Growing farmer-herder conflicts in Tanzania: the licenced exclusions of pastoral communities interests over access to resources

ABSTRACT

The growing number of farmer-herder resource conflicts in Tanzania is often presented in official narratives as a product of climate change resulting from increased environmental pressures. Nonetheless, based on a qualitative research, this paper asserts that farmer- herder conflicts in Rufiji and Kisarawe districts should be understood in terms of the marginalization of pastoral community interests over access to land. This has created what Hall, Hirsch and Li [2013. Power of Exclusions: Lland Dilemmas in Southeast Asia. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press] call the ‘licenced exclusions’ of pastoral communities’ interests including access to resources.

KEYWORDS:

• Climate change
• bundles of power
• land and water use conflicts

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

William John Walwa is a political scientist working in the Department of Political Science at the University of Dar es Salaam. His areas of specialization include politics, peace and strategic studies, international relations and environmental security and peace. Dr. Walwa is currently coordinating a three-year research project titled ‘Youth engagement in addressing violent extremism through community early warning systems in Kenya and Tanzania’, which is funded by the IDRC.

Notes

1 Pwani is a Swahili name, which refers to the coast. Thus, Pwani region was named as it is on the coast of the Indian Ocean. This region is made up of eight administrative districts – Kisarawe, Kibiti, Rufiji, Bagamoyo, Mkuranga, Chalinze, Kibaha and Mafia.

2 According to Walsh (2012, 2008) pastoralists and agro-pastoralists started arriving in the Usangu wetlands from the 1950s. The Maasai arrived first in the 1950s followed by the Sukuma in the 1960s.

3 National Assembly, 7 February 2013.

4 According to livestock officers in Rufiji and Kisarawe, one livestock unit (cattle) needs to be accommodated by two hectares of land.