Journal de la pollution

Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Management of Dryland Ecosystems among the Maasai Pastoralists in Kiteto District, Tanzania

Abstract

Samwel K Olekao

Understanding the way the Maasai pastoralists' Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) affects management of natural resources in dry lands is of practical importance, failure to recognize its contribution in resources management and use can result into mismatch of varied land uses leading to loss of biodiversity and deterioration of livelihood conditions. The study was done in Kiteto district (Maasai Steppe), data was collected using Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), Focus Group Discussions and key informants interviews. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyze quantitative data, PRA data was analyzed by the help of communities and content analysis was used to analyze qualitative data. Findings show that socio-economic factors; sex, age, education level, income from livestock, household size and time spent in keeping livestock influenced the perceived usefulness of TEK. Practices such as herd splitting, grazing patterns, livestock mobility, co-existence of wildlife and livestock, water sources management and construction of settlement played role in management. TEK thus, enables pastoralists to control and manage rangeland resources by regulating access to users and sanctioning abusers. Using medicinal plants to treat some diseases and ailments instead of conventional medication could be due to high costs or availability of drugs and proximity to health centers. Government and actors should work on policies that undermine pastoral ways of life and range ecologists should design a TEK model to be used in dry lands ecosystems management.

Keywords

Ecological knowledge; Dry land ecosystems; Maasai pastoralists; Kiteto; Tanzania

Introduction

Understanding the way the Maasai Pastoralists' Traditional Ecological Knowledge affects (positively or negatively) the management of natural resources in the dry lands is of practical importance for maintaining ecosystem function and resource availability. Failure to recognize the contribution of this traditional knowledge in resources management and use to enhance biodiversity and the livelihood of people can result into a mismatch of varied land uses that may lead to loss of biodiversity and deterioration of people’s livelihood conditions. The TEK as a system of understanding the environment based on observations and experience built over generations because of people being dependent on the land for their food materials [1] is one of the central contributions of indigenous people to conservation. Hesse et al. [2] stipulated that, pastoralists are highly specialized livestock herders and breeders and have skills and indigenous knowledge of direct national value. They rely on scarce natural resources under shifting conditions, demanding considerable knowledge of animal husbandry, sustainable rangeland management and informal livestock markets. Traditional knowledge is described by Pierotti et al. [3] as the knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities around the world developed from past experiences gained over centuries and adapted to local culture and environment.

Traditional knowledge is transmitted orally from generation to generation and is collectively owned by members of a particular indigenous community taking the form of stories, songs, folklore, proverbs, cultural values, beliefs, rituals, community laws, local language, crop and animal husbandry practices including development of plant species and animal breeds (Ibid). According to Whyte [4], the concept of TEK is better explored in terms of the role it plays in facilitating or discouraging cross-cultural and cross-situational collaboration among actors working for indigenous and non-indigenous institutions of environmental governance, such as tribal natural resources departments, federal agencies working with tribes, and co-management boards.

Local people have a very good understanding of ecological zones representing a system of interactions among plants, animals, soils and the people themselves [5]. Also, Searle [6] reported that species preferred by villagers for forestation are those wood species which are indigenous to the area out of which some species are scientifically identified but other species may have vernacular names. According to Niamir [7], local people can identify more species and varieties of plants than well qualified botanists, probably due to the fact that they have had more time to search and find all the plants in their area. This cuts across most societies whose livelihood is dependent upon the natural resource base for survival; the pastoralists fall in this category. Pastoralism is analyzed as a way of life depending primarily on livestock keeping or an extensive system of livestock production that involves different degrees of movements (mobility), and where families depend on livestock and their by-products for a substantial level of their subsistence and income by over 50 per cent [8,9]. Pastoralism is defined as a mode of production which depends on natural forage and pastoralists are found in many parts of the African continent from North to South and from West to East and mostly live in arid or semi-arid lands [10]. There is undeniable fact that pastoralists have been involved in farmer-herder conflicts in Tanzania and elsewhere in Africa. Of recent, clashes between the parties in Kilosa, Kiteto, Kilindi, Kilombero and Bagamoyo are an example of escalation of resource use conflicts in the country. Eviction of pastoralists in some parts of the country to pave way for agriculture expansion, state-backed investment and conservation such as in Ihefu, Mbarali and Loliondo are the signs of demise of pastoralism and that can lead to further conflicts between the two. Mwamfupe [11] argued that pastoralists have lost considerable amount of their land due to lack of security of tenure. Despite the role played by pastoralists in management of rangelands, the modern science of range management has often neglected pastoralists’ participation, largely due to the perception of official resource managers that herder knowledge lacks objectivity [12]. Furthermore, though the Maasai pastoralists have a longtime experience on the use of dry land ecosystems, the management of the rangelands is expert-based and part played by traditional knowledge is not given proper attention for sustainability. The study thus aimed to describe well the role played by this ecological knowledge of the Maasai in management of dry lands and to argue on a highly charged criticism from ecologists that all pastoral systems contributed greatly to destruction of environments. Research findings will help to inform policy makers at different levels on potential role of pastoralists' TEK on dry lands conservation, management and improvement of land use planning process in Kiteto and elsewhere in the country. Findings will thus serve as input when preparing strategies to address challenges of dry land ecosystem management. Also, the findings will help to bridge the gap between scientific conservation methods and indigenous conservation practices of Maasai Pastoralists.

Methodology

Study area description

Kiteto District, one of the five administrative districts of Manyara Region in Northern Tanzania, lies between 6°7'16"S, and 36°37'30"E shown in Figure 1. Although there are remarkable variations in the amount of precipitation, the district receives an average of 350 mm to 700 mm of rainfall annually and there is one rainfall season (Uni-modal) between the months of January and May. The dry months are August, September, October and November and it is considered to be semi-arid to arid.