Invisible waste: Understanding the political culture of solid and liquid waste management in towns of Tanzania

This research article was published INNSPUB in 2022This article uses ethnographic and case study approaches to unveil the distinct culture characterising the management of liquid and solid waste in urban areas of Tanzania. The article shows that slow accumulation nature of liquid waste such as faecal sludge makes it of less immediate nuisance to residents compared to solid waste, and the general public tend to perceive the management of liquid waste as a responsibility of individual dwelling owners hence a private good rather than public good that would require organisation at a community level. This makes liquid waste less visible to politicians and residents alike despite it being a higher risk factor for disease outbreaks compared to solid wastes. The article argues that attempts to improve liquid waste management need to focus on making it a political priority by creating demand driven service provision, where residents would increase political pressure for access to improved liquid waste management services

Investigating Cutoff Technique for Improved Water Saving and Productivity in Furrow Irrigation System

This research article was published by Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering in 2021The cutoff technique has not been adequately investigated despite being the most practiced among smallholder farmers. This study aimed at scenarios of improving water application efficiency, distribution uniformity, and productivity for the technique. Three cutoff treatments where water supply was stopped with the advance phases reaching 75%, 80%, and 90% of furrow length were investigated with eight irrigation events. Mean application efficiencies with significant difference (P0.05). The results demonstrated the 75% cutoff has the potential of saving water of up to 26% without compromising water productivity. It is recommended therefore that the 75% cutoff position of water supply be promoted among the smallholder farmers and that research studies should now intensify for less than 75% cutoff

Differentiated access: Challenges of equitable and sustainable groundwater exploitation in Tanzania

Groundwater is an important resource for a large share of the global population and economies. Although groundwater dependence in most sub-Saharan African countries is relatively low at the national level, localized overexploitation is occurring, leading to a decline in groundwater levels and quality deterioration. Currently, the sustainable and equitable governance of groundwater, both through promotion and regulation, is turning out to be a key challenge in many sub-Saharan African countries. This paper uses case studies of urban groundwater governance in Arusha, and rural groundwater development in the Pangani basin, to analyse how the current policy and regulation inadvertently creates spaces for asymmetric access to (good quality) groundwater resources in Tanzania. It shows how the groundwater landscape is evolving into a situation where small users (farmers and households) rely on springs and shallow wells, while large users (commercial users and urban water authorities) are encouraged to sink deep boreholes. Amidst a lack of knowledge and enforcing capacity, exacerbated by different priorities among government actors, the water access rights of shallow well and spring users are being threatened by increased groundwater exploitation. Hence, the current groundwater policy and institutional setup do not only empower larger actors to gain disproportionate access to the groundwater resources, but presents this as a benefit for small users whose water security will supposedly increase

Analysis of Macro- and Microplastics in Riverine, Riverbanks, and Irrigated Farms in Arusha, Tanzania

This research article was published by Springer Nature Switzerland AG., 2021Microplastics and macroplastics have been reported in different urban rivers and agricultural soil across the globe. However, the interlink between them has not been previously assessed. The present study evaluated the relationship between macro- and microplastics in the surface water and sediments in riverine, riverbanks, and soils from irrigated farms in Arusha, Tanzania. Detached pieces from macroplastics and suspected particles of microplastics from the samples were analyzed using the total attenuated reflectance–Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Statistical analysis showed that the number of microplastics in the sediments was higher than those in the surface water and that in irrigated farms was of four times higher than those found in riverine. Besides, the numbers of microplastics and macroplastics in the irrigation farms were exponentially related, while the macroplastics from the riverbanks had an inverse relationship with the rivers' profile elevation. Macroplastics of polyethylene type dominated in the riverbanks and irrigated farms with an occurrence frequency of 100%, while polystyrene was abundant in all analyzed microplastics samples. In addition, those irrigation farms adjacent to canals had a significant number of microplastics and macroplastics than the distant farms. This study provides new information for the region and others that divert water from an urban river for irrigation

Qualitative soil moisture assessment in semi-arid Africa – the role of experience and training on inter-rater reliability

This research article published by Copernicus Publications, Volume 19, issue 8, 2015Soil and water management is particularly relevant in semi-arid regions to enhance agricultural productivity. During periods of water scarcity, soil moisture differences are important indicators of the soil water deficit and are traditionally used for allocating water resources among farmers of a village community. Here we present a simple, inexpensive soil wetness classification scheme based on qualitative indicators which one can see or touch on the soil surface. It incorporates the local farmers' knowledge on the best soil moisture conditions for seeding and brick making in the semi-arid environment of the study site near Arusha, Tanzania. The scheme was tested twice in 2014 with farmers, students and experts (April: 40 persons, June: 25 persons) for inter-rater reliability, bias of individuals and functional relation between qualitative and quantitative soil moisture values. During the test in April farmers assigned the same wetness class in 46 % of all cases, while students and experts agreed on about 60 % of all cases. Students who had been trained in how to apply the method gained higher inter-rater reliability than their colleagues with only a basic introduction. When repeating the test in June, participants were given improved instructions, organized in small subgroups, which resulted in a higher inter-rater reliability among farmers. In 66 % of all classifications, farmers assigned the same wetness class and the spread of class assignments was smaller. This study demonstrates that a wetness classification scheme based on qualitative indicators is a robust tool and can be applied successfully regardless of experience in crop growing and education level when an in-depth introduction and training is provided. The use of a simple and clear layout of the assessment form is important for reliable wetness class assignments

Impacts of Emerging Agricultural Practices on Groundwater Quality in Kahe Catchment, Tanzania

This research articles was published in Journals Water Volume 11,Issue 11, 2019This paper assesses the impacts of farmers’ intensive use of agrochemicals (fertilizers and pesticides) on groundwater quality in the Kahe catchment. Samples were collected during the wet and dry seasons of the year 2018 and analyzed for the presence of agrochemicals in the water. Groundwater chemistry was dominated by magnesium-sodium-bicarbonate (Mg-Na-HCO3−). The cations levels were in the trend of Mg2+ >Na+ > Ca2+ > K+, whereas anions were HCO3− > Cl− > SO42− for both seasons. The NO3− had an average value of about 18.40 ± 4.04 and 7.6 ± 1.7 mg/L in the wet and dry season, respectively. Elevated levels of nitrate, sulfate, phosphate, and ammonium were found in water samples collected near the large-scale sugarcane plantation in the catchment. For both seasons, Pb, Cd, Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu concentrations averaged approximately 0.08 ± 0.03, 0.11 ± 0.03, 0.16 ± 0.02, 0.11 ± 0.01, 0.46 ± 0.05, and 0.55 ± 0.02 mg/L, respectively. On the other hand, the concentrations were higher in shallow wells than in the deep boreholes. Pesticides’ residues were below the detection limit in all sampled groundwater. The findings from this study provide important information for intervention in groundwater quality management in Kahe Catchment, Tanzani

Why prepaid technologies are not a panacea for inclusive and sustainable rural water services in Tanzania?

This research article published by IWA publishing, 2020Poor sustainability of rural water schemes is a major problem in service delivery in sub-Saharan Africa. About half of the schemes fail one year after commissioning, mostly due to poor operation and maintenance. Many communities fail to collect and manage water revenue. Prepaid technologies are argued to remedy the poor water revenue management. However, it is not clear to what extent prepaid systems can contribute to the sustainability of rural water schemes. This paper assessed the performance of three different cases where prepaid technologies were used in Tanzania. Although the technologies used can simplify water revenue collection, they are not a panacea to deliver sustainable and equitable water services. The capital cost of the prepaid system is often paid for by donors, which is not being recovered, hence the notion of cost recovery is biased here. Also, a strong institutional capacity and knowledge is required alongside the technology. Therefore, the technology which is being promoted as better for improving cost recovery is, instead, causing a burden on water users

The Role of Statutory and Local Rules in Allocating Water between Large- and Small-Scale Irrigators in an African River Catchment

This paper presents a case study of large- and small-scale irrigators negotiating for access to water from Nduruma River in the Pangani River Basin, Tanzania. The paper shows that despite the existence of a formal statutory water permit system, all users need to conform to the existing local rules in order to secure access to water. The spatial geography of Nduruma is such that smallholder farmers are located upstream and downstream, while large-scale irrigators are in the midstream part of the sub-catchment. There is not enough water in the river to satisfy all demands. The majority of the smallholder farmers currently access water under local arrangements, but large-scale irrigators have obtained state-issued water use permits. To access water the estates adopt a variety of strategies: they try to claim water access by adhering to state water law; they engage with the downstream smallholder farmers and negotiate rotational allocation; and/or they band with downstream farmers to secure more water from upstream farmers. Estates that were successful in securing their water access were those that engaged with the local system and negotiated a fair rotational water-sharing arrangement. By adopting this strategy, the estates not only avoid conflict with the poor downstream farmers but also gain social reputation, increasing chances of cooperative behaviours from the farmers towards their hydraulic infrastructure investments. Cooperative behaviours by the estates may also be due to their dependence on local labour. We further find diverging perspectives on the implementation of the state water use permits – not only between the local and state forms of water governance, but also between the differing administrative levels of government. The local governments are more likely to spend their limited resources on ‘keeping the peace’ rather than on enforcing the water law. At the larger catchment scale, however, the anonymity between users makes it more difficult to initiate and maintain cooperative arrangements

The role of statutory and local rules in allocating water between large- and small-scale irrigators in an African river catchment

Abstract This paper presents a case study of large-and small-scale irrigators negotiating for access to water from Nduruma River in the Pangani River Basin, Tanzania. The paper shows that despite the existence of a formal statutory water permit system, all users need to conform to the existing local rules in order to secure access to water. The spatial geography of Nduruma is such that smallholder farmers are located upstream and downstream, while large-scale irrigators are in the midstream part of the sub-catchment. There is not enough water in the river to satisfy all demands. The majority of the smallholder farmers currently access water under local arrangements, but large-scale irrigators have obtained state-issued water use permits. To access water the estates adopt a variety of strategies: they try to claim water access by adhering to state water law; they engage with the downstream smallholder farmers and negotiate rotational allocation; and/or they band with downstream farmers to secure more water from upstream farmers. Estates that were successful in securing their water access were those that engaged with the local system and negotiated a fair rotational water-sharing arrangement. By adopting this strategy, the estates not only avoid conflict with the poor downstream farmers but also gain social reputation, increasing chances of cooperative behaviours from the farmers towards their hydraulic infrastructure investments. Cooperative behaviours by the estates may also be due to their dependence on local labour. We further find diverging perspectives on the implementation of the state water use permits -not only between the local and state forms of water governance, but also between the differing administrative levels of government. The local governments are more likely to spend their limited resources on 'keeping the peace' rather than on enforcing the water law. At the larger catchment scale, however, the anonymity between users makes it more difficult to initiate and maintain cooperative arrangements