Drivers of Farmers-Pastoralists’ Land Use Conflicts in Mvomero District, Tanzania
Abstract
This study examined the drivers of land use conflicts between farmers and pastoralists in Mvomero District, Tanzania. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, the research involved surveying 391 heads of households and conducting in-depth interviews with 26 key informants, including four Village Chairpersons, four Village Executive Officers (VEOs), four Heads of Village Security Committees, four Village Agricultural and Livestock Officers (VALOs), four Ward Executive Officers (WEOs), the District Executive Director (DED), and the Officer Commanding District (OCD). The primary objective is to identify and analyse the underlying factors contributing to these conflicts and to propose potential solutions. The findings indicated that the primary drivers of land use conflicts include environmental factors sparked by climate change, exacerbating resource scarcity as a key factor. Other factors involve unethical practices and a lack of participation in demarcating boundaries. The study suggests several strategies to mitigate land use conflicts in Mvomero District including raising awareness about climate change and its implications for resource management, strengthening of land tenure systems through establishment of robust and enforceable land tenure systems, promoting climate-resilient agricultural practice where the government of Tanzania and other developmental stakeholders should enhance agricultural resilience to climate change as crucial mechanism for reducing resource-based conflicts, enhancing water resource management can be proper means of addressing the land use conflict problem where improvement of water resource management can mitigate resource scarcity and reduce conflicts, strengthening conflict resolution mechanisms also can be adopted as the means of land use conflict resolution through building the capacity of local institutions to manage conflicts, facilitating multi-stakeholder collaboration in addressing climate change and land-use conflicts among various stakeholders can be another way of land use conflict resolution, and effective monitoring and evaluation (M&E) are essential for assessing the impact of adaptation initiatives. Additionally, improving access to education and economic opportunities for both farmers and pastoralists can reduce dependency on land-based livelihoods and ease competition for resources.
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