Local communities' participation in decision-making processes through planning and budgeting in African countries

Community participation and community based management are topical themes in current policy and discussion revolving around decision-making processes especially those dealing with natural resources management.This review shows that while governments have accepted the need to either cede or devolve control and management of natural resources to the local communities,the communities are not part and parcel of the planning and budgeting which are crucial in decisionmaking.Communities were seen to be more involved in the implementation of natural resource management programs but lacked ownership of the projects.This causes lack of commitment to the programs and at times hostile reaction from the communities.The communities are always at the receiving end when it pertains to losses in the exchange.Community participation was shown to be effective when the local population is involved not as co-operating users but as natural resource managers or owner managers.

The Role and Effectiveness of Local Institutions in the Management of Forest Biodiversity in New Dabaga-Ulongambi Forest Reserve,Iringa Region-Tanzania

This paper examines the role and effectiveness of local institutions in the management of forest biodiversity in New Dabaga-Ulongambi Forest Reserve,Tanzania.Data were obtained through questionnaires,interviews,focus group discussions,participatory rural appraisal and field observations.The study revealed that the most remarkable local institutions connected to forest biodiversity management include:Village Natural Resources Management Committee(92%),tree nursery group(79.4%),beekeeping groups(61.1%),fish farming(43.3%),livestock rearing group(33.9%).Main activities carried out by local institutions which directly contribute to the sustainability of forest reserve include:forest patrols,fire extinguish,preparation of fire breaks,planting of trees along the forest boundaries,creation of awareness,arresting of forest defaulters,participation in income generation activities.For the purpose of realization that local communities are capable of managing forest biodiversity through their traditional institutions,the policy should provide tangible opportunity for local communities to meet their needs as they manage the forests.

Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Strategies in Kenya

To determine the climate changes that are due to natural variability and those due to human activities is quite challenging,just like delineating the impacts.Moreover,it is equally difficult to ascertain the adaptive strategies for coping with the climate changes and in particular for developing countries like Kenya.While climate change is a global phenomenon,the impacts are more or less specific to local areas such as observed in Kenyan case.Therefore climate change impacts adaptation strategies are appropriately applicable to a given local perspective.The study investigated the main indicators of climate change and effective adaptive strategies that can be employed in Kenya.Based on online questionnaire survey,the study established unpredictable rainfall patterns as the major indicator of climate change in the country,while water harvesting and change of cropping methods are the best adaptive strategies.

Benefits and Challenges of Urban Green Spaces

The aim of this paper is to illustrate the benefits,and challenges towards providing multifunctional urban green spaces.The results are based on critical analysis of study findings from different cities in Europe,America and to a lesser extent in Asia.Inner-city green spaces are especially important for improving air quality through uptake of pollutant gases and particulates which are responsible for respiratory infections.Due to their amenity and aesthetics,green spaces increase property value.To ensure multifunctional role of urban a green space is achieved,in particular the social and psychological role,certain standards of quantity,quality and distribution within the urban area should be adequately established.Green spaces need to be uniformly distributed throughout the city area,although each does not need to be extremely large but should be large enough to accommodate the city population.

Changing climate patterns risk the spread of Varroa destructor infestation of African honey bees in Tanzania

Background:Climate change creates opportune conditions that favour the spread of pests and diseases outside their known active range.Modelling climate change scenarios is oftentimes useful tool to assess the climate analogues to unveil the potential risk of spreading suitability conditions for pests and diseases and hence allows development of appropriate responses to address the impending challenge.In the current study,we modelled the impact of climate change on the distribution of Varroa destructor,a parasitic mite that attacks all life forms of honey bees and remains a significant threat to their survival and productivity of bee products in Tanzania and elsewhere.Methods:The data about the presence of V.destructor were collected in eight regions of Tanzania selected in consideration of several factors including potentials for beekeeping activities,elevation(highlands vs.lowlands)and differences in climatic conditions.A total of 19 bioclimatic datasets covering the entire country were used for developing climate scenarios of mid-century 2055 and late-century 2085 for both rcp4.5 and rcp8.5.We thereafter modelled the current and future risk distribution of V.destructor using MaxEnt.Results:The results indicated a model performance of AUC=0.85,with mean diurnal range in temperature(Bio2,43.9%),mean temperature(Bio1,20.6%)and mean annual rainfall(Bio12,11.7%)as the important variables.Future risk projections indicated mixed responses of the potential risk of spreads of V.destructor,exhibiting both decrease and increases in the mid-century 2055 and late-century 2085 on different sites.Overall,there is a general decline of highly suitable areas of V.destructor in mid-and late-century across all scenarios(rcp4.5 and rcp8.5).The moderately suitable areas indicated a mixed response in mid-century with decline(under rcp4.5)and increase(under rcp8.5)and consistent increase in late century.The marginally suitable areas show a decline in mid-century and increase in late-century.Our results suggest that the climate change will continue to significantly affect the distribution and risks spread of V.destructor in Tanzania.The suitability range of V.destructor will shift where highly suitable areas will be diminishing to the advantage of the honey bees’populations,but increase of moderately suitable sites indicates an expansion to new areas.The late century projections show the increased risks due to surge in the moderate and marginal suitability which means expansion in the areas where V.destructor will operate Conclusion:The current and predicted areas of habitat suitability for V.destructor’s host provides information useful for beekeeping stakeholders in Tanzania to consider the impending risks and allow adequate interventions to address challenges facing honey bees and the beekeeping industry.We recommend further studies on understanding the severity of V.destructor in health and stability of the honey bees in Tanzania.This will provide a better picture on how the country will need to monitor and reduce the risks associated with the increase of V.destructor activities as triggered by climate change.The loss of honey bees’colonies and its subsequent impact in bees’products production and pollination effect have both ecological and economic implications that need to have prioritization by the stakeholders in the country to address the challenge of spreading V.destructor.