Effects of land use practices on livelihoods in the transboundary sub-catchments of the Lake Victoria Basin

The Lake Victoria Basin (LVB) is experiencing changes in land use due to both anthropogenic and natural drivers which are critical to the sustainability of the resources and livelihoods of the communities. Indeed the resultant land use practices and decisions made by the communities on the use of the land rely on the changes in the basin. This paper presents an analysis of the land use practices in the Lake Victoria Basin using two sub-catchments of Mara River (Tanzania) and Sio River (Kenya-Uganda) as case studies. Collection of mainly socio-economic and environmental data involved in-depth interviews of 679 respondents from the midstream and downstream zones of the subcatchments. The findings reveal conspicuous changes in community livelihoods as a result of expansion of cultivation, overgrazing on the river banks, increased use of wetlands areas, the disappearance and extreme fragmentation of forest, bush land and appearance and the diminishing of settlements. The hitherto common resources have become scarce forcing farmers to try intensifying and diversifying their farm production with little success due to poor traditional farming practices. Although local initiatives are leading to change, there is need for integrated approaches of indigenous knowledge, technical agricultural research, economic analysis, and policy studies and reforms.Key words: Land use practices, livelihoods, Indigenous knowledge, Lake Victoria basin

The adequacy of the policy environment for sustainable project development in Tanzania

Policies shape and structure the ensuing economic and political processes. These in turn do affect the economic, social and environmental conditions that govern project development towards or away from sustainability. To understand this interaction a broad range of economic, social and political processes at the national and international level were analysed. Using case study methodology of two projects, the analysis revealed that in Tanzania, like many other countries, environmental and social consideration in project development is much dependent on the findings of EIA. Inadequate environmental standards, that could guide project development, were also identified as a setback to sustainability. Based on the findings sustainability factors were explored at various level of project development within the policy environment and are discussed in the paper to provide a framework for sustainable project development.Keywords: Project; Planning and Management; Sustainability; Policy Environmen