An enviromental crisis in the making in Tanzania...

In a metaphrrical sense one could compare the imminent danger of environmental degradation which we are about to face in this country, with a sword of Damocles ready to strike a fatal blow.

Yet this danger can be avoided if timely and appropriate measures are taken to contain it.

That there is an imminent danger of environmental degradation in Tanzania to day, cannot be disputed nor ignored.

This crisis is characterised among other things by prolonged droughts, increasing number of armed conflicts between farmers and pastoralists, country wide scarcity of water, extensive deforestation, poor harvests and acute conditions of all forms of soil erosion.

With the exeption of prolonged droughts, all those remaining factors can be tackled with relative case, given the will and resolve of this nation to protect its environment.

But because of lack of a comprehensive policy towards environmental protection, the measures we have so far taken, yield little positive impact on the protection of our eco-system as a whole.

What is encouraging however, is the pro-environment alttitude of the new government. The newly elected President has made it clear that fighting against environmental degradation is not only a paramount task of his administration, but he said that it is a matter of life and death.

These strong words are reinforced by his own remarks when he said that all our hopes and dreams, would remian unfulfilled if we fail to contain the damage done to our environment.

In fact he was quite right because all this talk of sustainable development cannot be achieved under the condition of a degraded environment.

Because creating an independent ministry reponsible for environmental issues, the president went a little farther than his predecessor.

In fact he has created an environment where our youngsters from the university with degrees in environmental sciences, would find a ready market for employment.

As an academic object the introduction of environemntal sciences would definitely widen the scope, understanding and awareness towards the meaning and importance of our eco-system. There would certainly be a more position thinking towards protecting it.

One of the main reasons for environmental destruction in our country, overdependency on one source of energy, namely the biomass. This is why charcoal trade is growing phenomenally especially in all urban centres.

Charcoal is the cheapest form of energy and because of this reason, it has attracted so many people. As a result of this, extensive deforestation has taken place and is continuing to take place now.

Although it is not possible to prohibit entirely the use of biomass, yet it is possible to manage the rate of tree felling for the purpose of making charcoal.

This can be done at village and district levels, by insisting on planting trees as a precondition for obtaining a licence to harvest the forest.

But we can also institute country - wide compaigns aimed at promoting the ..... of biogas, whose technology has already been acquired by SIDO.

The aim is to increase the use of biogas nationwide, as a way of reducing our overdependency on biomass.

The success of these compaigns would depend very much on the political will, determination and resolve of village and district governments.

As far as water scarcity is concerned, we can prohibit the cultivation of natural vegetation around areas of water sources.

This can be achieved by launching a strong compaign, geared towards achieving the basic aims of protecting our eco-system, around sources of rivers and lakes.

By using visual aids, electronic media, television and radio, in addition to well publicised political meetings, this objective can be achieved.

A single major obstacle in the protection of our environment is this free moverment of literally thousands of people (mainly pastoralists), accompanied by their huge herds of cattle, under the protect that Tanzanians are free to live anywhere in Tanzania without let or hindrance.

Yet this is basically wrong, because it aggravates the destroction of our environment by ensuring overgrazing, as in the case of Usangu basin in Mbeya.
Not only do they destroy sources of rivers and lakes region but they also disturb the natural environment. These activities should be banned by law.


It is for this specific reason that there is a pressuing need for the establishment of an environmental court, emplowered to impose senteces on defaulters of our eco-system. Without such a legal framework, it would be extremely difficult to protect our environment from destructive forces.

The majority of our people are overwhemingly in support of the policies of this new government. It is for example a very good more in trying to obtain a solution to the environmental degradation now facing the farmer Usangu Basin in Mbeya region.

There has been consultations between the government and representatives of farmers and pastoralists, who invaled that area from as far a field as Mwanza and Manyara. This is extremely an encouraging more in trying to get a solution to the problem of environemntal degradation of this crucially important area.

As a result of this move including other measures taken to protect our eco-system, a sense of public confidence in the new government has been created. People are optimistic that even this difficult and thoring problem of environmental protection would find a suitable solution.

Although not all our socio-economic problems can be solved at one stroke, it is our hope that the government is laying strong foundations in tackling this problem of environmental degradation. Once this problem is resolved, the question of sustainable development would not present a major obstacle.