Papers by Agnes A Sirima
Introduction A landscape provide a range of ecosystem services apart from producing crops. Howeve... more Introduction A landscape provide a range of ecosystem services apart from producing crops. However, the inter-linkage of the ecosystem services and agricultural activities is poorly understood. For over 50 years, agriculture has been conducted without considering the natural ecological processes that safeguard agricultural production in the long run. To ensure that agricultural systems are sustainable, we have to make sure that the crucial ecosystem functions in the natural landscape are protected. Agricultural intensification, dramatic land use changes, application of agrochemicals and intensification of resource utilization are among the factors contributing towards biodiversity loss. The process of agricultural intensification is associated with an increase in labour inputs, increase use of natural and artificial fertilizer, use of improved seeds, change in technologies, change in agricultural mechanization & frequency of cultivation, changes to the landscape such as irrigation o...
Development Southern Africa, 2015
Cultural tourism programmes (CTPs) provide opportunities for rural communities to supplement thei... more Cultural tourism programmes (CTPs) provide opportunities for rural communities to supplement their income. While these programmes are intended to empower local people and reduce poverty, the mechanisms used for choosing the targeted 'communities' remain largely unexamined. This paper analyses the planning, structure and implementation of CTPs as a form of communitybased tourism in selected areas in Tanzania. Data were collected from two CTP groups (10 people in total) and five government officials at the national level using in-depth interviews. Analysis was carried out using NVIVO for theme generation. Major themes derived include lack of clear description of who constitutes CTPs and that existing CTPs differ greatly in terms of structure, size, development level and resource capacity, and many lack clear benefit-sharing mechanisms. There is a need for the government to continue supporting these initiatives at all levels, to nurture newly created CTPs and to provide continual technical support for the existing ones.
High (darker green)-High positive change Light-little to no change Low (mint)-High negative change
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 09669582 2012 707373, Nov 21, 2013
Displacement of people to allow expansion of protected areas involves removing people from their ... more Displacement of people to allow expansion of protected areas involves removing people from their ancestral land or excluding people from undertaking livelihood activities in their usual areas. The approach perpetuates the human-nature dichotomy, where protected areas are regarded as pristine lands that need to be separated from human activities. Beyond material loss, displaced communities suffer loss of symbolic representation and identity that is attached to the place. The aim of this paper was to assess impacts of Ruaha National Park expansions to the adjoining communities. Five villages were surveyed: Ikoga Mpya, Igomelo, Nyeregete, Mahango and Luhango. All participants were victims of the eviction to expand the park borders. Based on the conceptual analysis, major themes generated were: loss of access to livelihood resources, change in resource ownership, conservation costs, resource use conflict, place identity, and the role of power. Similar to previous studies, results show that local communities suffered both symbolic and material loss as a result of park expansion. Furthermore, it has shown that conflicts related to land use changes have roots within (pastoralist vs. farmers; Sangu vs. Sukuma) as well as from the outside. Hence, to better understand resource access and ownership, a deeper understanding of community charac-teristics/composition and their local interaction is important. Further, park expansion needs to take into consideration human livelihood need.
Journal of Ecotourism, 2015
In the recent past, the concept of ecotourism has been promoted in Tanzania as an alternative, l... more In the recent past, the concept of ecotourism has been promoted in Tanzania as an alternative, low-impact form of tourism that supports conservation of natural resources, preserves local culture, and provides economic benefits to the communities. Existing evidence shows that Tanzania has not utilised most of its ecotourism potential. The actual amount of ecotourism activity in the country is highly localised and relatively minimal due to the following factors: accessibility problems in some protected areas, inadequate infrastructure, and insufficient marketing and promotion. There is a need for regulatory authorities to articulate clear policies, regulations, and guidelines that delineate strategies on how to implement ecotourism activities in most parts of Tanzania. Such strategies should describe how to increase accessibility of ecotourism benefits to local communities, increase local community participation, and elucidate better mechanisms of sharing revenues generated from ecotourism. Given the abundance and diversity of natural and cultural resources in Tanzania, there is still room for growth, particularly in the southern, eastern, and western tourism circuits.
Encyclopedia of Tourism, 2014
Cultural tourism programmes (CTPs) provide opportunities for rural communities to supplement thei... more Cultural tourism programmes (CTPs) provide opportunities for rural communities to supplement their income. While these programmes are intended to empower local people and reduce poverty, the mechanisms used for choosing the targeted ‘communities' remain largely unexamined. This paper analyses the planning, structure and implementation of CTPs as a form of community-based tourism in selected areas in Tanzania. Data were collected from two CTP groups (10 people in total) and five government officials at the national level using in-depth interviews. Analysis was carried out using NVIVO for theme generation. Major themes derived include lack of clear description of who constitutes CTPs and that existing CTPs differ greatly in terms of structure, size, development level and resource capacity, and many lack clear benefit-sharing mechanisms. There is a need for the government to continue supporting these initiatives at all levels, to nurture newly created CTPs and to provide continual technical support for the existing ones.
ABSTRACT One of the core elements of tourism development is to encourage local communities’ parti... more ABSTRACT One of the core elements of tourism development is to encourage local communities’ participation
as it is central to the sustainability of tourism industry. While the literature suggests a number of roles local
communities could take in tourism development, little emphasis has so far been given as to how local communities
themselves feel about this. As a result, there has been little evidence, especially from the grassroots, on what
communities really think of their role(s) in tourism development. Using a case study of Barabarani village in
Tanzania, this paper contributes to the understanding of community participation in tourism development by
examining local communities’ views on their role in tourism development. The paper triangulates both quantitative
and qualitative data to bring together perspectives from the grassroots based on household questionnaire survey
with some members of the local community and a two-month period of field observations in the study area, coupled
with the researcher’s experience with the wider community. The findings revealed that local communities want to
be involved when tourism policies are being made to enable policymakers to prepare a policy that meets stakeholders’
needs and addresses their concerns. They also want to be part of tourism development decisions to ensure their
needs are incorporated. Furthermore, local communities want to have a voice in development issues (not necessarily
tourism development) to enable them to protect community interests, and increase transparency and accountability,
and wipe out embezzlements and abuse of offices, which are rampant acts amongst decision-makers. Similar to
previous studies, they rejected the statement ‘local people should not participate by any means’ in tourism
development. It is clear from the findings that people are against the prevailing top-down approach in decision
making when it comes to tourism development in their areas. It also depicts the nature of the central government
which controls all the forms of decision making when it comes to development and policy formulation. The study
emphasizes on small scale methods in analyzing and assessing the role of local communities views of participation
from the communities themselves rather than what has been normally imposed on them.
One of the core elements of tourism development is to encourage local communities’ participation ... more One of the core elements of tourism development is to encourage local communities’ participation as it is central to the sustainability of tourism industry. While the literature suggests a number of roles local communities could take in tourism development, little emphasis has so far been given as to how local communities themselves feel about this. As a result, there has been little evidence, especially from the grassroots, on what
communities really think of their role(s) in tourism development. Using a case study of Barabarani village in Tanzania, this paper contributes to the understanding of community participation in tourism development by examining local communities’ views on their role in tourism development. The paper triangulates both quantitative and qualitative data to bring together perspectives from the grassroots based on household questionnaire survey
with some members of the local community and a two-month period of field observations in the study area, coupled
with the researcher’s experience with the wider community. The findings revealed that local communities want to be involved when tourism policies are being made to enable policymakers to prepare a policy that meets stakeholders’ needs and addresses their concerns. They also want to be part of tourism development decisions to ensure their needs are incorporated. Furthermore, local communities want to have a voice in development issues (not necessarily tourism development) to enable them to protect community interests, and increase transparency and accountability, and wipe out embezzlements and abuse of offices, which are rampant acts amongst decision-makers. Similar to
previous studies, they rejected the statement ‘local people should not participate by any means’ in tourism development. It is clear from the findings that people are against the prevailing top-down approach in decision making when it comes to tourism development in their areas. It also depicts the nature of the central government which controls all the forms of decision making when it comes to development and policy formulation. The study
emphasizes on small scale methods in analysing and assessing the role of local communities views of participation from the communities themselves rather than what has been normally imposed on them.
Water scarcity is globally getting worse in the light of increase in demand for water use. Human ... more Water scarcity is globally getting worse in the light of increase in demand for water use. Human and ecosystem health and economic development are affected by problems of water scarcity and water pollution. This paper assessed the net benefit of water resource in crop production around the Kilombero Valley Ramsar Site in Tanzania. Specifically, the study determines and estimates costs and benefits in crop production and quantify its monetary value using both market and non-market techniques. Household questionnaires, checklist for key informants, participant observation and participatory rural appraisal techniques were employed for data collection. Questionnaire survey was administered to 120 households to establish the major agricultural activities, crops, costs of production and income accrued from these activities. Data relating to household characteristics and water related economic activities were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences whereby the cost for production, inputs and returns were analysed and compared using Microsoft Excel. The residual imputation approach was used to estimate the value of water in crop production. Findings revealed that, 88.3 percent of the respondents own land and 11.7 percent of them rent the land for crop production. The net values of water for
irrigated paddy and non-paddy crops were estimated to Tsh. 273.6 (US$ 0.23) and Tsh. 87.7 (US$ 0.073) per m3 of consumed water respectively. The average productivity of water for paddy and non-paddy crop production is estimated at 0.85 kgm-3 and 0.69 kgm-3 of consumed water respectively. Furthermore, the returns from agriculture are less compared to returns from other water uses. Nevertheless, since majority of households are depending on
agriculture this study recommends that emphasis should be put on effective and efficient use of water to improve its productivity.
Local communities’ participation in tourism benefit-sharing is central to tourism development. Wh... more Local communities’ participation in tourism benefit-sharing is central to tourism development. While there is a well-established literature on benefit-sharing from the perspective of wildlife
protected areas and adjacent local communities, there is little emphasis on how other tourism businesses do this. Using a case study of Barabarani village, Tanzania, this paper examines how
other tourism businesses share benefits with the neighbouring communities. It explores this using: in-depth semi-structured interviews with tourism businesses, NGOs, and key decisionmakers within the community; a two-month period of field observations coupled with the researcher’s experience with the wider community; informal discussions with some members of
the local community; and document analysis.
The findings show that tourism businesses in Barabarani village have schemes that favourably benefit local people, but the extent to which a particular business has developed its schemes
differed from one business to another depending on the nature of business, ownership, and objectives. In some businesses such schemes were automatically created as a ‘by-product’ of
particular decisions they make. Overall, public businesses had more systematic benefit sharing schemes than private businesses. Thus, there was no guarantee local communities would receive
benefits from private businesses, and if any, they were executed on an ad hoc basis.
Key words: local communities, benefit-sharing, tourism businesses, local employment creation, capacity building, pro-poor tourism, sustainable tourism
Land-use-change conflicts have shaped the conservation and tourism activities and human livelihoo... more Land-use-change conflicts have shaped the conservation and tourism activities and human livelihood debate in the Usangu Plains over the last 10 years. This has led Ruaha National Park to become the largest national park in Tanzania and the second
largest in Africa. The need to understand the rationale behind the expansion of Ruaha National Park and the local communities’ views on tourism activities has become increasingly important. The purpose of this study was to examine land-use change in
the Usangu Plains and its implication to local communities. Community members in five villages, Ikoga Mpya, Igomelo, Nyeregete, Mahango and Luhango, were surveyed using semi-structured interviews, focus groups and field notes. This resulted
in a total of 79 semi-structured interviews, 4 focus group discussions and field observation data to analyse the situation in Usangu Plains. Data were analysed using NVIVO computer software for coding and themes’ generation. Major themes that
emerged from the analysis were land-use change, tourism as a form of land use, tourism benefits and coping mechanisms. The findings from this study suggest that local communities do not perceive that they are benefitting from the change from agricultural to tourism practices. Changing the way local communities perceived themselves and are involved in conservation activities is the key to achieving the best conservation results and community residents’ involvement in future tourism activities in their areas.
Book Reviews by Agnes A Sirima
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Papers by Agnes A Sirima
as it is central to the sustainability of tourism industry. While the literature suggests a number of roles local
communities could take in tourism development, little emphasis has so far been given as to how local communities
themselves feel about this. As a result, there has been little evidence, especially from the grassroots, on what
communities really think of their role(s) in tourism development. Using a case study of Barabarani village in
Tanzania, this paper contributes to the understanding of community participation in tourism development by
examining local communities’ views on their role in tourism development. The paper triangulates both quantitative
and qualitative data to bring together perspectives from the grassroots based on household questionnaire survey
with some members of the local community and a two-month period of field observations in the study area, coupled
with the researcher’s experience with the wider community. The findings revealed that local communities want to
be involved when tourism policies are being made to enable policymakers to prepare a policy that meets stakeholders’
needs and addresses their concerns. They also want to be part of tourism development decisions to ensure their
needs are incorporated. Furthermore, local communities want to have a voice in development issues (not necessarily
tourism development) to enable them to protect community interests, and increase transparency and accountability,
and wipe out embezzlements and abuse of offices, which are rampant acts amongst decision-makers. Similar to
previous studies, they rejected the statement ‘local people should not participate by any means’ in tourism
development. It is clear from the findings that people are against the prevailing top-down approach in decision
making when it comes to tourism development in their areas. It also depicts the nature of the central government
which controls all the forms of decision making when it comes to development and policy formulation. The study
emphasizes on small scale methods in analyzing and assessing the role of local communities views of participation
from the communities themselves rather than what has been normally imposed on them.
communities really think of their role(s) in tourism development. Using a case study of Barabarani village in Tanzania, this paper contributes to the understanding of community participation in tourism development by examining local communities’ views on their role in tourism development. The paper triangulates both quantitative and qualitative data to bring together perspectives from the grassroots based on household questionnaire survey
with some members of the local community and a two-month period of field observations in the study area, coupled
with the researcher’s experience with the wider community. The findings revealed that local communities want to be involved when tourism policies are being made to enable policymakers to prepare a policy that meets stakeholders’ needs and addresses their concerns. They also want to be part of tourism development decisions to ensure their needs are incorporated. Furthermore, local communities want to have a voice in development issues (not necessarily tourism development) to enable them to protect community interests, and increase transparency and accountability, and wipe out embezzlements and abuse of offices, which are rampant acts amongst decision-makers. Similar to
previous studies, they rejected the statement ‘local people should not participate by any means’ in tourism development. It is clear from the findings that people are against the prevailing top-down approach in decision making when it comes to tourism development in their areas. It also depicts the nature of the central government which controls all the forms of decision making when it comes to development and policy formulation. The study
emphasizes on small scale methods in analysing and assessing the role of local communities views of participation from the communities themselves rather than what has been normally imposed on them.
irrigated paddy and non-paddy crops were estimated to Tsh. 273.6 (US$ 0.23) and Tsh. 87.7 (US$ 0.073) per m3 of consumed water respectively. The average productivity of water for paddy and non-paddy crop production is estimated at 0.85 kgm-3 and 0.69 kgm-3 of consumed water respectively. Furthermore, the returns from agriculture are less compared to returns from other water uses. Nevertheless, since majority of households are depending on
agriculture this study recommends that emphasis should be put on effective and efficient use of water to improve its productivity.
protected areas and adjacent local communities, there is little emphasis on how other tourism businesses do this. Using a case study of Barabarani village, Tanzania, this paper examines how
other tourism businesses share benefits with the neighbouring communities. It explores this using: in-depth semi-structured interviews with tourism businesses, NGOs, and key decisionmakers within the community; a two-month period of field observations coupled with the researcher’s experience with the wider community; informal discussions with some members of
the local community; and document analysis.
The findings show that tourism businesses in Barabarani village have schemes that favourably benefit local people, but the extent to which a particular business has developed its schemes
differed from one business to another depending on the nature of business, ownership, and objectives. In some businesses such schemes were automatically created as a ‘by-product’ of
particular decisions they make. Overall, public businesses had more systematic benefit sharing schemes than private businesses. Thus, there was no guarantee local communities would receive
benefits from private businesses, and if any, they were executed on an ad hoc basis.
Key words: local communities, benefit-sharing, tourism businesses, local employment creation, capacity building, pro-poor tourism, sustainable tourism
largest in Africa. The need to understand the rationale behind the expansion of Ruaha National Park and the local communities’ views on tourism activities has become increasingly important. The purpose of this study was to examine land-use change in
the Usangu Plains and its implication to local communities. Community members in five villages, Ikoga Mpya, Igomelo, Nyeregete, Mahango and Luhango, were surveyed using semi-structured interviews, focus groups and field notes. This resulted
in a total of 79 semi-structured interviews, 4 focus group discussions and field observation data to analyse the situation in Usangu Plains. Data were analysed using NVIVO computer software for coding and themes’ generation. Major themes that
emerged from the analysis were land-use change, tourism as a form of land use, tourism benefits and coping mechanisms. The findings from this study suggest that local communities do not perceive that they are benefitting from the change from agricultural to tourism practices. Changing the way local communities perceived themselves and are involved in conservation activities is the key to achieving the best conservation results and community residents’ involvement in future tourism activities in their areas.
Book Reviews by Agnes A Sirima
as it is central to the sustainability of tourism industry. While the literature suggests a number of roles local
communities could take in tourism development, little emphasis has so far been given as to how local communities
themselves feel about this. As a result, there has been little evidence, especially from the grassroots, on what
communities really think of their role(s) in tourism development. Using a case study of Barabarani village in
Tanzania, this paper contributes to the understanding of community participation in tourism development by
examining local communities’ views on their role in tourism development. The paper triangulates both quantitative
and qualitative data to bring together perspectives from the grassroots based on household questionnaire survey
with some members of the local community and a two-month period of field observations in the study area, coupled
with the researcher’s experience with the wider community. The findings revealed that local communities want to
be involved when tourism policies are being made to enable policymakers to prepare a policy that meets stakeholders’
needs and addresses their concerns. They also want to be part of tourism development decisions to ensure their
needs are incorporated. Furthermore, local communities want to have a voice in development issues (not necessarily
tourism development) to enable them to protect community interests, and increase transparency and accountability,
and wipe out embezzlements and abuse of offices, which are rampant acts amongst decision-makers. Similar to
previous studies, they rejected the statement ‘local people should not participate by any means’ in tourism
development. It is clear from the findings that people are against the prevailing top-down approach in decision
making when it comes to tourism development in their areas. It also depicts the nature of the central government
which controls all the forms of decision making when it comes to development and policy formulation. The study
emphasizes on small scale methods in analyzing and assessing the role of local communities views of participation
from the communities themselves rather than what has been normally imposed on them.
communities really think of their role(s) in tourism development. Using a case study of Barabarani village in Tanzania, this paper contributes to the understanding of community participation in tourism development by examining local communities’ views on their role in tourism development. The paper triangulates both quantitative and qualitative data to bring together perspectives from the grassroots based on household questionnaire survey
with some members of the local community and a two-month period of field observations in the study area, coupled
with the researcher’s experience with the wider community. The findings revealed that local communities want to be involved when tourism policies are being made to enable policymakers to prepare a policy that meets stakeholders’ needs and addresses their concerns. They also want to be part of tourism development decisions to ensure their needs are incorporated. Furthermore, local communities want to have a voice in development issues (not necessarily tourism development) to enable them to protect community interests, and increase transparency and accountability, and wipe out embezzlements and abuse of offices, which are rampant acts amongst decision-makers. Similar to
previous studies, they rejected the statement ‘local people should not participate by any means’ in tourism development. It is clear from the findings that people are against the prevailing top-down approach in decision making when it comes to tourism development in their areas. It also depicts the nature of the central government which controls all the forms of decision making when it comes to development and policy formulation. The study
emphasizes on small scale methods in analysing and assessing the role of local communities views of participation from the communities themselves rather than what has been normally imposed on them.
irrigated paddy and non-paddy crops were estimated to Tsh. 273.6 (US$ 0.23) and Tsh. 87.7 (US$ 0.073) per m3 of consumed water respectively. The average productivity of water for paddy and non-paddy crop production is estimated at 0.85 kgm-3 and 0.69 kgm-3 of consumed water respectively. Furthermore, the returns from agriculture are less compared to returns from other water uses. Nevertheless, since majority of households are depending on
agriculture this study recommends that emphasis should be put on effective and efficient use of water to improve its productivity.
protected areas and adjacent local communities, there is little emphasis on how other tourism businesses do this. Using a case study of Barabarani village, Tanzania, this paper examines how
other tourism businesses share benefits with the neighbouring communities. It explores this using: in-depth semi-structured interviews with tourism businesses, NGOs, and key decisionmakers within the community; a two-month period of field observations coupled with the researcher’s experience with the wider community; informal discussions with some members of
the local community; and document analysis.
The findings show that tourism businesses in Barabarani village have schemes that favourably benefit local people, but the extent to which a particular business has developed its schemes
differed from one business to another depending on the nature of business, ownership, and objectives. In some businesses such schemes were automatically created as a ‘by-product’ of
particular decisions they make. Overall, public businesses had more systematic benefit sharing schemes than private businesses. Thus, there was no guarantee local communities would receive
benefits from private businesses, and if any, they were executed on an ad hoc basis.
Key words: local communities, benefit-sharing, tourism businesses, local employment creation, capacity building, pro-poor tourism, sustainable tourism
largest in Africa. The need to understand the rationale behind the expansion of Ruaha National Park and the local communities’ views on tourism activities has become increasingly important. The purpose of this study was to examine land-use change in
the Usangu Plains and its implication to local communities. Community members in five villages, Ikoga Mpya, Igomelo, Nyeregete, Mahango and Luhango, were surveyed using semi-structured interviews, focus groups and field notes. This resulted
in a total of 79 semi-structured interviews, 4 focus group discussions and field observation data to analyse the situation in Usangu Plains. Data were analysed using NVIVO computer software for coding and themes’ generation. Major themes that
emerged from the analysis were land-use change, tourism as a form of land use, tourism benefits and coping mechanisms. The findings from this study suggest that local communities do not perceive that they are benefitting from the change from agricultural to tourism practices. Changing the way local communities perceived themselves and are involved in conservation activities is the key to achieving the best conservation results and community residents’ involvement in future tourism activities in their areas.