Attitudes of Community to Urban Traffic Noise in Morogoro, Tanzania

Traffic noise is a major environmental source of pollution both in developed and in developing countries. This study was carried out in Morogoro municipality, located about 200 km west of Dar es Salaam the business capital of Tanzania. Total of 16 measuring points were selected along main roads and A-weighted continuous equivalent sound level meters was used for measurement of noise level. The average noise equivalent level at measured points varied between 51.1 to 75.1 dBA. The results established the fact that noise levels are more than the acceptable limit of 55 dBA, which is the daytime governmentally prescribed noise limit for residential-commercial areas. This study also describes the reaction of the Morogoro residents to environmental noise pollution. A total of 200 questionnaires were processed. The results of the interview questionnaire revealed that the main isolated noise source was traffic (51%) and street noise (29%). About 45% of the respondents classified the noise in their street as “high”; and that noise bother 77% of the respondent more in daytime. The main impacts of exposure to noise were reported to be headache, hearing problem, sleeplessness, difficulty to concentrate and conversation disruption. This study recommends raising community awareness on noise pollution, structural management, traffic management and enforcement of laws and regulations so as to control noise pollution. Keywords: Noise pollution, Vehicles, Annoyance, Urban public, Diurnal variatio

Calf health and management in smallholder dairy farms in Tanzania

Smallholder farmers’ knowledge and practice of dairy calf management on 129 farms with calves less than 10 months of age in Southeastern and Southern Highland areas of Tanzania was assessed. The method of study included both a farm visit and completion of a questionnaire. Most of the farmers were female, with a primary level of education, and majority kept 1–3 milking cows that yielded 6–10 l milk/cow/day. Most of the calves were fed milk using a residual calf suckling system. Weaning age was 3–8 months. Overall, the body condition of the calves was poor, ranged from 1 to 2.5 with a mode of 2. The majority of the farmers believed that helminthosis was the most common disease condition affecting the calves; diarrhea was ranked as the second. Calf death was reported by 20% of the farmers to have occurred in their herd lasting the 2 years prior to the study. Calf body condition score was related to body weight for calves younger than 9 weeks, and older than 23 weeks of age, whereas no such relationship existed in the age group 9 to 23 weeks. The sex distribution was skewed with less male calves being older than 23 weeks. We hypothesize that male calves experience inferior management compared with female calves. This study demonstrates a low level of knowledge on, and poor practices of calf management among the surveyed farmers that suggest the need for educational intervention