American Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics

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Socio-Ecological Drivers of Land Use Change and Wetland Conversion in Kilombero Valley Floodoplain, Tanzania

Received: 13 November 2018    Accepted: 07 December 2018    Published: 24 January 2019
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Abstract

Connections between social drivers (human activities) and ecological drivers (natural events) are currently considered as the key factors affecting land use change in tropical wetland ecosystem. However, the complexity interaction of these socio-ecological drivers is often poorly understood. This paper examined the interaction of these two systems in the Kilombero valley floodplain. Kilombero valley floodplain is one of the largest tropical wetland in Africa offering a wide spectrum of habitats for plant and animal species sustaining several ecosystem services and ecological functions, which has been under threat of wetland loss and degradation. The study used the documentary review approach to investigate the interaction of socio and ecological systems in the study area. The study revealed that population growth, market growth and price incentive for cash crops and timber products coupled with improved infrastructures, policy and institutional framework are the social drivers, while flat terrain characteristics, heavy black alluvial soils coupled with high water holding capacity, increased temperature and rainfall variability accompanied with prolonged dry spells are the ecological drivers of land use change and wetland conversion in the study area. However, there are relationships among these drivers, as they act simultaneously as well as differently to influence land use changes in the study area. The study recommended that socio-ecological interactions and the needs of local communities whose livelihood is highly dependent on wetland resources must be central to the development of wetland policies and wetland management approaches.

DOI 10.11648/j.ajere.20190401.11
Published in American Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics (Volume 4, Issue 1, March 2019)
Page(s) 1-11
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Wetland Conversion, Land Use Change, Socio-Ecological Drivers, Kilombero Valley Floodplain, Population Growth, Ecosystem Services, Wetland Management, Livelihood

References
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Author Information
  • School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China; Department of Environmental Studies, The Open University of Tanzania, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

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    Nangware Kajia Msofe. (2019). Socio-Ecological Drivers of Land Use Change and Wetland Conversion in Kilombero Valley Floodoplain, Tanzania. American Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics, 4(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajere.20190401.11

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    Nangware Kajia Msofe. Socio-Ecological Drivers of Land Use Change and Wetland Conversion in Kilombero Valley Floodoplain, Tanzania. Am. J. Environ. Resour. Econ. 2019, 4(1), 1-11. doi: 10.11648/j.ajere.20190401.11

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    AMA Style

    Nangware Kajia Msofe. Socio-Ecological Drivers of Land Use Change and Wetland Conversion in Kilombero Valley Floodoplain, Tanzania. Am J Environ Resour Econ. 2019;4(1):1-11. doi: 10.11648/j.ajere.20190401.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajere.20190401.11,
      author = {Nangware Kajia Msofe},
      title = {Socio-Ecological Drivers of Land Use Change and Wetland Conversion in Kilombero Valley Floodoplain, Tanzania},
      journal = {American Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics},
      volume = {4},
      number = {1},
      pages = {1-11},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajere.20190401.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajere.20190401.11},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajere.20190401.11},
      abstract = {Connections between social drivers (human activities) and ecological drivers (natural events) are currently considered as the key factors affecting land use change in tropical wetland ecosystem. However, the complexity interaction of these socio-ecological drivers is often poorly understood. This paper examined the interaction of these two systems in the Kilombero valley floodplain. Kilombero valley floodplain is one of the largest tropical wetland in Africa offering a wide spectrum of habitats for plant and animal species sustaining several ecosystem services and ecological functions, which has been under threat of wetland loss and degradation. The study used the documentary review approach to investigate the interaction of socio and ecological systems in the study area. The study revealed that population growth, market growth and price incentive for cash crops and timber products coupled with improved infrastructures, policy and institutional framework are the social drivers, while flat terrain characteristics, heavy black alluvial soils coupled with high water holding capacity, increased temperature and rainfall variability accompanied with prolonged dry spells are the ecological drivers of land use change and wetland conversion in the study area. However, there are relationships among these drivers, as they act simultaneously as well as differently to influence land use changes in the study area. The study recommended that socio-ecological interactions and the needs of local communities whose livelihood is highly dependent on wetland resources must be central to the development of wetland policies and wetland management approaches.},
     year = {2019}
    }
    

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    AU  - Nangware Kajia Msofe
    Y1  - 2019/01/24
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    T2  - American Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics
    JF  - American Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics
    JO  - American Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics
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    AB  - Connections between social drivers (human activities) and ecological drivers (natural events) are currently considered as the key factors affecting land use change in tropical wetland ecosystem. However, the complexity interaction of these socio-ecological drivers is often poorly understood. This paper examined the interaction of these two systems in the Kilombero valley floodplain. Kilombero valley floodplain is one of the largest tropical wetland in Africa offering a wide spectrum of habitats for plant and animal species sustaining several ecosystem services and ecological functions, which has been under threat of wetland loss and degradation. The study used the documentary review approach to investigate the interaction of socio and ecological systems in the study area. The study revealed that population growth, market growth and price incentive for cash crops and timber products coupled with improved infrastructures, policy and institutional framework are the social drivers, while flat terrain characteristics, heavy black alluvial soils coupled with high water holding capacity, increased temperature and rainfall variability accompanied with prolonged dry spells are the ecological drivers of land use change and wetland conversion in the study area. However, there are relationships among these drivers, as they act simultaneously as well as differently to influence land use changes in the study area. The study recommended that socio-ecological interactions and the needs of local communities whose livelihood is highly dependent on wetland resources must be central to the development of wetland policies and wetland management approaches.
    VL  - 4
    IS  - 1
    ER  - 

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