sango Bay

Fish farming:

A study has been carried out to establish the feasibility of fish farming as an alternative source of income for local communities.  The findings show that the majority of farmers want to be helped to invest more and better in crop production than fish farming.  There are however isolated cases of farmers who are interested in starting fish farming.  The district fisheries sector is to further assess the possibility of targeting some of these farmers who are interested.

Passion fruit growing:

This is a high value crop with a big potential as a source income.  An assessment into its feasibility will soon be undertaken.  The advantage with this crop is that it does not need a lot of land since it can be grown as hedge plant and on compound and farm trees.   The tree nursery at Kakuuto has already supplied over 500 seedlings of passion fruits to farmers.  The demand for more seedlings is still high.

THE TANZANIA EXPERIENCES

A: Alternative Use and Supply Strategies

i)                    Tree Nursery Support

Rural communities adjacent to the forest sites depend mostly on the forest resources to meet their basic needs of household energy, building poles, herbal medicine, vegetables, pasture, etc.  In most cases the rate of regeneration and resource increment is lower than the rate of off-take leading to accelerated loss of biodiversity.

In addressing this challenge, the Tanzanian Component has initiated and continues to support the production of tree seedlings in individual and group nurseries in all villages adjacent to the focal forest sites.  The Project support is mainly provided in term of the necessary technical advise and some nursery materials, tools and equipment, e.g. polythene tubes, watering cans, transportation of forest soil, tree seeds etc. The beneficiaries provide the necessary labour and some materials, tools and own both the nurseries and the seedlings produced.  The seedlings produced are then planted out into the farmers fields, woodlots, homesteads and the surplus can be sold out to other villagers for generation of income.

So far the project support on tree nurseries has been as follows:-

By supporting nurseries the project hopes to reduce the rate of loss of biodiversity in the forest sites in the long run, because the villagers will be able to get the supplies for their wood requirements from their own woodlots, homesteads and farms outside the focal forest sites.

ii)                  Alternative Use and Alternative Technological Strategies.

Requirements for household energy is one of the major factors necessitating extraction of wood either as firewood or charcoal by communities adjacent to the focal forest sites. The extraction is mostly for household energy needs although extraction for sale is also done especially for urban dwellers.

a)             Fuelwood Efficient Stoves

The rate of wood extraction is directly related to the rate of consumption.   The higher the rate of wood conversion into heat energy the lower the rate of wood consumption and vice versa.  Efficient fuelwood stoves will require small amount of wood to produce the same amount of energy that will be obtained from a much larger amount of wood when less efficient fuelwood stoves, e.g. the traditional three stones stoves are used.

In Tanzania, three different types of efficient fuelwood stoves have been adopted and continue to be promoted one type at each site.  Although scientific verification of their efficiency is yet to be done, rough estimates puts the Bukoba type at over 50% (one bundle of firewood is now used for eight days instead of three days for the three-stone stove).  A household using the efficient type of stove in Same now goes twice a week to collect firewood instead of everyday as it was before. And in Monduli District each household using the efficient stove now uses one bundle of firewood for two days instead of one day as it was before.

Some statistics for fuelwood efficient stoves are as follows:-

b)         Non-wood Alternative Energy Strategies

In addressing the issue of loss of forest biodiversity caused by the production of household energy, the project in Tanzania is currently promoting the use of other alternative sources of energy supply.  This includes the use of biodigesters (biogas plants) to produce gas from animal dung in the pastoralist areas of Monduli District, promotion of Jatropha carcus planting for production of fuel-oils for cooking and the use of solar energy stoves.

Currently there are two concrete (dome type) biodigers installed and in use in Monduli District, one at Monduli and one at Longido Divisions. The two plants produce enough gas for both cooking and lighting in the beneficiary families. A total of twelve families have been supported by the project to install plastic biodigesters one each for production of gas for both cooking and lighting. One solar energy stove have also been installed in Monduli.

B:            Alternative Income Strategies

One of the major reasons underlying over-dependency on forest biodiversity resources is poverty. Most of the adjacent communities are poor, lack alternative ways of earning income and thus extract wood resources for sale. They also lack cash income to meet their financial obligations including purchasing of substitutes.  There is therefore a strong link between poverty and level of environmental destruction.

The Project in Tanzania is currently supporting beekeeping activities in all the three sites as an alternative source of income to the communities.  The support provided is in terms of the necessary technical advice, working facilities, marketing advice and some materials and equipment. To closely link the activity with biodiversity conservation of the forests a mechanism is now underway to allow sighting of beehives into the focal forest sites.  The Project support to beekeeping can briefly be summarized as follows;-

Water Hyacinth Products

The project is currently supporting one group in Bukoba on the production and sale of water hyacinth products, which is seen as an alternative source of income.  The group operates as a community based organization made up of twenty voluntary members.  The variety of items made out of water hyacinth includes chairs, lampshades, baskets, post-cards, picture-frames etc. Since started the group has managed to make a total sales amounting to Tshs. 250,000/= and orders standing at Tshs. 400,000/=.

By promoting and supporting alternative income strategies the project hopes that, in the long run the adjacent communities will have less incentive to cut trees from the forest sites for sale because they will have been enabled to get the necessary income from the alternative income strategies.

SNV Dutch support for Eco-Tourism in Monduli and Same Districts

SNV had initiated a normal cultural tourism support through local initiatives, in both Same (Pare Mountains) and Monduli (Mto-wa-Mbu and Longido).  This Cross Borders Project has established partnerships with SNV within the two areas.  SNV funding comes to an end in late 2001 and we found it relevant to support the idea of ecotourism as started by SNV, and to add funding with the vision of a longer-term biodiversity conservation component.

Our support is mainly to the information centre initiation, and sharing the baseline data on site biodiversity that will build on existing general cultural information.  This baseline data will include amongst other things, local use of indigenous plants from the documented resource user survey, and knowledge of plant and bird species in the mountain forests.

The project will support an ongoing booklet on the South Pare traditional conservation systems and base it with the Tona Lodge and Kisaka Villa (both near Chome Forest Reserve in Same District). Cultural tourism has not yet been fully initiated in Bukoba.   Lessons learnt from Monduli and Same Districts will soon be shared by Bukoba.

Note: that many of these activities are implemented through partnerships with other organisations, and these are described more fully in the other Discussion Note on Developing Partnerships.

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