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Gender and age groups forest benefits and management incentive in Usambara Tanzania

University of Dodoma, Biology, Tanzania

Abstract

Well-managed forests in mountainous areas such as Usambara may improve community welfare and bring ecosystem services that support agro-ecological practices, for example, through increased water flow and pest control. However, the literature in Tanzania is short of evidence on the pattern of benefits flow, poverty dynamics and forest management motivation for community groups.
Based on genders (male and female) and age groups (18 to 35 and above 35) from 79 and 80 randomly selected households from villages around Sunga and Chambogo forests, respectively; the study employed income flow accounting, poverty status assessment and factors analysis to construct management motivation index.
The results indicate significant higher income share to the youth (7.2%) as compared to older (3.4%) household heads (t=2.3, p=0.023), as well as for female compared to male headed households (t=1.85, p=0.07) in CBFM (community control) regime. On poverty indicators in CBFM, non-timber forest income had no influence on poverty headcount but reduced poverty gap by 3% (37.4 to 34.8%) for youth, and 1.4% (25.6 to 24.2 %) for older households as well as poverty severity for 3% (19 to 16%) for youth and 2.2% (12.2 to 10%) for older headed households. For genders in the CBFM, poverty gap was reduced by 4% (64.9 to 59.5%) for male headed households, while poverty severity was reduced by 3.6% (28 to 23.4%) for male and 5% (28.3 to 22.2%) for female headed households. The older (1.77) household heads as compared to youth (1.56) (t=2.3913, p=0.019) and male (1.81) compared to female (1.64) headed households (t=2.1461, p=0.035) scored significantly higher on management motivation index.
The results imply more dependency of non-timber forest products for youth and female headed households; a small proportion of forest contribution to the households’ income; and income benefits may not directly translate to the motivation for the forest management.
Conclusively, forest regeneration may improve income and ecosystems services flow to community groups. Profiling community groups is needed to inform and improve motivation on forest management. More research is needed beyond Usambara to unravel community groups’ dynamics on benefits flow and forest management.

Keywords: Community groups, management motivation index, Tanzania, Usambara

Contact Address: Hussein Luswaga, University of Dodoma, Biology, Box 338, Dodoma, Tanzania, e-mail: huslusgmail.com