REVERSED MIGRATION TRENDS IN THE KONDOA ERODED AREA: LESSONS FOR FUTURE CONSERVATION ACTIVITIES IN THE HADO PROJECT AREAS
Nadalahwa F. Madulu
Abstract: The HADO project was established in 1973 to deal with environmental conservation in Dodoma Region. The main objective of the project was conserving land and water and reclaiming the already depleted areas. During the early years of its existence, the project emphasised land conservation and afforestation programmes. In collaboration with the district administration, the project identified villages that were severely affected by land degradation in the form of gully and sheet erosion. Settlements located in such villages were resettled to other areas. This measure was taken to reduce the impact of population pressure and enable the process of environmental recovery. Similarly, the project destocked the whole Kondoa Irangi Highlands in 1979. Livestock were thought to be a major cause of land degradation and an obstacle to land conservation activities. The removal of human population and the eviction of livestock in the KEA were followed by amendments and enacting of new by-laws to take care of the settlement distribution, land use and environmental conservation issues in the Kondoa district.
Initial demographic studies in the HADO areas indicated strong linkages between migration and the HADO project activities. Migration trends tended to be unidirectional from the highlands to the lowlands. Such migration trends were linked to land scarcity and to the destocking exercise. Many families and individuals remained reluctant to part with their livestock.
The initial phase of people moving out of the HADO project areas is now over. Recent observations and reports demonstrate a reversal of migration pattern of both human and livestock populations from the lowland to the highland. In many cases, the land that was considered to germinate stones in the early 1970s is now coming up. The germination of stones during that time was actually an indication of severe sheet erosion. The coming up of land can be taken to mean the beginning of the process of environmental recovery in the protected areas.
Recent observations in the areas where the population was removed in the 1970s show a clear evidence of an active resettlement process taking place. New settlements have emerged and livestock are back in the restricted areas. Although there is no official evidence to support the return of people to the protected areas, physical visits to the area show an accelerated pace of return migration. These preliminary observations are contrary to the observations made in the 1980s that migration was from the highlands to the lowlands. These developments have rendered the process of environmental recovery obsolete and almost at a halt. Most of the environmental conservation by-laws that were effective in the 1970s and 1980s have been eased. This laiser-faire-fair type of control upon the district and project administration has created a loophole for people to return. The resettlement process that is occurring in the protected areas has significant impacts on the environmental recovery achievements attained during the past 25 years. This study aimed at assessing and documenting these impacts.
The study has established that human activities in the new settlements are very detrimental to environmental conservation activities that existed there before. These activities include farming, house building, tree felling for fuel wood and farm expansion, and sporadic grazing of livestock. No close monitoring of how these activities are conducted was made. Similarly, none or just minimal legal measures are being taken on against the offenders of the district by-laws. Generally, the rate of environmental destruction has increased rapidly especially in the areas where reversed migration is a major issue. This generalisation can be extended to other areas located inside the KEA where notable evidences of environmental destruction can be cited. The study concludes that there is need to adopt a partnership management system, which involves all stakeholders in the protection of the environment in rehabilitated areas. This means adoption of a bottom-up approach. Environmental conservation activities cannot be successively achieved without community participation. Community participation will, to a larger extent, increase the rights and access of the local communities to the resources available in their surroundings. This encourages villagers to think of long-term effects and develop a sense of pride among the local communities.