POVERTY & POOR GOVERNMENT POLICY CONTRIBUTE TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION IN PUGU FOREST

Rocks mining contribute to the Forest degradation in Kisarawe district, more than 50 youngmen engaged in this rocks mining, Most of them have families to feed on.

Mr. Abdallah Haji one of the small rocks miner said they are poor and their life depends on that rocks mining, the government provided loan for them but there is bias. No small industry or factory in Kisarawe, their farms have been taken by the government with no compensation

Another small rocks miner said even police officers always say yes for small miners because by engaging in that activity they reduce violence/robbery in the street

There is Administration contradiction between RC and DC.RC said small miners had to wait for the good decision from RC office but later DC ordered them to leave in any time she wish, but small miners still claim where the DC wants to take them to, the place where DC wants them to go there is no good infrastructure of road even water.

We have to think; shifting them to another place while continuing doing the same activity, is it constructive? While we want to reduce the dependence of people on forest sector??

But degradation started days back in 2004 when big construction companies like UNICO beginning to construct the road from Kisarawe to Dar es Salaam

This time takes another face when small rocks miners entered there to find their daily bread. For this case I can predict days to come if the situation still the same the environment will be more degradated, and on other side social conflict will erupt and insecurity of people will increase because government wants to evict them without giving them any alternative way of sustain their life, so many young men with low level of education will enter the street without any activity to make them survive.

But the government, CSOs, I international organization and donors have something to do to help the poor community of Kisarawe to reduce the highly dependence on forest sector to survive.

First, of all loans is very important to these people, loans with no bias. The district government and village government should take responsibility for being the referees for these people
Second, strengthening in Agriculture, because is only affordable way of rural areas, for example insisting on cultivation of cassava, therefore the government should tell the investors to open small scale industry for cassava bread processing ,because cassava has no big market, so for doing that small scale industry will employ local people and also buying cassava from farmers.
Third, the government should strength the capacity of cooperatives unions, because by doing so the farmers will get moral of cultivating more and the cooperatives will be able to buy more and more as well as possible
Lastly, also more small scale processing industries for cashew nut should be built at Kisarawe district, because there is no any .People will get employment and will courage farmers to produce more ,there is no need for processing industry to be at Dar es salaam. because now in Kisarawe there is good infrastructure i.e. roads and electricity.


Hussein Mwamba
mwambahussein@yahoo.com