Land use and land cover change in locally supported wildlife management areas in the Nyerere-Selous ecosystem, Tanzania

Kharid Mwakoba, Edmund Mabhuye, Nobert Joel, Nathan Moore, Kyla Dahlin, Torbern Tagesson, Ryan Nagelkirk

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Worldwide, there is conversion of natural habitats to other land cover types. These are explained by changes in land use and climate change. In Tanzania, environmental degradation happens also within and around protected areas. To mitigate the effects, wildlife management areas (WMAs) surrounding the borders of protected areas in Tanzania have been promoted. They are based on the concept of community based natural resources management (CBNRM). These WMAs have attracted adverse attention because there is a lack of active local participation and of equitable benefits for local people. Unsustainable activities have been reported in these areas. To determine the extent of these activities in WMAs in the Nyerere-Selous ecosystem in Southeastern Tanzania, the researchers did a change detection analysis using Landsat images. Analysis showed that the conditions of the vegetation within WMAs were considerably improving. Although almost all other categories of land use/cover had increased, socio-economic activities had decreased by 25% since the establishment of WMAs in 2003. This decrease is a positive sign towards attaining the goals of CBNRM.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2059-2078
JournalInternational Journal of Environmental Studies
Volume81
Issue number5
Early online date2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2024

Subject classification (UKÄ)

  • Earth and Related Environmental Sciences

Free keywords

  • CBNRM
  • Nyerere-Selous ecosystem
  • Tanzania
  • WMAs

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