Upload
undpenvironment
View
251
Download
1
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
7/27/2019 Case Studies UNDP: RUFIJI ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT PROJECT, Tanzania
1/12
Equator Initiative Case StudiesLocal sustainable development solutions or people, nature, and resilient communities
Tanzania
RUFIJIENVIRONMENTMANAGEMENTPROJECT
Empowered live
Resilient nation
Empowered live
Resilient nation
7/27/2019 Case Studies UNDP: RUFIJI ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT PROJECT, Tanzania
2/12
UNDP EQUATOR INITIATIVE CASE STUDY SERIES
Local and indigenous communities across the world are advancing innovative sustainable development solutions that wo
or people and or nature. Few publications or case studies tell the ull story o how such initiatives evolve, the breadth
their impacts, or how they change over time. Fewer still have undertaken to tell these stories with community practition
themselves guiding the narrative.
To mark its 10-year anniversary, the Equator Initiative aims to ll this gap. The ollowing case study is one in a growing ser
that details the work o Equator Prize winners vetted and peer-reviewed best practices in community-based environmenconservation and sustainable livelihoods. These cases are intended to inspire the policy dialogue needed to take local succ
to scale, to improve the global knowledge base on local environment and development solutions, and to serve as models
replication. Case studies are best viewed and understood with reerence to The Power o Local Action: Lessons rom 10 Years
the Equator Prize, a compendium o lessons learned and policy guidance that draws rom the case material.
Click on the map to visit the Equator Initiatives searchable case study database.
EditorsEditor-in-Chie: Joseph Corcoran
Managing Editor: Oliver HughesContributing Editors: Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Erin Lewis, Whitney Wilding
Contributing WritersEdayatu Abieodun Lamptey, Erin Atwell, Toni Blackman, Jonathan Clay, Joseph Corcoran, Larissa Currado, Sarah Gordon, Oliver Hughe
Wen-Juan Jiang, Sonal Kanabar, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Rachael Lader, Patrick Lee, Erin Lewis, Jona Liebl, Mengning Ma,
Mary McGraw, Gabriele Orlandi, Juliana Quaresma, Peter Schecter, Martin Sommerschuh, Whitney Wilding, Luna Wu
DesignOliver Hughes, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Amy Korngiebel, Kimberly Koserowski, Erin Lewis, John Mulqueen, Lorena de la Pa
Brandon Payne, Mariajos Satizbal G.
AcknowledgementsThe Equator Initiative acknowledges with gratitude the Ruji Environment Management Project, and also the guidance and inputs
Abdalla Said Shah, IUCN Tanzania oce. All photo credits courtesy o Ruji Environment Management Project. Maps courtesy o C
World Factbook and Wikipedia.
Suggested CitationUnited Nations Development Programme. 2012. Ruji Environment Management Project. Equator Initiative Case Study Series. New Yo
NY.
http://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_winners&view=casestudysearch&Itemid=858http://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdf7/27/2019 Case Studies UNDP: RUFIJI ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT PROJECT, Tanzania
3/12
PROJECT SUMMARYBetween 1998 and 2003, this IUCN-led intervention in theRuji Delta area o Tanzania worked through the Ruji DistrictCouncil to develop village environment managementplans in consultation with local communities. The projectoversaw the eective transer o resource managementauthority rom the central government to our pilot villagescomprising communities in the foodplain and delta areasaected by the fooding o the river downstream o theSelous Game Reserve.
Land-use maps were collaboratively produced by teams
o researchers, government ocials, and the communitiesthemselves using a combination o modern and traditionalmeans; these maps then ormed the basis o participatoryland use planning at the village level, ocusing onempowering women as prime resource users. The enduringimpact o the project has been closer cooperation betweencommunities and local government in preserving theregions delicate socio-ecological balance.
KEY FACTS
EQUATOR PRIZE WINNER: 2004
FOUNDED: 1998
LOCATION: Rufji District, Tanzania
BENEFICIARIES: Villages in the Rufji River Delta
BIODIVERSITY: Rufji-Mafa-Kilwa Marine Ramsar site
3
RUFIJI ENVIRONMENTMANAGEMENT PROJECTTanzania
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Background and Context 4
Key Activities and Innovations 6
Biodiversity Impacts 7
Socioeconomic Impacts 8
Policy Impacts 9
Sustainability 10
Partners 11
7/27/2019 Case Studies UNDP: RUFIJI ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT PROJECT, Tanzania
4/12
4
he Ruji River lies entirely within Tanzania, rising in the south-
west o the country and reaching the Indian Ocean some 375 miles
ater, orming a sprawling delta. Located about 250 miles south o
Dar es Salaam, the Ruji River Delta is the largest in Eastern Arica,
nd contains the largest estuarine mangrove orest on the eastern
eaboard o the Arican continent. Common mangrove species
nclude Rhizophora mucronata, Sonneratia alba and Ceriops tagal,
while Avicennia marina and Bruguiera gymnorrhiza occur less
requently. As well as an extensive ood web that supports a high
iversity o omnivorous crustaceans o commercial importance, the
elta ecosystem and Maa Island are important wintering grounds
or migrating birds, including waders and terns. Wildlie such as
ippopotamuses, crocodiles and monkeys eed and shelter in themangrove orests.
n 2004, the delta was included in Tanzanias ourth site to be
amed a Wetland o International Importance under the Ramsar
Convention. Known as the Ruji-Maa-Kilwa Marine Ramsar site, it
s a complex o coastal and marine habitats that includes the Ruji
Delta; Maa Island and surrounding smaller islands, sandbars, and
oral rees located just oshore; the Songo-Songo Archipelago to
he south; and adjacent waters, including the Maa Channel and
waters between Maa and Songo-Songo.
he major ethnic group in Ruji District is the Wandengereko. Other
roups include the Wanyagatwa, who are mainly ound in the RujiDelta, and Wamatumbi, who are mainly ound in the southern part
Ruji, as well as a number o other smaller ethnic groupings.
Collectively, these groups are oten reerred to as the Waruji,
r Ruji people. The history o Ruji District is strongly linked to
he development o the coastal Swahili culture and the trade links
etween the East Arican coast and the countries o the Persian Gul.
he district is home to many people o Arab origin, and Islam is an
ntegral part o the Ruji culture, guiding both its religious and social
ystems.
A socio-ecological balance
Farmers in the Ruji food plain and the delta area have evolv
system o land use over time that is adapted to the unpredict
foods o the Ruji River. The system is based on inter-planting
rotating rice, maize, beans, and, to a lesser extent, cotton. In add
livelihoods are supplemented by the utilization o available na
resources, such as shing in the rivers and lakes, and harvestin
orest and non-orest products.
In 2002, it was estimated that the orests provided around
o locally-raised income within Ruji District. In 2008, a s
concluded that wetland resources were o substantial econovalue to households in one o the deltas villages, Mtanza-Ms
the majority o wetlands harvest and use activities were wor
least TSh 25,000 (around USD 20 at 2008 prices) a year per pe
with timber harvesting or sale, shing, honey collection, buil
poles and rewood being the most lucrative. The total annual v
o wetland resource use to the villages 428 households was TSh
million (USD 192,000), or just over USD 100 per capita.
The shared use o natural resources was governed by both com
sharing o ecosystems between villages or lineages and by
perceptions o space as sacred groves or as having assi
spiritual values. Traditionally, the foodplain and hill tribes have
an inormal mutual aid agreement that stipulates that, in yeabad rainall, the foodplain people cannot reuse to provide th
people with ood, and vice-versa in years with insucient foods
orests and woodlands have also acted as saety nets during tim
drought and rainall, providing subsistence nutrition or timber
can be sold or ood. Numerous taboos exist on harvesting o ce
species, and their harvesting requires complex rituals.
Background and Context
7/27/2019 Case Studies UNDP: RUFIJI ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT PROJECT, Tanzania
5/12
55
From government-led to collaborative orest management
he delicate socio-ecological balance was upset during the course
successive German, British, and Tanzanian governments, however.
he Forest Ordinance o 1957 allowed or the creation o orest
eserves by government decree ater considering any objections
y interested parties to this de jure transer o rights rom local
ommunities to the state. The Tanzanian state has repeatedly
sed its authority over mangrove orests to exert control over
uji Delta communities and resources. In 1987, or instance, the
orestry Division declared a ban on the cutting o all mangroves
n the northern Ruji Delta, with orest ocers posted to the area
o enorce this. The devolution o resource management to local
overnment, in combination with improved road access and
he opening-up o the Tanzanian economy, led to increasinglynsustainable use o the orests. By creating orest reserves or the
xclusive use o the government, local communities were eectively
xcluded rom using these socially, culturally, and economically
mportant resources. Meanwhile, various large-scale extractive
rojects have been proposed or the delta, including commercial
hrimp harvesting.
n the context o an increasing recognition o the value o common
roperty regimes, however, legislation changes during the late
990s introduced the principle o participatory orest management.
Community-based orest management and (CBFM) and joint orest
management (JFM) agreements were established across Tanzania,
llowing or the partial devolution o orest management to local
ommunities. The latter category takes place on reserved orest
and that is owned and managed by the national or district-level
overnments, typically through the Forestry and Beekeeping
Division. Village-level elected councils and environmental council
epresentatives can sign joint management agreements (JMAs) with
he state that establish cost and benet-sharing arrangements or
orest management.
The REMP intervention
Between 1998 and 2003, the Ruji Environment Managem
Project (REMP), implemented by Ruji District Council with na
support rom the government o the Netherlands and tech
assistance rom IUCN, promoted such a transer o authority
the central government to our pilot villages in Ruji District.
our villages - Mtanza-Msona, Jaja, Twasalie and Mbunjumvule
comprised several local communities in the foodplain and d
ecosystems aected by the fooding o the river downstream o
Selous Game Reserve, and also included several upland ores
local importance.
The projects goal was to promote the long-term conserv
through wise use o the lower Ruji orests, woodlands and wetlasuch that biodiversity is conserved, critical ecological unction
maintained, renewable natural resources are used sustainably,
the livelihoods o the areas inhabitants are secured and enhan
Various components o this included: environmental plan
and mapping within the foodplain and delta; implemen
pilot community development projects based on the sustain
use o natural resources; raising awareness o the import
o conservation at the village, district, and regional levels;
infuencing national policies on natural resource management.
The project was run rom the District Headquarters in Utet
the Ruji District Administration, through an Environme
Management Team coordinated by the District Executive Dire
Two technical advisers were employed by IUCN, while other pr
partners, including the National Environmental Managem
Council (NEMC), the Ruji Basin Development Authority (RUBA
the Royal Netherlands Embassy, and the Ministry o Na
Resources and Tourism collaborated ormally through
participation in the Project Steering Committee. Although R
Phase I ended in October 2003, the project let in place Vi
Environment Management Plans in its our pilot sites and a dis
level Environment Management Team that have sustained its
in Ruji District.
December April
7/27/2019 Case Studies UNDP: RUFIJI ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT PROJECT, Tanzania
6/12
6
Key Activities and Innovations
he projects chie objective was to support local communities
n increasing their legal control and management over land and
atural resources alling within their village lands, including sheries
s well as orested land. Open access to natural resources was
urtailed, replaced by communities taking on new responsibilities
or common property resources.
Participatory mapping
Central to this objective was the drawing up o Village Environmental
Management Plans (VEMPs). The land tenure situation in the Ruji
oodplain is historically complex. During Tanzanias Ujamaa policy
o the 1970s, communities had been moved rom the foodplain andesettled in the terraces as part o the villagisation scheme. During
he 1980s, many o these communities returned to the foodplain.
he result was that, in 1998, there were no maps accurately
isplaying the use o land by local communities, and the land tenure
ituation was unclear. This was particularly true in the foodplain,
which was considered under-utilised by the local authorities, but
was in act extensively cultivated by the local Waruji populations,
esulting in a patchwork o elds in use and in allow. The transer o
he management o natural resources had to be built on a thorough
nderstanding o prevailing land-use practices linked to zoning into
gro-ecological units. This would also help to better communicate to
policy makers the unctional use o space in the delta.
A two- pronged methodology was employed in which traditional
mapping exercises were combined with modern technology. Land-
se maps were collaboratively produced by teams o researchers,
overnment ocials, and the communities themselves using
andsat images, aerial photographs, detailed landscape analysis,
round-truthing, and incorporation o the results into a geographic
normation system (GIS). The mapping o the our areas by the
illagers themselves, equipped with GPS, was instrumental in their
ubsequent recognition as Village Forest Reserves. Another aim o the
participatory mapping exercise was to improve communication
the sharing o inormation between project managers, govern
institutions, villagers, and researchers, and to reach a conse
on the current land tenure situation. The highly participatory
mapping process proved to be an eective tool or improving t
channels o communication.
7/27/2019 Case Studies UNDP: RUFIJI ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT PROJECT, Tanzania
7/12
7
Impacts
BIODIVERSITY IMPACTS
The work o the Ruji Environment Management Programme took
place against a background o environmental threats to the deltas
esources. In the mid-1990s, the Arican Fishing Company (AFC)
proposed building the worlds largest shrimp aquaculture acility in
he Ruji Delta, which would have involved cutting 1,200 hectares o
mangroves or the construction o shrimp ponds. Tanzanias National
Environmental Management Council urged the government to
eject the project due to its negative impacts on orests, sh and the
marine environment, land use, water resources, and agriculture, and
he threat it would pose to the habitats o a variety o endangered
pecies. The damage was expected to outweigh the estimated USD00 million annual prots rom the project. Despite these objections,
he Tanzanian government approved the project.
Resistance to the scheme persisted, led by local protests against its
harmul environmental impacts. The proposal stood in contrast to
he wise-use practices being promoted through the Ruji project,
nd was opposed by Waruji communities who were reliant on the
deltas mangrove orests or their livelihoods. These protests held up
he implementation o the project until, in August 2001, the decision
was made to liquidate AFCs shipping vessels to oset the companys
debt that had accumulated due to the delay. This brought an end
o the project, ensuring that the deltas mangrove orests were
preserved.
Village-based sustainable resource management
Changed perceptions and recognition o the value o the deltas
natural resources to local populations was one positive impact o the
REMP intervention; awareness o the value o biodiversity increased
not only in the projects pilot villages and ecosystem sites, but across
he catchment area, encompassing almost 200,000 people. Village
management regime areas were introduced in the pilot villages,
based on the participatory land-use mapping, in which restrictions
on harvesting were ormalized in village bylaws. These areas sho
several signs o vegetative and aunal recovery within a ew y
o their implementation. Forests began to recover due to
prevention o re and illegal harvesting. The recovery o orests
woodland increased their value as habitats or biological divers
Special sites o high biodiversity were given ully protected st
urther protecting them rom harvesting. Two o these site
comprised o highly diverse East Arican lowland coastal
vegetation, and two comprise mangrove orests home to a
proportion o the marine species common to East Arica. Vi
natural resource scouts were appointed to advise comm
members against the orests misuse, including rom the usinappropriate shing practices, hunting, or logging. These sc
also played a role in monitoring wildlie, recording increases in
variety, numbers, and time spent in the village areas. These e
were supplemented by the projects international partners,
provided scientists to assist villagers in identiying which sp
are rare, endemic, and endangered. This inormation was use
gain national and international recognition o the sites, and to
urther unding or their protection.
A globally important site or coastal biodiversity
Cataloguing o the high biodiversity within the village areas
ollowed in late 2004 by the designation o the Ruji-Maa-KMarine Ramsar site. Two o the villages were included within
sites boundaries due to their exceptional diversity o bird lie
area was also internationally recognised as an Important Bird
while another village was identied as one o the most impo
East Arican sites or the critically endangered dugong. Incre
environmental awareness has had spillover eects or the Ra
site as a whole, in which ve species o globally threatened m
turtles have been recorded. Two o these - the globally threate
Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) and the endangered Haw
(Eretmochelys imbricate) populate nesting sites within the site
7/27/2019 Case Studies UNDP: RUFIJI ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT PROJECT, Tanzania
8/12
Positive environmental impacts were elt beyond the end o the
REMP intervention in 2003. An assessment carried out in the village
o Mtanza-Msona rom 2005 to 2008 ound the Village Environment
Committee continuing to oversee controls on shing, including
closed seasons on Lake Mtanza and Lake Makoge and limits on
permitted shing gear and practices, and orest conservation
oning. The Village Council was also playing an important role in the
management o a village-gazetted orest reserve north o the Ruji
River. The same assessment ound that the village area wetlands
upported a high level o species diversity.
The eorts o the REMP intervention played a key role in reversingrends leading to the Ruji Deltas environmental destruction,
ncluding both local pressures and commercial exploitation. In
he process, the project demonstrated the value o eectively
communicating results and ully engaging local stakeholders or
ntegrated conservation eorts.
SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS
The ull and active engagement o local communities depended in
arge part on their benetting rom the projects social and economic
components. The our villages, home to some 6,700 members in
2004, have gained a degree o legal and management control
over orests, woodlands, sheries and, to some extent, wildlie,within their village lands. For instance, Village Land Forest Reserves
have been established in which limited timber harvesting by
community members is permitted. The collection o revenues rom
icenses purchased or timber harvesting (and rom nes imposed
on those who have harvested timber without licenses) allowed
village governments to establish individual Village Environment
Committees, and to invest in community development projects
elected by village governing assemblies. Improved control and
ownership o natural resources has meant that harvests o timber
and sh can be planned to maximize the prices received.
These projects included wise use small-scale enterprises
were trialed by communities in collaboration with pa
organisations. Beekeeping and the sustainable improvemen
shery production rom lakes are two examples. Approximately
community members took up beekeeping, earning cash inc
twice a year rom their hives harvest o honey and wax. Honey
has nutritional and medicinal values or Waruji households.
village established a campsite to attract tourists, and has gene
revenue or village development projects while employing c
and security personnel on a casual basis.
Strengthening local institutions
REMP also saw improvements in governance at the local
regional levels. Civil participation in the management o the di
has improved, as the political chamber o the district autho
made up o locally-elected Ward Councillors, has become m
inormed on policies and laws governing natural resource
District ocials, meanwhile, have worked to raise the prole o
on the national stage, and have been heavily involved in sou
new and additional sources o unding or ecosystem managem
and or the development o sustainable enterprises. Finally a DisEnvironment Management Plan (DEMP), incorporating les
learned rom the villages, was drated by the district autho
This example o grassroots action guiding the management o
environment at the district level is indicative o the linkages o
between local communities and government authorities during
liespan o the REMP intervention.
8
7/27/2019 Case Studies UNDP: RUFIJI ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT PROJECT, Tanzania
9/12
Contributions to womens empowerment
ntegration o gender equality into every aspect o the initiative
meant that, in a deeply Islamic society characterized by low levels
human development, the role o women in decision-making
rocesses has vastly improved. Women served as natural resource
couts, supported and encouraged by their spouses. Beore REMP, the
dea o women piloting motor boats in the delta was unimaginable;
hanks to the projects policy o equal opportunity refected in equaludgets or providing training o both emale and male candidates
his has become a reality. REMP also saw other rsts, such as the rst
me women participated in community meetings alongside men,
nd the rst time the village o Jaja had equal numbers o women
nd men on its village government. Women have also participated in
qual numbers in presenting the work o REMP at Tanzanias National
armers Day event, and in providing trainings or other village
rojects across Tanzania. Women have also become beekeepers,
nding taboos on their visiting distant woodland areas. The Tilapia
shpond trials have allowed women to manage and receive prots
rom sh-arming or the rst time in their villages histories.
hrough negotiations in village assemblies involving project stand community members, and the principles advocated by REMP
eing refected in local governance, the gender divide in Ruji has
arrowed a little. The new sensitivity o male leaders and project sta
o the need to acilitate womens participation is one striking example
o this. Methods to encourage this include: providing childca
that women can attend meetings; running meetings in elds ra
than at the village centre; meeting women separately rom
spouses; encouraging womens caucuses; timing meetings to
womens household routines; asking men to remain at home an
their wives represent their households; and using communica
methods that do not rely on literacy.
Within the relatively restricted social circumstances o traditionreligion, in a region in which educational attainment remains
there is evidence that progress towards a lasting change in ge
relations has been made.
POLICY IMPACTS
The Ruji Environment Management Programme remain
important case study in Tanzania or demonstrating the pote
benets and challenges o the decentralisation o the manage
o natural resources to local communities. This is a model tha
requires perecting, however, and there has been criticism o the
o clarity over the extent o local access to resources. A recent s(Beymar-Farris and Bassett, 2011) criticized the Joint Managem
Agreements at the heart o the Ruji case as an example o
unequal balance o power between government institutions
local communities. Ruji armers are restricted rom acces
reserve areas or cultivation, limiting their livelihood opt
Villagers have also stated that the Forestry and Beekeeping Div
bears the sole responsibility or distributing licenses or log
mangrove poles. This has created the impression that the ro
villagers as co-managers o orests is not taken seriously.
One serious policy gap concerns uncertainty over land tenur
the deltas communities. While they have limited access righ
use orest reserves, settlements within these reserves have b
declared illegal, oten ignoring both the presence o ancestral b
grounds and ormally registered village land certicates. This
been exacerbated in recent years by schemes proposed or clim
change mitigation within the delta. The Ruji Delta is listed as
o six Tanzanian sites or Reducing Emission rom Deoresta
and Forest Degradation (REDD) pilot projects. Proposed ideas
entailed replanting mangrove orests, bringing the governmen
confict with local villagers who rely on the land or rice arm
Until the land situation in the delta is claried, with impro
tenurial rights granted to local communities in line with the
use mapping results o the REMP project, the benets o impro
environmental management will remain limited.
9
7/27/2019 Case Studies UNDP: RUFIJI ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT PROJECT, Tanzania
10/12
10
Sustainability and Replication
SUSTAINABILITY
ince the project was implemented and managed by district, regional
nd village governments, rather than imposing new external sta,
he skills and attitude changes wrought by REMP have survived in
uji beyond the end o the project. The our Village Environment
Management Plans have been approved by Village Assemblies, Ward
Development Committees, and the District Council and, through
heir supportive bylaws, are enshrined in law. The management o
atural resources by the village governments was rooted in local
apacities and has been a sustainable output o the project.
he project also had large-scale capacity-building impacts. Natural
esource monitoring and management, communication, good
overnance, and technical enterprise skills such as sheries andeekeeping skills have been adopted by a critical mass o community
members, who in turn have also trained others. This means that
he skills have been passed on without project support. Technical
nnovations, such as beekeeping, sheries, smoking kilns, and
nergy-saving stoves have also been in sustained use since 2003,
nd have oten been adapted to t local conditions.
A case study in the legacy o REMP
he lasting eects o REMPs work in the delta are best seen in the
illage o Mtanza-Msona, one o the our pilot villages in 1998.
ts Village Environment Committee and Village Environment
Management Plan have sustained the wise-use principles o
nvironmental management enshrined in the initial project. With
ontinued support rom the IUCN Regional Oce or Eastern
nd Southern Arica and the IUCN Tanzania Oce, a project team
ndertook an extensive, integrated assessment o the biodiversity,
velihood and economic value o local wetlands between 2005 and
008. The project was unded by the UK government through the
Darwin Initiative. The study ound evidence o local management
nd conservation activities, although also detailed the various on-
ite and o-site actors that continue to threaten the ecosystem
ealth o the wetlands.
7/27/2019 Case Studies UNDP: RUFIJI ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT PROJECT, Tanzania
11/12
1111
PARTNERS
Mtanza-Msona, Jaja, Twasalie and Mbunjumvuleni
he villages, through their respective governments, user groups,
lanning teams, environment committees, and natural resource
couts, implemented the village environment management
lanning approach at the core o the REMP project. They played
eading roles in the participatory identication o natural resources,
pportunities and problem analysis, planning and review o project
ctivities, and the implementation o wise usage plans.
Ruji District Council
he executive and the political wings o the Ruji District Council
layed important roles in the success o REMP. The executive arm
rovided technical support to the villagers, either rom their own
ta or by bringing in outside expertise. Examples o technical
kills taught included good governance practices, monitoring
water levels, managing sh stocks, taking the height o trees, the
se o GPS, and drating and establishing bylaws. The willingness
district sta to expand their own realms o proessional interest
o research an extended variety o topics contributed hugely to the
olistic approach o the project. For instance, crops and livestock
cers were willing to nd answers to orest and wildlie issues thathallenged the villagers, meaning that the villagers access to a wide
ange o inormation was greatly increased. The lively exchange o
normation and opinions by ocers rom all sectors relating to the
nvironment at monthly Environment Management Team meetings
reatly contributed to this cross-sectoral approach o the project.
he political and decision-making wing o the District Council the
ouncillors who represented the communities played a vital role in
upporting village initiatives, appraising their plans, and ultimately
pproving bylaws.
IUCN The World Conservation Union
IUCN provided technical assistance or the duration o the pro
On-the-ground technical assistance was invaluable in provi
on-the-job training to district sta and to villagers, and in brin
them access to national and international innovations. The pro
oten applied the most up-to-date techniques and technologie
one o the most isolated and least developed districts o Tanz
IUCN also helped to convey the work o the project to a w
audience through its website, reports, and scientic publicatio
international journals.
Important of-site partners
Apart rom the three major on-site partners, others pla
important roles in REMPs success. They included the Nati
Environment Management Council, which supported REMP
technical assistance and was an active member o the Pro
Steering Committee. The Government o the Netherlands was
main project donor, while other donations were received rom
Hoag Family Foundation. Other members o the steering comm
included the Ministry o Natural Resources and Tourism and
National Planning Commission. Leadership was also seen at
regional level: the Chairperson o the Project Steering Commwas the Regional Administrative Secretary or the Coast Reg
assisted by the Regional Natural Resources Adviser, both o w
oversaw the roles played by dierent partners and ensured
plans and budgets were adhered to.
7/27/2019 Case Studies UNDP: RUFIJI ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT PROJECT, Tanzania
12/12
FURTHER REFERENCE
Mbiha, E.R. and Senkondo, E.M.M. 2001. A Socioeconomic Prole o the Ruji Floodplain and Delta. http://www.academicjournals
ajhc/E-books/2012/Mar/AJHC-%20March%202012%20Issue.pd
Duvail, S., Hamerlynck, O., Nandi, R.X.L., Mwambeso, P., Elibariki, R. 2006. Participatory Mapping or Local Management o Natura
sources in Villages o the Ruji District (Tanzania) http://www.ejisdc.org/ojs2/index.php/ejisdc/article/viewFile/242/163
Richmond, M.D., Wilson, J.D.K., Mgaya, Y.D. & Le Vay, L. 2002. An analysis o smallholder opportunities in sheries, coastal and re
enterprises in the foodplain and delta areas o the Ruji River, Tanzania.
Jane, K. Turpie, 2000. The Use and Value o Natural Resources o the Ruji Floodplain and Delta, Ruji District, Tanzania. http://w
equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/2004winners/Ruji_Env_Proj/use_and_value_natural_res_ruji.pdKasthala, G., Hepelwa, A., Hamiss, H., Kwayu, E., Emerton, L., Springate-Baginski, O., Allen, D., and W. Darwall. 2008. An integrate
sessment o the biodiversity, livelihood and economic value o wetlands in Mtanza-Msona Village, Tanzania. Tanzania Country O
International Union or Conservation o Nature, Dar es Salaam.
Equator Initiative
Environment and Energy GroupUnited Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
304 East 45th Street, 6th Floor
New York, NY 10017
Tel: +1 646 781-4023
www.equatorinitiative.org
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the UNs global development network, advocating or change and
necting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better lie.
The Equator Initiative brings together the United Nations, governments, civil society, businesses and grassroots organizati
o recognize and advance local sustainable development solutions or people, nature and resilient communities.
2012 by Equator Initiative
All rights reserved
Click the thumbnails below to read more case studies like this:
http://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348261589.pdfhttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348151655.pdfhttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348163605.pdfhttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348151357.pdf