Implication of Climate Change on Land Uses of Selous-Niassa Transfrontier Conservation Area, Tanzania and Mozambique

Zella, Adili Yohana (2019) Implication of Climate Change on Land Uses of Selous-Niassa Transfrontier Conservation Area, Tanzania and Mozambique. ["eprint_fieldopt_thesis_type_phd" not defined] thesis, The Open University of Tanzania.

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Abstract

Climate is changing and that the changes are largely due to increased levels of carbon emissions into the atmosphere caused by changes of land uses as a result of anthropogenic activities. Considering the impacts of climate change insisted the need for new conservation areas to fill connectivity gap between protected areas (PAs) or transfrontier conservation areas (TFCAs) through habitat corridors so as to enable species migration with their climatic niche. The study aimed at analysing the implication of climate change on land uses of Selous-Niassa TFCA . Specifically, the study intended to; determine spatial and temporal changes in land uses, forecast changes in land uses, determine wood balance of the study area dwellers, determine amount of carbon released to the atmosphere, and identify consequences of climate change and variability in managing TFCAs. Survey, PRA (Participatory Rural Appraisal), remote sensing and GIS (Geographical Information System) techniques were employed to get the intended results. The study results revealed that, land use conversion from woodlands and grassland were mostly transformed into built up area and cultivated land. This evidenced by 50.8% of woodlands lost equivalent to 529 million trees (average of 27 million trees per year) from 1986 to 2016 with only 28.7% population increase. This imply unsustainable wood supply, however the wood supply for the years 2016 and 2035 was at least 25 and 20 times the average demand per year per capita respectively. Carbons released to the atmosphere from 1986-2016 and 2015-2035 are 7205306.34 tons and 804343.11 tons respectively, equivalent to US$ 1415070.96 and US$ 3217372.44 of carbon trade in respective periods. Moreover, carbons stocks for the years 2016 and 2035 are 13114780.2 tons and 8789814.9 tons equivalent to US$ 52459120.8 and US$ 46918043.68 respectively. The study concludes that, the management of the study area is unsustainable. The study recommends the inclusion of the area into connected PAs ecosystem of the Selous-Niassa TFCA or formulation of sustainable participatory management strategies of the area.

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