Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Protection components are included
The Uluguru ICDP is working at
three levels to ensure that forest protection components are included. Most
of the remaining natural forest and the highest biodiversity values are
found within large Forest Reserves on the top of the mountain managed by
the Catchment Forest Project, a branch of the Forestry Department that is
under central government control. These reserves are maintained for their
water catchment functions. Smaller patches of forest are also found in a
number of Local Authority Forest Reserves managed by the district, gen-
erally on the slopes of the mountains. These smaller forest patches are of
lower biological importance when compared with the Catchment Forest
Reserves. Finally, there are traditionally protected areas of forest on the
Ulugurus, which are under the authority of the traditional chief (one large
area) or individual villages or clans (smaller patches). The current Uluguru
ICDP is working with Catchment Forestry, with the district Forest Oi cer
and with the traditional chief and the relevant village authorities to try to
enhance the protection of these dif erent categories of forest.
However, the funding allocation within the Uluguru ICDP for protec-
tion activities is modest. Most funding has been provided for developing
arrangements between the local village authorities and the government
agencies over some kinds of collaborative management of the forest on
the Ulugurus. The extent that nationally important Catchment Forest
Reserves
should
be managed collaboratively with communities, and what
the community benei ts will be, remains a major issue of debate. The
current view is that collaborative management should go ahead, but that
much more work is required to identify the benei ts that communities can
get. Another reality is that with only three Forest Oi cers stationed on the
mountain, but with more than 50 villages and several tens of thousands of
people, there remains a strong need to involve villagers in the management
of these reserves. Since 2005, it has also been proposed that the Uluguru
Forest Reserves be upgraded to the status of Nature Reserve. This status
would not prevent collaborative management agreements, but might
bolster the government management capacity.
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Productive potential of dif erent habitats is taken into account
Resource
extraction agreements have not been formulated for the Uluguru
Mountains, as legally the majority of the forest (within reserves) is pro-
tected and utilization is not allowed. However, the local villagers do utilize
the forests as a source of i rewood, building materials and medicines.
There is also some pitsawying of valuable timber species. If and when
agreements are formulated between the local villages and the catchment
forestry managers, they will need to consider the potential of the forest
to supply materials sustainably. Hunting pressure has already removed
