Land Use and Environmental Gradients Influence on Riparian Woody Plant Diversity and Structure in Lake Manyara Watershed Ecosystem, Tanzania

Riparian vegetations are important in supporting ecological connectivity between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. The structure and species composition of riparian woody plants have been subjected to multiple forces with varying degree of influences. This study examined the influence of land use and environmental gradient to the structure and composition of the riparian woody plants in northern Tanzania. A total of 270 plots were surveyed for woody plant species in the riparian ecosystems and later analysed to determine the influence of land use categories (homegarden, crop field, woodlot, open canopy forest, and closed canopy forest) and environmental variables (temperature, precipitation, elevation and slope) to the species richness, abundance, and stand parameters. Basal area was higher in woodlots, homegardens and crop fields than in the open and closed canopy forests;and as expected the reverse was true for the number of stocking density. Correlation among stand parameters with environmental variables varied significantly. Species richness and species abundance were negatively correlated to precipitation, temperature and elevation, while stocking density and basal area were positively correlated to precipitation. The study recommends continual retentions of trees on farm, further promoting of agroforestry interventions and sustainable utilization of woody plants in open and close canopy forests.

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 locacal 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 Man- agement Committee （92%）, tree nursery group （79.4%）, beekeep- ing groups （61.1%）, fish fanning （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, plant- ing 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.

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.

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.

Analysis of Land-Cover Changes and Anthropogenic Activities in Itigi Thicket, Tanzania

Assessing land cover changes from the 1991 to 2011 for Itigi thicket is imperative for determining changes between land cover types and understanding anthropogenic impact during this period. Remote sensing (RS) data, Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques and forest inventory data were used. ILWIS 3.3 Academic software was used to analyze the satellite imageries to determine the land use, land cover change;while data on anthropogenic activities were analysed in MS Excel software. The results showed that between 1991/2000 and 2000/2011, the areas of thicket declined by 6.23% while non-thicket areas increased by 3.92%. The decline in thicket areas was attributed to increase in anthropogenic activities such as wood extraction, clearing for agriculture, livestock grazing and fires. The study highlights the importance of integrating remote sensing and forest inventory in understanding the thicket resources dynamics and generating information that could be used to overcome the Itigi thicket problems for the sustainability of this unique vegetation.