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| Pastoralism and the Demise of Communal Property in Tanzania - A case from Usangu plains of Tanzania |
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Reference |
| Charnley, Susan; 1996 "Pastoralism and the Demise of Communal Property in Tanzania " Cultural Survival, 20 (1),pp 41-44 |
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Introduction to the Institution |
| The Usangu plains in southwestern Tanzania are the homelands of Sangu peoples (of Bantu origin). The northern half of the plains is largely uninhabited due to bad ecological conditions. It is in the southern half of the plains, the pastoral and agricultural activities are concentrated.The vast grasslands, numerous watercourses and dry season swamps make the plains favorable for livestock herding. The flat plains with their fertile soils and many rivers are well suited to irrigation.Between the mid-1800s and the mid-1900s, the Sangu people were rich in cattle, sheep and goats. While they maintained a pastoral economy, they also practised some rain-fed cultivation. |
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Coverage of the Institution |
| Not reported |
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Rules for Management
of the Institution |
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(a) Boundary Rules |
| Spatial: The semi-arid Usangu plains of southwestern Tanzania covers an area of approx. 15,500 sq. km.
Social: The Sangu held Usangu's rangelands under a system of communal property. Rights to use resources were based on residence, which in turn depended upon ethnically identifying as Sangu. Non-Sangu Africans could be denied the right to settle on the plains by the Sangu Chief |
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(b) Governance
rules |
| Resource use was controlled by local headmen and the Chief
* Grul not mentioned in detail in the text |
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(c) Resource Allocation |
| Not clearly mentioned in the text |
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Conflict Resolution Mechanism |
| Not reported |
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Problems Faced by Institution |
| Not reported |
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Changes in the Institution over time |
| Following independence in 1961, the political and economic policies implemented by the Tanzanian govt. undermined Sangu systems of resource control by: 1)abolishing the offices of chief, sub-chief and headman
2)the govt. emphasized the national identity of Tanzanian citizens opposing individual ethnic identities as a result of which it was easier for people to migrate and harder to exclude outsiders.
3)state policies favored agricultural development irespective of the needs and rights of pastoralists
4)the Land Aquisition Act of 1967 made it possible to acquire any land within the country for a "public purpose"
CONSEQUENCES: Extensive areas of additional pasture have been converted to small scaled irrigated rice production, mainly by immigrant farmers who have settled in Usangu over the last four decades. Approx 25 different ethnic groups of farmers currently reside there and maintain exclusive claims to the land they have developed for agriculture
Usangu's remaining rangelands have become open access. Six different ethnic groups of livestock herders curently share Usangu's rangelands.Herders belonging to each ethnic group follow their own cultural practices of resource use and management, which often disrupts and undermine practices of another group. Presently there is no regional resource management framework.
Finally the govt. is currently reviewing a proposal to establish a game reserve in the important dry season grazing area.he bulk of Usangu's livestock herd grazes in this wetland area, known as "UTENGULE SWAMP" from July to Dec, if the reserve is created these animals would be excluded from the swamp, and the pastoral economy of the plains would collapse
Intense grazing pressure on remaining grasslands is causing severe bush encroachment there, rendering them less productive for grazing. Herders experience resource scarcity, particularly during the dry season. Livestock diseases have become rampant in the region , mortality rates are high. Resource scarcity and and resource competition are currently causing ethnic conflict in the region
The Sangu have choosen irrigated rice cultivation as an economic alternative The Sangu have lost control over their homelands, lost their livestock herds, abandoned the pastoral way of life and are losing their sense of ethnic identity.
Restablishment of communal Property: The Tanzanian govt. has proposed two solutions to the problem of land rights for pastoralists: 1)to encourage pastoralist to settle in villages, to demarcate village boundaries and to give villages legal land titles. With secure title to lands, grazing areas, and a voice in local land and resource use decisions, the pastoralist may find themselves in a better position than the present condition
2) By establishing ' range development areas ', were each area would have a corresponding range development commission for controlling settlement and natural resource use .Range development areas would be managed as communal property, and corporate group of herders could form ranching organizations over there
It is a matter of time to see whether Usangu's rangelands would be protected from further degradation and encroachment by establishing communal property system !!!! |
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Purpose |
| To study the communal property system inUsangu plain |
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Country |
| Tanzania |
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Region |
| Usangu plains |
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Date Of Publication |
| RS-30/07/96 |
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